Refinishing on a grand scale

Russell’s Auto Body Centre is a thriving bodyshop and accident repair centre based in Andover, Hampshire. It offers the whole gamut of services from re-sprays and restorations to SMART repairs, as well as working with everything from small cars to large commercial vehicles. Its website boasts an expert colour matching service, and for this and all its other refinishing needs, it works exclusively with Standox.

Paul Russell started the business in 1997 when he realised there was a local demand for a bodyshop specialising in commercial vehicles. Due to the high quality of work and customer service he provided, the company’s reputation soon spread, and people started to bring their smaller private vehicles to be repaired and refinished at the centre. “We’ve never had to advertise, it’s all been word of mouth,” says Russell.

As the demand for bodywork on cars has grown, so has the bodyshop’s need for expansion; in December 2012 it took over a new unit to specialise in small vehicle work and SMART repairs.

“We started using Standox products three years ago,” explains Russell. “We had been having issues with our previous paint brand and decided to give Standox a try. We were delighted from day one. The brand offers an all-encompassing paint system perfectly dedicated to every aspect of CV refinishing. We were impressed by the range, the quality and the competitive prices.”

Russell’s has a team of eight people and two CV dedicated spraybooths: a 45 foot booth for vans and smaller CVs, and a 60 foot booth with low bake oven.

“The transition to Standox was very easy for us all,” continues Russell. “Some training was done at the Refinish Academy in Stevenage, but the rest has taken place in-house. We use the Standofleet and Standohyd product ranges and achieve the perfect colour matching results using the Standox spectrophotometer, Genius, together with the Standowin reporting software.

“In fact it was Standox that introduced us to SMART repairs, which it calls Micro Repairs,” continues Russell. “It’s the perfect solution to handle small repairs that vehicle owners might otherwise hesitate to get sorted due to the cost. The Micro Repair system enables us to get the repairs done quickly and efficiently, and for considerably less than a full re-spray. Standox has supplied us with the equipment and techniques we need to set up this new part of the business, and this is what has prompted our expansion.”

Russell puts the success of the business down to a combination of things: “Customer care is our number one priority, we never let anyone down and always go the extra mile. This, combined with the top class paintwork and finish we achieve in partnership with Standox, will continue to ensure our success.”