TOM’S TALES
THE POWER OF PARR The limits are endless with great people by your side
BY TOM BISSONNETTE
A
s many of you know, I am not an auto body technician—I was a mechanic in my previous career. This has been, in some ways, a disadvantage—but in other ways it gives me an edge. I’ve never had preconceived notions on how things ought to be done, so you will seldom hear me say: “We’ve always done it that way!” Once I had established the formula to create a profitable bodyshop, I needed to develop a competent, world-class business to back it up. It was clear to me that the quality of Parr’s bodywork and paint was substandard. Back in
invited to go to Holland on a Body Shop Study Tour by the Reineking organization in the spring of 1987, alongside more than 20 other shops. I was paired with Mark Poncelet from Mark’s Auto Body on this trip, and those of you who know Mark know he’s an interesting character that loves to have a good time. Our host, Fernand van Poetran, was likely disappointed with our behaviour day after day, but I wouldn’t change a thing! Even though it seemed we were goofing off I experienced firsthand how European body technicians took
Our employees were incredulous! When told to finish in at least 120 grit—preferably 150 to 180 grit—bodymen suggested in jest, “why don’t we just paint the vehicle for the painter?” Our painters, when told to use a two-stage primer that had a pot life of two hours or less and a dry time of four hours or more without heat, rolled their eyes and said, “that would never work in Canada!” Our top bodyman, the 80-grit guy, promptly gave his resignation. Our head painter, a gruff German fellow pretty much dismissed
“I saw enough of the shops over in Europe to make the decision to come back and totally transform Parr into a world class collision repair facility.” 1986, we were still using lacquer primer and acrylic enamel paint. Our top bodyman was finishing his work in 80 grit sandpaper. There was no quality control check—except when the customer came to pick up their vehicle and pointed out the shortcomings of the job! Enter the good people at Reineking paint. I have to give Koos Reineking a lot of credit for helping to change not only our shop culture but more importantly to change my character. Koos was very non-judgmental and patient with me in my early days. For example, I was
pride in their trade, the quality of work they performed and the cleanliness of their shop. I saw enough of the shops over in Europe to make the decision to come back and totally transform Parr into a world class collision repair facility. I made the decision to install the SIKKENS paint system into our shop—which involved a total re-think on how bodywork and paint prep was done. Fernand, much to his surprise, was invited to come to Parr and help train our production employees on the new way.
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the two-stage primer and went about his business. As a young manager I wondered if I bit off more than I could chew but I saw with my own eyes how the European shops were performing high-quality world-class work, so I hung in there. A few key people helped me through this stage of my career. Don Swick, now a PPG Manager of National accounts, was the assistant manager of the shop. He has always had my back. Not only that but Don has magical abilities—at least I
