In an age where everyone covets transparency and information, a body shop in Brainerd, MN, is taking it to a new level.
In his latest shop, Josh Shaw, COO of Shannon’s Auto Body, is incorporating a layout that enables his customers to see the workings of a body shop in action while they wait to drop off or pick up their vehicles. It’s his second facility, and he is excited to be part of a revitalization of Brainerd, in the eastern part of this city of approximately 14,500 people.
Moving into a former retail location to accommodate his first 17,500-square foot shop, Shaw has worked for more than a year to design and build out his new 32,000-square foot space. He worked from scratch, including multiple windows his customers can use to see what’s happening at Shannon’s Auto Body.
Shannon’s Auto Body has been in operation since 1996 and has built a strong customer base that includes second- and third-generation clients. But, in the 1990s, a lot of shops wanted to show their customers as little as possible, Shaw said.
“But now it’s 2023 and people want to see everything. We are a society where information is vital, and they are interested in the entire process, so we made that element part of our new facility," Shaw said. "We are proud of what we do, so we want to show them what we do and how we fix their vehicles.”
Waiting customers will be able to see everything short of the area where larger hits are fixed.
“They can see how we do estimates, how we do the smaller repairs like fender benders, and how we paint the cars,” he said. “They will be able to see our production system and witness the craftsmanship that goes into every car we fix.”
In its new design, Shannon's Auto Body will also feature completely different rooms for blueprinting, ADAS calibrations, disassembly and reassembly.
“We want to create the proper environment for all of these procedures, so we made them a priority here in our new building," Shaw said. "Whenever we do any repair, we keep two things in mind---quality and safety and that was in the forefront of our minds when we started developing this location.”
In some cases, Shaw is going against the old ways with his new approach to production, but that’s the only way to go, he said.
“We are making our efficiencies better and breaking a few rules. It’s exciting because we now have exactly what we want and we can’t wait to see the advantages of doing things our way," Shaw said. "We’re literally throwing the conventional methods out of the window and letting the world see what we do at Shannon’s Auto Body.”
Source: Shannon's Auto Body
