Bodywork industry, Headline, Portrait of the bodywork industry
AN EXCEPTIONAL COLLISION CENTRE LOCATED IN THE CITÉ DE L’ÉNERGIE
(Article published in L’Automobile Collision magazine, October 2023)
By Raynald Bouchard
Martin Laframboise was introduced to bodywork as a child in his father’s collision centre in Farnham, before acquiring his first workshop bearing his name in Shawinigan in 2003. In 2016, he bought Atelier Brouillette et Gagnon, now one of the jewels of the Cité de l’énergie, under the Fix Auto Shawinigan-Sud banner.
A jewel for several reasons. With its 8,000 sq. ft. of space, the site can accommodate sixteen vehicles, as well as two straightening tables, a valuable asset for SUV enthusiasts in this region of Québec bordered by lakes, rivers and forests. A shrewd businessman, Martin recently invested $500,000 to bring the workshop up to the level of the best in his industry, adapting its six work bays for greater productivity, while giving the building a more inviting appearance. What’s more, he just submitted an offer to purchase a nearby repair shop to complement the bodywork, in order to provide services linked to artificial intelligence, a technology that is becoming increasingly present on the latest generation of vehicles.
Martin and His Daughters
Fix Auto Shawinigan-Sud employs a staff of 12, including two newcomers from Colombia and the Philippines, and another due to arrive shortly. But it was above all the spontaneous arrival of his two daughters in the workshop that gave him the greatest pleasure. Danyka left her job in the daycare field, and Danaé, following her bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management, quit her student job in the hospitality industry to lend a hand in reception, accounting and workshop management, all the while interacting constantly with the technicians.
Why did they embark on this adventure? “We’ve seen so much of our father’s work in developing and managing his businesses, making them undeniable successes, that pride is what convinced us to take the plunge,” they explain with a touch of emotion in their voices, “especially as we get on so well together.”
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