Kendrick Paint & Body was founded in 1952 by James Kendrick, as a single-stall repair shop in Augusta, GA. The company expanded with the city, which is now home to industries ranging from health care to the military and federal government, which all bring in a lot of people — and vehicles that get into accidents.
Kendrick Paint & Body
Augusta, GA
706-724-4071
kendrickbodyshop.com
Facebook: @kendrickpaintbody
Instagram: @kendrickpaintandbody
LinkedIn: @kendrick-paint-&-body
Company At a Glance...
Type: Collision Repair
Facility Employees: 200
In Business Since: 1952
Number of Locations: Nine
Combined Production Space: 250,000 square feet
Seventy-two years later, it has grown to nine auto body shops — five in Augusta, where its corporate headquarters are located, one each in the neighboring towns of Evans and Martinez and two more in Aiken, SC — with plans to open a 10th in 2024.
When James retired, his sons, Jimmy and Steve Sr., took the reins. Now, Steve Sr.’s son, Steve Jr., is running the show. His daughter, Ansley, graduated from college in 2022 and is now working in an operational role, learning the ins and outs of the company to one day step up and become the fourth generation — and first woman — to run it.
All Kendrick shops are I-CAR Gold Class certified, and several employees have achieved Platinum certification. The business also has 14 OEM certifications, including Tesla, BMW, Nissan/Infiniti, Ford, GM, Honda/Acura, Kia, Hyundai, Volvo and Volkswagen.
Investing in new equipment and procedures has been a priority for Kendrick as the amount of technology in all cars has skyrocketed.
Technician Eduin Garcia of Blue Automotive, Kendrick’s specialty division, uses an asTech device paired with the John Bean Tru-Point system to complete static and dynamic calibrations.
David Clark, CEO of Kendrick, said asTech is a crucial partner in correctly repairing vehicles equipped with ADAS features — currently about 70% of the 950 vehicles it repairs monthly, and growing every year.
All Kendrick shops use asTech to conduct pre- and post-scans, and Kendrick’s specialty division, Blue Automotive, uses asTech devices paired with the John Bean Tru-Point system to complete static and dynamic calibrations.
Clark said Kendrick has tried similar tools from other manufacturers, but asTech’s focus on building an unrivaled database of OEM and OEM-compatible scan tools sets it apart. It is now the only tool used company-wide.
“In order to provide the most high-quality scan, asTech offers the ability to use OE scan tools,” Clark said. “It just made more sense for us to partner with asTech to make sure we were giving the highest level of quality to the customer.”
Having access to the right tool for every manufacturer means Kendrick’s technicians can scan every module in a vehicle. An aftermarket tool may not have access to all of those modules, particularly in newer models with a more secure “gateway” to data, meaning those tools may not be able to identify everything wrong with the vehicle.
“That leaves you with an incomplete repair,” Clark said.
About 70% of the 950 vehicles Kendrick repairs monthly have ADAS features that require pre-and post-scans and calibrations.
Choosing asTech for scanning and calibrations has several advantages beyond being able to control the quality of repairs.
“There’s increased efficiency, because there’s no delay on having to take a car to a dealership or wait for a sublet provider to come to one of our shops,” Clark said. “We’re seeing a one- or two-day decrease in cycle time from before.”
Time is also saved thanks to the link between asTech and Kendrick’s estimating system, CCC, which allows the asTech device to automatically drop pre- and post-scan documents into CCC, meaning parts department employees and estimators no longer have to enter that information, or wait for a third-party vendor to email it.
“All of that has been sped up with asTech,” Clark said.
asTech also provides detailed reports and invoices, so Kendrick can provide detailed documentation to both the customer and insurance carrier.
“That’s one of the biggest things that I have liked about the asTech,” Clark said. “It really lays out everything that’s on there, and tells everything that needs to be done.”
Sometimes, asTech’s scans find codes not related to the loss, but Kendrick can also provide that information to the customer and recommend a solution.
The documentation provided by asTech also creates transparency, which builds trust between the shop, customer and insurance carrier.
“We can say, ‘Here’s all the information on what we did,’ as opposed to just taking our word for it,” Clark said.
Finally, performing scans and calibrations in-house assures Kendrick they’re done correctly.
“At the end of the day, we have a liability for whoever we use, whether it’s a sublet vendor or we do it internally,” Clark said. “There’s definitely a bigger peace of mind knowing we can control that quality.
“It’s no different than replacing a bumper on a car; we know who replaced that bumper, who painted it. Now we can understand who did the scan and who did the calibration,” he added.
Clark said asTech’s support staff has been “tremendous at every level,” providing training on its calibration tools on-site at the Blue Automotive facility.
“They are constantly checking in on us, making sure if there is something we need, they’re getting us that information,” Clark said.
asTech® Driven by Repairify™
888-486-1166
astech.com
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To read more auto body shop profiles in the June 2024 Shop and Product Showcase, click here.
