CT Body Shop Streamlines Repair Process, Drops Material Usage With Saint-Gobain Products

CARLSBAD, Calif., May 14, 2019 (Newswire.com) - NOTE: This October SPS was originally published online in October 2018.

Bob McSherry fondly recalls driving past a particular body shop in the suburban area of Seymour, CT, in his mother’s station wagon when he was a young boy.

Fast-forward 40 years later, and McSherry now owns that same 71-year-old business, which he purchased four years ago.

He owns an additional body shop 20 miles away, which he has operated since 1997. McSherry often tells customers that his business, Sabo Auto Body, is “where quality doesn’t happen by accident; it starts with one.”

Doing quality work and having the best tooling available is a top priority for the industry veteran.

“When it comes to equipment, we are among the most well-equipped in the country,” said McSherry.

In addition to being I-CAR Gold Class-certified, the business prides itself on following OEM repair procedures and pre- and post-scanning every vehicle.

He said they continuously train employees on all aspects of vehicle construction and new technology to improve their skills and become “better versions of ourselves.”

“We’re trying to stay ahead of the technology curve, which is difficult to do in this day and age,” said McSherry.

He said that quality products, such as the ones they use from Saint-Gobain, have helped the business provide excellent repairs over the years as well as exceptional customer service.

Saint-Gobain, a worldwide building materials company, is the parent company to a number of brands, including Norton, Carborundum and RSG.

McSherry has used both Norton and Carborundum products in his business and said they have been very dependable and helped his business thrive. Over the last few years, he has primarily used Carborundum products. The brand offers a broad selection of grinding, cutting, blending, finishing and polishing abrasives that McSherry said are a great value for the money.

He currently uses the brand’s papers, adhesives, grinding belts and associated products they can source from the line.

Just over a year ago, Sabo began using Carborundum | RSG’s Total Inventory Management (TIM) System.

The cloud-based inventory management system helps shops optimize material management as well as control inventory levels and track usage.

Since incorporating TIM by RSG, McSherry said it has optimized the management of Sabo’s repair materials, lowered costs and streamlined their repair process, which has ultimately helped the business’s profitability.

Employees have a card they use to swipe and scan every time they take supplies out of the cabinet. Everything has a “sku” number, so it is entered in to keep live-time data of minimum/maximum product count.

“It is the warehouse’s job to keep high inventory, not ours,” he said. “This has saved us time having to do a biweekly check because it’s live data. Because the guys are scanning everything, it allows us to accurately keep track of what we are spending.”

He said it also ensures the products aren’t being wasted or walking out the back door.

“The data tells you two things: celebrate or investigate,” he said.

When the business began using TIM by RSG, the company’s supplier, Paint World, coordinated a training session so Saint-Gobain representatives could come in and teach the employees about some of the best practices when using the products.

“My techs were able to pick up some pointers, which has helped us with efficiency and ensure we aren’t wasteful,” said McSherry. “They also had a lot of buy-in once they understood why it was being done. It is easier to do things with the team rather than do it to the team.”

Overall, he said Saint-Gobain products have helped him maintain a cost margin that’s predictable. With the inventory system and some of the business’s other checks and balances, he said they have been able to drop their material usage.

“The products are as good as anything else on the market and perform really well,” said McSherry. “We’ve also found that it’s more economical, so we’re getting high-quality products at a good price. Why would anyone want to spend more than is needed to get the job done right?”

Having his employees use Saint-Gobain products has helped him meet Sabo Auto Body’s goal: to deliver great repairs for customers. He said his employees have been instrumental in this.

“Our greatest strength is the people who work here,” said McSherry. “We are truly fortunate to have assembled a committed group of driven individuals who look to improve themselves all of the time by doing what they like to do and doing it better than they did it before.”

With the industry changing so dramatically over the last two years, McSherry predicts the next few years will bring changes that will require a commitment level that has never been seen before.

“We are ready for this now, and we look forward to the future in excitement, not fear,” he said.

Saint-Gobain
One New Bond St.
Worcester, MA 01606
(800) 456-8444
www.refinishsolutionsgroup.com
www.carbo.com

Sabo Auto Body 
Location: Seymour, CT 
(203) 735-3301 
http://saboab.com

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Source: Autobody News