Supporting family and business are synonymous for Shellie Andrews
Story by MAX REID
There are some in our industry operating on the false principle that being good is good enough; that consistently clearing the bar when it is on its lowest rung is just fine. Then there are other shops, like CSN Dana’s Collision Centre in Fredericton, N.B., that are constantly looking to leap to new heights of service and repair quality.
Collision Repair caught up with operations manager and daughter of the eponymous Dana, Shellie Andrews (née Alexander), to chat about where her family’s shop has gone in the past, and where it is headed in the years to come.
For Shellie, the lines between the family and the family business were often blurred, as many aspects of her parent’s work life became welcome fixtures of the Alexander home life.
“[The collision centre] was right next door to our house. My mom did all the accounting for the business from our home,” Shellie said, over the phone with Collision Repair.
“I knew the whole team because they had been part of my life growing up. We were a small workforce at that time—maybe six technicians, compared to the 12 we have now. It was fun working with them. It was nice to have friends and older brother-type figures.” Shellie didn’t mind the melding of the two worlds, because while she was becoming more involved in the shop as a detailer, she was also learning to regard the team her parents had built as an extended family.
“There were two of us—a family friend who worked here as well. When we moved to the new facility, we were the detailers,” recalled Shellie. “There is another woman who has worked here—Joanne Storey—since she was out of business college. She’s been a family friend for as long as I can remember—since we were little kids, four or five years old.” Having that space of comfort and support available to her afforded Shellie the opportunity to find the part of the business that truly called out to her—operations.
“I couldn’t see a progression from what I was doing in the shop. I’m not very technically-inclined so I knew I wasn’t going to move up the technician ladder,” said Shellie.
“I knew I could use my organizational skills and attention to detail better in an office environment than in a production floor environment.” Before long, Shellie was set up at her desk in the parts department and working directly with the technicians and estimators that help keep CSN Dana’s Collision Centre rolling.
“To give my dad a less hands-on dayto- day running of the business would be great. He’s here every day and has been for more than 40 years.”
— Shellie Andrews, Operations Manager, CSN Dana’s Collision Centre
Shellie was fortunate and skilled enough to witness the evolution of her role in real time; tracking the ways the collision business has changed over the 40 years since Dana first opened his doors.
“When I started, everyone wrote estimates by hand and looked up processes in manuals. The technological changes on the administration side alone are huge, in addition to the technical side of the business,” said Shellie.
“Business volume has definitely increased with more insurers using DRPs. A large percentage of our business is DRP business and with the immediacy of being able to process estimates and order parts, you don’t have to call a dealer to order parts—you can just send an email or have it go out from your management system.”
On top of having strong relationships with insurers, the 1,022 square-metre (11,000 sq.-ft.) facility also boasts two downdraft prep stations, a Blowtherm side-loading spray booth; steel and aluminum dent pullers; a Spanesi measuring system as well as aluminum and silicon bronze ProSpot welders.
“When I started, everyone wrote estimates by hand and looked up processes in manuals.”
— Shellie Andrews, Operations Manager, CSN Dana’s Collision Centre
CSN Dana’s is supplied with paint by AkzoNobel and is due to have a Car-O-Liner frame machine installed in June.In this perpetual desire to make the repair process more polished and efficient, Shellie says she sometimes must fight her hereditary urge to match Dana’s unstoppable gungho spirit, and instead offer a more careful approach.
“He’s very forward-thinking; always has been. He wants the latest in everything. If there is something new technology or new process, he wants to do it,” said Shellie. “I tend to be the person who says, ‘let’s think about it first. We can’t just jump into it.’ I’m a little more cautious that way but it’s rare that we would butt heads or have an argument about anything.”
It’s all just a symptom of working alongside family, and Shellie says she feels lucky to be able to do so every day.
In fact, Shellie says that part of her personal mission at the shop is to ease the workload of her parents, while also helping to advance the coworkers that were so influential to her upbringing.
“To give my dad a less hands-on day-today running of the business would be great. He’s here every day and has been for more than 40 years,” said Shellie.
Taking up the mantle as general manager of CSN Dana’s Collision Centre means a little more than just picking up some extra work and changing letters on a business card. Shellie knows that with the responsibility of managing the shop comes the legacy it carries with it—a legacy that Shellie has every intention of honouring to the utmost. “We have a good reputation for being involved in the community and being a good quality shop. I think it’s a part of my parents’ personality that they have been very community-minded,” said Shellie.
“They’ve both been directors in the chamber of commerce and of different business organizations, and I just want to continue that and have a good standing and reputation in the community.” The shop serves as both a metaphor and a venue for prosperity in the Fredericton community.
“We’ve sponsored some race cars in the past; some local talent, and we’re big supporters of the local hospital foundation,” said Shellie. The shop has even hosted the Shinerama charity car wash, on behalf of nearby St. Thomas University, to support cystic fibrosis research.
For now, Shellie and the Alexander family are taking things one day at a time, as the industry contends with ongoing shortages. The light at the end of the tunnel will become visible one day—and on that day, Shellie will no doubt be as prepared to carry the torch as Dana will be to take a well-deserved vacation.
