Otjiwarongo’s finest use only the finest

Yochanaan Coetzee - Smaller companies can sometimes get looked down upon by those who prefer to throw around the name of a big-name “beater” with thousands of square meters and every approval in the book. Which is great, because they got to that point for a reason, they do good work.

The thing is though, without the massive overheads of larger operations, smaller companies can afford to spend the most valuable commodity of all - time. Each client and their wounded car get the care and attention they deserve, no matter what the job.

Otjiwarongo Panelbeaters cc. is one of those workshops where it feels like your going over to your buddy’s place to check on your car, but only in this case, your friend has a family of highly-skilled technicians and their home is a state of the art workshop.

They were established in 2001 after major insurer Santam Insurance strongly recommended they do so after several excellent repairs and amazing feedback received from clients.

Boutique ‘beater’

After taking over the business 12 years ago owner Arno Blaauw wanted to preserve that boutique feel and has purposefully guided the company on a course that has seen them garner many repeat clientele, hardly any comebacks and a raft of referrals.

“The reason for being a bit conservative concerning growth is the fact that we want to keep the business small to maintain the personal touch and the good quality we are famous for,” he says.

Famous is right. Over the years they’ve built up such a strong reputation that customers come from as far as Windhoek and the coast to engage their services.

“From the onset, we wanted to bring world-class quality repair work to the ‘platteland’ and though we as a small team have to work harder and plan better due to the logistics of sourcing parts, every member of our team is focused on one thing - providing the best service to our clients in the fastest period possible,” he added.

Though many in this highly-competitive industry are forced to take on massive capital debts in order to gain major factory approval, Otjiwarongo Panelbeaters cc. however chose a different route.

“Although we do not have factory approval yet, we are doing a lot of work on guaranteed vehicles and are fully accredited by most major insurers.

“This is due, in part, to our dedication to doing the work right the first time. Our team is more like a small family and the glue that holds us together is our love of cars. Every individual pours their heart and soul into their work, so by the time the job is done, a checklist is completed by the dealer and insurer’s technicians and the guarantee is then reinstated,” he boasted.

Tech and tenacity

Though they've stuck to their winning formula, they've embraced technology in their pursuit to offer their clients only the best.

“In keeping with our commitment to world-class industry standards, we’ve adopted the recognized international Abuntex System, which is used by most of the insurance companies and we also have one of the newest Glasurit Paint Benches in the country, which has had an incredible effect on the level of our work.

“The only way I can describe it is as one big big pleasure. Seriously, it's indescribable. The client service and support is incredible and very professional, so much so that we consider our Hemco Paints as much more than just a business partner.“

Thanks to their new branch in Otjiwarongo, under the direction of Rawan Halberstad, Hemco Paints are expanding their dealer network to enhance their client service and support.

“I've ever experienced this kind of client support and expert advice in such a prompt, professional and friendly manner. Thank you, Hemco Team! Without you, it would not have been possible!” he said.

Not your average paints

When asked what difference Glasurit makes in his business, Arno was eager to expand.

“The Glasurit Brand is unique in so many ways: this is an environmentally-friendly product which is extremely important, but it's also a very customer and user friendly product, that is very very reliable as far as color matching and quality are concerned, and has a very fast drying time period,” says Blaauw, who doubles as the lead spray painter.

“This makes it possible to literally push a lot of jobs through the system in a 24 hour period. The quality is outstanding, and their extensive guarantee system gives us business owners added peace of mind - especially in these tough economic times.

“Although the cost is a bit higher than other related products on the market, the convenience, time saving and high quality outweighs the cost difference by far!”

When asked about their plans for the future, Blaauw had this to say:

“I'm considering employing a young apprentice who is a go-getter whom I want to invest in and offer share holding at the end of the day.

“I have only two conditions, that they keep to quality over quantity and only use Glasurit products, for exactly the same reason.”