Built to grow

J.R. Martino had spent his teenage years driving a taxi around Oakville before he ever worked at Budds’ Collision. He knew the name, though.

He saw it on vehicles around town and on the dealerships along the QEW. Customers he picked up would have BMWs, Land Rovers and Jaguars sitting in their driveways.

“I thought, who is this Budd guy?” he remembers.

A few years later, in 2013, Martino stopped at Budds’ near the Bronte GO station in Oakville and met Sam Piercey. He was looking for a change after working at a bodyshop in Toronto and trying his hand at flipping properties on the side.

“I wanted to be a part of something bigger and better. Nothing is bigger and better than Budds.”

Martino had grown up around collision repair. His father owned a bodyshop in Mississauga.

“Growing up, every summer and anytime I had breaks in between sports, my father would take me to the shop,” he said.

He swept floors, shoveled snow, detailed cars and helped wherever he was needed. 
He quickly began to realize collision repair was in his blood.  He went on to study business at the University of Toronto before spending time at a Toronto bodyshop, but the industry was never really far away.

When Martino approached Budds’, Piercey was hesitant to bring him into the business. Martino kept pushing for the opportunity.

"I told him, 'You've got to give me a chance. I promise you won't regret it,'" he said.

Eventually, Piercey did.

Budds’ was a different kind of operation from the shop Martino had come from. There were more people, more processes and a dealership environment to learn, no longer was he a part of a traditional “mom and pop shop”. There were challenges, but Piercey and the Budds’ team played a large role in 
mentoring him and supporting any decisions he made.

Thomas Mastaler, Black Cat Visuals

“There were a lot of changes those first few years. We made a lot of progress and hit on a lot of new ideas. However, I also made some mistakes and that’s not always a bad thing, as long as I don’t make the same mistake twice,” he said.

As Martino settled into the business, the industry was changing, too. OEM certifications were becoming more important and the vehicles arriving at the shop were bringing more technology with them.

Martino said the shop’s relatively newer vehicle mix meant the team was seeing new technology earlier than other facilities. It gave them an opportunity to learn as the vehicles themselves were changing.

Martino’s approach was to keep moving with them.

First, figure out what the OEM requires to repair the vehicle properly, then to provide the technicians and advisors with the tools and equipment necessary to complete that respective repair. Then figure out how to make the process work for the business.

Calibration was one of those areas.

“We saw an opportunity because the technology’s not going anywhere, these 
newer-model vehicles were calling for calibrations, not simply code clearing,” Martino said.

The shop eventually brought more of that work into its own operations, along with glass. It gave the team more control over the repair process and timing.

That was one piece of a larger expansion. Since Martino joined, Budds’ has added locations and other operations including Intact Service Center Oakville, TD Auto Center Oakville, and Oakville Glass & Calibration.

The shop works with a number of insurers, while some of its service centres have more dedicated insurer relationships. For Martino, those relationships come down to consistently delivering on the work.

“You need to be focused on continuous improvement. Be better than you were yesterday. Performance builds relationships,” he said.

That improvement mindset carries into hiring.

Martino is a strong believer in apprentices and in giving younger people an opportunity to learn the business. He would rather teach someone who fits the culture than hire for experience alone.

He recalls years ago, one employee came to Budds’ from Foot Locker without collision repair experience. Martino liked him and found a place for him in the operation, starting with work in parts and detailing, eventually becoming a senior technician.

Martino has watched him get married, start a family and bring his children to the shop. It is the kind of progression he has seen in different ways across the business, with apprentices moving into senior technical roles and employees moving from reception into estimating and management.

For Martino, those stories are a big part of what makes the job rewarding.

“We’re a huge believer in bringing in apprentices. If the values are there, everything else can be taught,” he said.

The people already in the shop have a role in that development, too. When senior technicians take on apprentices, Martino said they become invested in the apprentice’s future. Developing people from within, he said, can also help preserve the culture that attracted them in the first place.

That focus on the next generation connects to the Sam Piercey Foundation.

Piercey died in 2016. After his death, the Budds’ team and Piercey’s family decided to dedicate the foundation to his memory. The company’s annual Pig Roast, which had long been a Budds’ gathering, became a fundraiser, with raffles and a silent auction supporting the foundation.

The foundation works with Skills Canada to provide bursaries to apprentices who win their division, helping with the cost of tools and getting started in the trade.

Martino said it reflects the way Piercey approached the industry himself. He helped other shop owners and people throughout the business, including competitors, because he cared about the trade as a whole.

“He just really cared about the industry,” Martino said. “And pushed it forward.”

Martino says the foundation is one way of continuing what Piercey started — investing in people and giving them a chance to build a career in the trade.

That same philosophy shows up inside Budds’. Martino has watched apprentices become senior technicians and employees move into new roles as they learn the business. He sees those progressions as part of the responsibility that comes with running a shop.

The business itself has changed considerably since he joined in 2013. There are more locations, more technology and more moving parts to the repair process. Martino doesn’t pretend he can control all of that. What he can control, he says, is how he responds to it and how he treats the people around him.

“As long as you're controlling the things that you can control to the best of your ability and making sure that you feel like you're making the right decisions for your people,” he says, “business will follow.”

Thomas Mastaler, Black Cat Visuals

Thomas Mastaler, Black Cat Visuals