By Barett Poley
St. Jacobs, Ontario — February 27, 2017 — Martin’s Customizing is no stranger to change. Over 35 years of business they’ve seen the average vehicle change dramatically, alongside the changing technology in collision repair and auto refinishing shops. Now Martin’s Customizing has made some dramatic changes itself, both inside and outside of the shop.
The business, located in St. Jacobs, Ontario, is being passed down to the owners’ son, Scott Martin. Along with the change in ownership comes a flurry of renovations and new equipment.
When Harold Martin started Martin’s Customizing in 1979, the average miles per gallon for passenger vehicles was just 20 MPG. For reference, in 2014, it was 34 miles per gallon–a small sign of the massive changes that have come into the automotive industry as a whole. When it comes to collision repair, much has changed in the three and a half decades since the business was founded. According to Lynn Martin, the facility’s Accounting Manager and wife of the original owner, the core of their business, great customer service and big hearts, hasn’t changed at all.
“Our favourite quote is hanging right by our front door,” says Lynn. “’A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so.’ Keeping that quote in mind will always remind us how much our livelihood depends on those we serve in this business.”
The renovations include quite a bit of new technology. According to Lynn, this has been a dream of theirs for a while. “Our son Scott has trained and been working with us since 2003. We are very grateful to have him following in his father’s footsteps, as he has shown quite a talent for auto body repairs and has a great rapport with the customers,” says Lynn. “It is for that reason we followed through with our dream of building a new shop, complete with heated floors, LED lighting and state-of-the-art spray booth! It is a proud testament of hard work and dedication to our work and our customers.”
As for Harold, he’s not going to stop any time soon, but he is going to reallocate his time to be a little bit more leisure-oriented.
“Harold would like to spend more time playing and less time working, although he would like to always be able to come in a help out when he is available,” says Lynn, “I will continue working in the office until I am ready to take more time for other interests.”
For more information, please visit martinscustomizing.com.
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