Blue Chip treatment for clients

Staff reporter - If your wheels are a little banged up, whether by a fender bender or, just a garage door that jumped out at you, Blue Chip will give her a face lift and make her sparkly new.

It all started in his father's garage 12 years ago when Ruan Visagie became fascinated with the fact that something that was once old could become showroom-new again. His father had a workshop where Visagie would tinker in after school and in his free time – eventually leading him to working there after matriculating.

“It was only me and one worker, who is still with me today. Then they became four, and then six until 2015, when I secured a business partner. Today we have a full workshop,” said Visagie.

Blue Chip, which refers to the crème de la crème, is a workshop that specialises in car body repairs, including spray painting. Blue Chip recently moved to their new premises in Parson Street, in Windhoek's southern industrial area, which has enabled them to put their customers first with top-notch service delivery.

With more than 15 to 20 jobs done in a week on average, Blue Chip prides itself in a strong work ethic and fantastic customer service.

Blue Chip renders services for all cars, including imported vehicles, which are usually turned down by other workshops. They are well known for their workmanship, passion for the industry, and their quality of service.

Blue Chip stands out, head and shoulders above the rest, because of the paint they use – from the colour consistency to the paint's durability.

Blue Chip's choice of paint is Glasurit, supplied by Hemco Paints.

Mark Weiss, a technician at Hemco Paints, says the technology used to mix the Glasurit paint is sophisti­cated and very precise and thus yields the best and most successful results when a paint job is done on a vehicle.

“Every colour today is very specific. When you're mixing colours, every little drop counts and makes a difference. It can be very difficult to get the right colour. However, Glasurit's computer software helps us get the precise colour,” said Weiss.

According to Visagie, the Glasurit paint is very efficient and has improved the roll-out time for their clients.

“The paint is a high-quality product - especially the water-based paint. The colour reference and colour variance is also great.”

Visagie added getting qualified panel beaters and spray painters would improve the standards of the industry as a whole, urging the National Training Authority to recognize and endorse panel beaters.

“I think every panel beater or spray painter would also be proud if they had a document that said they qualified for something. That would empower them to take ownership of their work because they learned 'formally' what they've been doing for years in practice,” said Visagie.

The lack of spray painting and panel beating training facilities hampers production speed at any workshop.

Blue Chip urges Namibia to invest in such institutions as many people are self-taught and not always up to date with the latest techniques.

“There are no institutions that qualify panel beaters and I think they are needed to make the industry competitive,” said Visagie.

Glasurit paint has been used by Blue Chip for the past two years and they say it is very convenient.

“You can visit their app, go online and look for colour codes for cars on the app,” said Visagie.

“If we are unable to help a customer, we always try to refer them to someone who can. If a client is dissatisfied with our work, they know they can come to us,” said Visagie.

Blue Chip will continue to grow and reinvest in the company to be able to offer their clients more.