Multiple ch ice

After first throwing open its doors back in 1956, Bridgman Street Panel Beaters has staked a place as a trusted and enduring fixture for the people of Dunedin, on New Zealand’s South Island. However, that doesn’t mean the business has stood still. Having started out as a standalone panel shop, its capabilities were expanded in 1972 when a paint shop was added. Another momentous step took place in 2002 when a major extension and renovation coincided with Bridgman St being welcomed as a foundation member of the PPG FleetPool Network in New Zealand. Although he doesn’t remember the beginning because he was just a baby, current owner Brent Johnston, has actually been a shareholder in the business from the very start. He found himself thrust into the limelight in 1982 when his father and business founder, Lerwick Johnston, died suddenly. After surviving the baptise of fire, Brent has been at the helm ever since.

Heavy vehicle repairs, refinish and re-liveries had long been part of the job mix flowing through the workshop but the 2002 overhaul provided a significant boost to the team’s ability to tackle both light and heavy vehicle work, according to Brent. “The paint shop covers around 14,000ft² (1300m²) and it’s fitted out with two car sized booths and two truck booths. At nine metres long, five metres wide and five metres high, the truck booths don’t just give us size, they also give us versatility. A dividing door in the middle of each one means they can be operated as one long booth or two separate smaller booths. The workshop was actually designed with help from the PPG team and, today, it still helps our jobs flow smoothly. These days, I would say the job split would be somewhere in the vicinity of 85% cars and 15% heavy commercial work. Although we do some light accident repairs on heavy vehicles, most of the work is refurbishments and re-liveries or applying branding to new vehicles. Because our spray booths are bigger than many others around Dunedin, we also do quite a few campervans. Heavy vehicle jobs come to us from as far south as Invercargill (approx. 2.5 hours’ drive), around Timaru to the north and Central Otago and Queenstown to the west. We try to make sure we do the ‘right’ type of jobs to suit our capabilities and workflow. Although we are not the cheapest, we definitely don’t take shortcuts and we are consistently turning out quality work which I think our customers trust and appreciate.”

Whether it’s dealing with light or heavy vehicles, PPG has been a key longstanding partner that Brent could rely on for more than just market leading paint solutions. “Early on, we used a number of different brands but we have been 100% PPG since 1983. As part of that, we have always been keen to keep up with the latest technology.”

“For example, on the car side we switched to ENVIROBASE® High Performance (waterborne basecoat system) as soon as we could and, on the truck side, we use the latest DELFLEET® Evolution products.”

The workshop team consists of three dedicated heavy vehicle technicians and eight technicians on the car side. While he admits the two teams can be a bit territorial about their allotted space in the combined workshop, there is also a strong camaraderie and willingness to work together as a team. Although staff members don’t normally switch sides of the workshop, the extra resources are handy when an urgent job crops up. For example, if a large job needs sanding and prepping, Brent has the option to throw, say, six people onto it and get 12 hours of labour completed in just two hours. According to Brent, fostering this ‘team mentality’ goes right back to the initial employment process.

“Although skilled staff are really difficult to find, getting the right fit for our company is super important. It starts with the initial interview where we are looking for people who are going to suit the culture of this business. Recently, we have also been getting the workshop foreman to sit in on the second interview to make sure they are comfortable with the candidate. We feel that, with harmony in the shop, we get greater productivity. Building a strong