Toronto, Ontario — July 3, 2019 – Today, Collision Repair sat down with Steve Knox, general manager of CARSTAR Fredericton and the newly constructed CARSTAR Fredericton North, which is to be opened on Aug. 6. Knox fills us in on his first test-drive of the Symach-designed facility.
CR: When does the shop officially open and what can customers expect?
SK: We open on August 6, and we have a grand opening planned! A car show, a band coming in to play – it’s very car-culture oriented. We will also have a barbeque with proceeds going towards cystic fibrosis research. We’ll have a ribbon cutting. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.
CR: I know you guys are working with Symach, what are some exciting features they’ve implemented into your new shop?
SK: There’s so much to take in when you walk into that shop. Everything from the layout, with all the ergonomic features built into the shop. Each one of the repair stalls has a lift that puts the car at chest-level so that you’re never crouching or climbing underneath. It’s so much easier to work on something when it’s at a comfortable level. Our hoists also have a frame pulling apparatus built into them. It’s built so that when a car comes in, we fix it and move on, there’s no need to send it off to another area or another person, it’s just ready to go.
CR: Symach has pretty impressive up-to-date equipment, what do you plan to use in shop?
SK: We invested in the full suite. Their sanders are attached to our vacuums–and their the vacuums are incredible. It’s created such a clean environment. Everything that you use, from an air hose to an extension cord, it all retracts back into the unit that’s built into the wall and there’s never anything laying on the floor for people to trip over, it’s just clean clean clean.
CR: So it’s safe to say the Symach technology has exceeded your expectations.
SK: Definitely. We actually got to run it for the first time today – the paint curing system – and it was just so mind-boggling the way that thing works. It’s just so beautiful. The shop presents so well, I can’t ever see us feeling leary about inviting about our customers right into the middle of the shop.
