Tom Bennett runs the cleanest car body repair service I've ever seen.....literally.

His Uddingston repair ship is bright, airy and almost spotless - unusual for a business that specialises in restoring damaged car bodies to their former glory.

There's none of the oily greasyness that one would usually associate with car repairs and everywhere you look therens gleaming cars ready for collection by their owners.

He said: "The majority of our business is repairing insurance and fleet cars, including the hire car industry, although we do work for the public as well. We are currently working towards Mercedes Benz body repair approval from the manufacturer having alr already achieved approval for Rover, Landrover, Jaguar, Honda and Fiat.

"Although we were based in Ayrshire, a lot of our business was coming from the Glasgow area, so I decided to open a new shop in Rutherglen. I bought over Flemings, a local company with a good reputation that had unfortunately gone into receivership. It had been trading in the area for more than one hundred years and it was a perfect acquisition at that time."

However, continued success meant that the Rutherglen outlet grew too big and Tom was forced to look for new larger and more modern premises.

With the help of South Lanarkshire Council's Company Development team, he found the perfect place in the form of his current premises in Bothwell Park Industrial Estate in Uddingston.

He said: "Council officials were as helpful as anybody I've ever had to deal with in business. Everyone was very supportive, particularly the Company Development team who were good to work with. It was through working with them that I successfully applied for and received a Business Venture Fund grant for property improvements."

The company now employs 85 staff - 48 in Uddingston - and Tom is constantly investing in the latest equipment to ensure his customers are given the very best service.

He said: "We offer a quick service which is why so many insurance companies recommend us to their customers. We can turn the vehicles around very quickly ensuring the car is back on the road as soon as possible. We also have 130 courtesy cars of all makes which means the customer is able to stay on the road while their car is being repaired.

"Looking to the future, we are planning to install specialist equipment for aluminium cars. More and more manufacturers are making their vehicles out of aluminium and we want to make sure we are able to offer this type of service."

Business South Lanarkshire - Winter 2001

Return to Magazine Back Issue Index

Site Map