Collision Repair 8#1
Rob Pavan
Golden Triangle Collision
From an early age Rob Pavan of Golden Triangle Collision knew he was destined to be a part of the family business. When his father, Frank, opened shop in 1970 Pavan would spend his time after school and over summer breaks helping around the shop.
More than 50 years later, not only does Pavan own and operate the original CSN Golden Triangle location, he’s taken on four other locations and was one of the founding members of CSN Collision Centres.
“I’ve known I would end up in the family business in grade seven,” says Pavan. “My dad gave me a toolbox, and I knew.” Over the years Pavan has learned a lot about leadership in tough times, having experienced not one, but two recessional periods and of course now with the global pandemic affecting day-to-day business.
He says going through these tough times is a true test to see what’s working and what isn’t saying that anybody can manage during the good times, but if you can manage through a crisis or a recession, you’re doing something right.
“When times are tough with people around you, you should let off the gas a little bit. But as soon as times are good—you push on that gas pedal.”
Collision Repair 8#2
DERRICK RYAN
GARLAND AUTO BODY
After many successful years in the business, Derrick Ryan, former owner of Garland Auto Body sold his St. Johns, Newfoundlandbased shop to the Collision Clinic.
“I always said that the only way I’d ever sell my business was if the right buyer came along — one that matched my passion for taking good care of my hardworking employees and ensuring that vehicle repairs for my friends, neighbours, and loyal customers would be performed with the high level of quality, safety, and customer service that I’ve spent my entire career striving to achieve,” said Derrick Ryan, former owner of Garland Auto Body.
“Collision Clinic will now be serving those loyal customers of the east end at the high level of quality, safety and professionalism that has ensured their continued success for the past 40 years in the west end of St John’s — now from their two locations.” Throughout his career Ryan has always preached the benefi ts of staying lean. He says if shops want to survive in this everchanging industry, they must streamline their processes and eliminate waste.
“My suggestion to shops out there is to get lean and mean as fast as you can,” says Ryan.
Collision Repair 8#3
BILL WILLIAMS
BRIDGE CITY COLLISION AND FIX AUTO LETHBRIDGE
Bill Williams was featured on the Collision Repair magazine cover in 2010 alongside Bridge City Collision, and, in 2011, the veteran business operator switched gears and joined the Fix Auto fold.
Fix Auto Lethbridge has built a solid reputation in accident repair, consistently keeping pace with an ever-changing industry.
“If you look at the industry, it’s obvious that DRPs are leaning more toward networks. We [joined Fix Auto] to help secure our future.”
Williams has since taken a step back from the collision repair trade entirely since kicking off his retirement in June 2020—but he has some blunt words of wisdom for current shopowners in Canada. “If you’re not part of a network and you’re not going lean, you’re not going anywhere.”
Collision Repair 8#4
STAN VAN BASTEN
PRETECH COLLISION
Stan Van Basten of PreTech Collision is a bodyman of the old school, no doubt about it.
“By the time I was 16, I was already into repairing cars and learning a lot on my own, so I took off from there to this bodyshop in Agassiz and decided to go after it (a career in collision repair),” Stan said in Collision Repair’s follow-up interview with him in May. And go after it he did; with a passion for wanting to know how machines tick, Stan set off on a multi-province collision repair Odyssey, picking up training and experience all along his way.
Years later, now fully immersed in daily life as a collision shop owner, Stan can’t speak highly enough about the work being done by organizations, like I-CAR, that keep techs educated. “I really push my employees to take their training because it makes them better educated about the repair process, which in turn means you’re turning out a better repair,” Stan said. “I’m very grateful to I-CAR Canada for what they are doing.” Like other bodymen of Stan’s era, he tries his best to hide his softer side. He tries—but we got to him.
“On Monday morning, when I got to my office, there was a magazine with me on the front of it sitting on my desk and I didn’t expect it at all. I was just blown away by the whole thing. “The magazine was put on a plaque by DuPont Canada and mounted at the front in the reception area; you wouldn’t believe the people that walk up and read it when they come in.”
Collision Repair 8#5
JOY SKINNER
INDUSTRIAL PARK COLLISION
At least some of Joy’s success can be attributed to two key characteristics of her personality. Loyalty to her staff is returned in kind, and her integrity translates to quality repairs. That was AkzoNobel’s former Canadian market manager, Roland Taube, describing the success of Joy Skinner’s inspirational story of coming up in the collision industry.
Joy got her start by branching off from her husband’s pre-existing car dealership and setting up her very own collision centre. In no time at all, Joy was a known industry name, serving on the I-CAR Canada board of directors for 11 years, where she represented the collision industry speaking across Canada and the United States. As well, Joy is an original member of the Women’s Industry Network (WIN). But she never lost sight of the mentors that got her to where she was, so Joy has always made a special point to support educators and training programs that are helping keep the industry alive.
“We work hard to develop good relationships with local high schools and co-op programs. After a new employee has been here for a year, we can see if they have the vision and passion for collision repair that we are looking for. If they do, they can start in on the apprenticeship program, which we pay for,” Joy told Collision Repair in the January 2010 coverage of her shop, CSN Industrial Park Collision, in Orillia, Ontario.
Always looking to the future, Joy remarked in her follow-up interview for the 20th Anniversary that “We are constantly putting people on the moon in our industry—we’re constantly moving toward a higher goal.”
Collision Repair 8#6
KINGSLEY LLOYD
DON VALLEY NORTH LEXUS TOYOTA
Having run multiple collision shops deep in the heart of the country’s densest population centre, along one of the most travelled highway systems in the world; Kingsley Lloyd had seen it all. As operations manager of Don Valley North Lexus Toyota, and with industry experience dating back to 1964, Lloyd had his shop’s processes down to a science.
“We do about 30 estimates each day and push out about 60 cars each week regularly,” Lloyd said in his January 2010 interview with Collision Repair. “My goal is to not lose one customer.”
To meet this goal, Don Valley North Lexus Toyota offers several perks to keep customers coming back, including free touch-ups and mirror installations. After a point, Lloyd had proven himself enough to be offered by the company v-p to run a second shop Don Valley area; Don Valley North Hyundai. “He asked me how I would feel about managing two places. I said, ‘Well I’ve never done two before.’ After being in the industry so long you must know how to multi-task and come in with an open mind,” said Lloyd.
“Before it was built, I mapped out where I wanted things to build and played around with little cars to see how things would fi t. We may not be the biggest shop in Canada, but we can be a small shop with the biggest output,” Lloyd told the magazine in 2010.
