By Chelsea Stebner
Toronto, Ontario — July 17, 2019 – Last weekend, I had the opportunity to drive through western Saskatchewan. For those of you that think Saskatchewan is flat, you haven’t seen Elrose area. This is the area of Saskatchewan where you watch your dog run away for three days and then watch it come home. All joking aside, as we were road- tripping through the amazing prairies and the beautiful rolling ranchlands of Saskatchewan, my friend Lloyd came to mind. Not only because he has these uniquely placed “delivery truck billboards” in random ditches, on the highway, but because of the antelope and deer I had to continually watch sneaking out onto the highways throughout our trip! Choosing to open a shop in Elrose was a great decision for him.
Lloyd and his lovely wife Sandy opened Giles Midtown Auto Body in Elrose, SK on December 1, 1970. They are quickly rounding the bend on 50 years in business. 1970 in Saskatchewan was crazy, farming was in the tank and banks thought they were crazy for starting up a business in the farming community of Elrose.
The town of Elrose has a current whopping population of 496 people, but the trading area is much larger, with oil and farming and lots of wildlife to feed the body shop. Building the shop in Elrose kept Lloyd and Sandy close to their parents and friends. It also gave them the opportunity to impact their local community in many positive ways, not only being the local “coffee row” weekday mornings but also sitting on local boards, donating time and dollars back into the community in which they raised their family and sustained their business.
Lloyd looks back at starting in the industry and the changes he has faced from the 70s onward, from acrylic enamel paint and unibody frames to ongoing changes and updates to repair procedures, calibration requirements, insurance rules and more. Lloyd’s ability to adapt to those never-ending changes has helped him to continually be successful in business. Lloyd tells the story about getting involved with PPG’s MVP Roundtable back in 1999. He was busy and he didn’t have time, but his supplier talked him into attending the first meeting and it was there that he quickly understood that he needed to start working on the business and paying more attention to the numbers. He says it was one of the smartest business decisions of his career.
Lloyd also talks about his involvement with CCIF and the opportunity to be involved in the industry across Canada and help affect change. Everything discussed at CCIF from learning about one another’s similar problems, working with insurance providers, OE’s and salvage impacted and improved his business. Lloyd also mentioned the importance of friends in the industry, people to bounce ideas off, look up to for advice, or someone to rant to when you need an ear. He says that if it wasn’t for Tom Bissonnette and his pep talks, he’s certain that his business results would be different. With Tom’s encouragement and drive to make the industry better has given Lloyd and Sandy a reason to keep pushing their limits!
Sandy, by Lloyd’s side and game for whatever the industry threw at them, is the spitfire who not only manages the books and front end of the business but tirelessly volunteers at the old folks home, flies out to take care of grandkids and plans some of the most cool vacation trips.
Giles Midtown Auto Body will celebrate their 50th year in business in Saskatchewan and what a feat that is. They are grateful to their staff who have continually grown with them and supported them over the years and believe they wouldn’t be where they are without them. So much of their continued success is because of the relationships in and around their community that they’ve worked so hard to build over the years. I’m not only proud to call Lloyd and Sandy friends, but amazing mentors to us in collision repair and in business.
