As JD Burdge of Springfield, TN, watched his shop burn to the ground Jan. 9, 2020, he knew he was going to lose everything.
After 25 years of business in Springfield and decades of accumulating tools and equipment, the collision shop represented a lifetime of hard work. To Burdge, B&J Automotive & Collision was his means of both making a living and serving his community.
The scariest part of watching his shop burn was knowing insurance would not be able to cover the loss. He had let the insurance briefly lapse to help a family member pay for urgently needed medical care.
B&J Automotive & Collision
Springfield, TN
615-382-9990
Company At A Glance...
Type: Collision Repair
Facility Employees: Three
In Business Since: 1995
Number of Locations: One
Combined Production Space: 6,000 square feet
Cars are a lifelong passion for Burdge, and he has been working on them since he was 9 years old, growing up on a farm in New Jersey. He later built a business there but moved to Springfield in 1995, when his hometown started feeling too crowded for him.
Burdge has been an active member of the Springfield community from the day he opened up shop there.
“I love my customers,” Burdge said. “Of course, you’ve got to make money. But there are a lot of people out there that have gone through hardships and need help. And if they don’t have the money, well, we’ll work on that. You’ve got to have a vehicle to go back and forth to work, right?”
All told, after 25 years in business, the fire destroyed about $650,000 in tools and $300,000 of equipment, not to mention the loss of the building. Looking at the ruins, Burdge didn’t know if he’d be able to build back.
But the people around him weren’t going to let him down. Burdge had always been known as the first in line to give and, while it was hard for him to make the shift, his pastor helped bring him to the point where he could receive.
The community organized a GoFundMe, and a business down the road opened its doors to him so he could get back to work as quickly as possible. Single Source Paint generously donated paint and equipment, and another business donated a spray booth.
“So I said, ‘Great. All right, now what do I do? I’ve got body work coming in and I’ve got no paint guns,’” said Burdge.
Burdge started painting with a SATAjet 90 in the 1980s and was devoted to SATA products. He got in touch with the company directly and, after hearing his story, SATA’s importer, Dan-Am Company, immediately sent him a gun and a cabinet so he could start working again.
Burdge said SATA quality is very valuable to him.
“SATA is unsurpassable,” says Burdge. “Not only are the guns quieter, they work on less pressure, and they’re designed for superior spray. They put product on the vehicle, not in the air. They just break the paint up professionally and lay it down. I’ve sprayed with a lot of guns, but there’s really only one top gun. And that’s SATA.”
He sees investing in SATA equipment as a cost- and time-saving measure in the long run.
“Look, you’re going to pay more for SATA. But you’re not paying for a name,” Burdge said. “You’re paying for years of experimentation and it shows when you pick up the guns. It’s unbelievable. The balance, the light weight, the way they atomize upside down. What takes a quart of paint to do with some guns, SATA will do with half a quart. So there’s time and material savings there. And they’re constantly improving.”
Burdge has received ongoing support from SATA, and over the last three years, he has built up a full line of guns. On top of that, he has built a relationship with his SATA rep that continues to this day.
“I can call him up now if I’m having a problem, and he’s right there on the phone to help,” Burdge said. “The support is always there, and if I needed anything to this day, I could call him.”
Burdge is working out of his own shop again, thanks to the generosity of local businessman Mac Baggett, who rented out a warehouse to him on condition that he pay back the rent after his first year in business.
“Without SATA and so many others, I could not have done it,” Burdge said. “Talk about community service or good faith in the industry---to help a man that’s gone through a tragedy.”
Burdge’s customers continue to come back to B&J Automotive, and he is deeply grateful for the opportunity to be working in his own shop and able to give back to his community.
“You know, I’m not out yet,” said Burdge. “But I’ll tell you this. I’m turning dollars. I’m able to take care of people. God has been good."
Dan-Am Company
800-533-8016
www.satausa.com
PO Box 46
Spring Valley, MN 55975
Facebook: @SATAUSA
Twitter: @SATA_DanAm
Instagram: @sata_by_dan_am
LinkedIn: @Dan-Am Company/ SATA Spray Equipment
To read more auto body shop profiles from the October 2023 Shop and Product Showcase, click here.
