For businesses trying to keep up with ever changing technology and repair procedures, having a friendly sales rep who knows what he is talking about can be a godsend. Few industry veterans come with as much experience as Car-O-Liner’s Vic/NT sales manager Lindsay Batten.
The journey began for Lindsay in 1979 at a time back when the suburb of Richmond, in inner Melbourne, was not only more industrial but had some special pockets dedicated to automotive repair. Lindsay did his apprenticeship as a panel beater at one of the leading shops of that era, Parkes Body Works, renowned for a culture of turning out the highest quality repairs.
“They were fanatical about what they did,” he says. “They were called the surgeons of steel, that was their logo, and they lived by it.”
“And Trevor Parkes he’s a good guy. He was demanding back in the day. But you know, it turned everybody who worked there into good people. It made a difference.”
Twenty years as a panel beater at various shops, including running his own business, LMS Panel Service in Frankston, has given Lindsay a world of experience and insight beyond the average sales representative and many shops will turn to him for advice.
In the 26 years working for Car O-Liner he has also taken on responsibility for supporting customers in Northern Territory and last year added Tasmania to his care. But, in many ways, there is part of Lindsay that still identifies with the skilled tradies on the tools.
“When I first started, I was in a panel shop, wearing a nice blue collared shirt, trying to look all informal and be the sales rep. I put the bench in and I was training the guys on it, teaching them how the stuff works. And one of the panel managers actually said to me, ‘What would you know, you’re just a sales rep?’ And I said, ‘I tell you what, let’s repair this car, you and me. I’ll show you how it works. I’ll square the car. And, when we finish, you can then ask me that question again.’”
The panel manager ended up learning a thing or two that day, and Lindsay has continued to believe over the years that knowing the gear and how technicians can best work with it, is how to win their respect.
“When you’re in a shop, people will stop and listen to what you’re talking about, because you’re not just a sales rep, you’re actually there as a panel beater. You know the work and know what you’re talking about. You understand the industry, and that makes a big difference.”
If it is all about knowing the industry from the inside, for Lindsay, it is also about an ongoing cultivation of the relationships across the industry and acting wherever possible as a conduit of important repair information.
“The workshops, they’re trying to keep up with it all,” he says.
“We’re happy to pass on information, especially with the latest and greatest equipment because the people in the shops sometimes they can’t get the access to all the information they need.
“They’re all trying to get it right. They’re all trying to do get repair procedures and make sure they’re doing it correctly, so that it’s not going to come back, or the insurance company aren’t going to send it somewhere else, and they get this rectification bill.”
Lindsay takes this educational role seriously and part of this is staying up-to date with Car-O-Liner products and the innovation in the industry. Repeated international trips to the Car-O-Liner factory in Sweden and Germany, its training centre in Thailand and the SEMA aftermarket show in Las Vegas have been invaluable in helping him keep ahead of developments. He says this knowledge helps him detail how Car-O-Liner’s innovation can translate into greater efficiency, quality and throughput for repair businesses.
“Car-O-Liner sells itself,” he says. “It’s such a good product and such a well-known product.”
“Some people say, ‘Why do you need three Car-O-Liners? And I can explain, with three guys repairing three cars at the same time, you’re not waiting, it’s not wrapping up the shop.
“John Barry at Flagstaff is a perfect example. He’s a pretty smart operator. He’s worked out the correct number of cars in and out of the shop. He says his perfect number is 68 cars per week. Anything more than that, it doesn’t work, anything less than that is not enough, the guys are standing around scratching themselves. And he’s got four Car-O-Liner benches and three measuring systems. He’s really got the system working.”
Another example he cites is Chelsea Autobody where Lindsay first helped the owner install two new Car-O -Liner benches.
“Then John rang me and said, ‘I’ve got some bad news. You’re going to hate me for this but I need you to move these benches – I’ve just bought a bigger factory!’ So I said, ‘That’s all right, no problem we’ll just do it.’ We came and moved him and he then buys three more speed benches.”
Watching businesses expand successfully has been one of the added satisfactions for Lindsay.
“Huss from Carllision Body Works is another business owner who has been so great for me and Car-O-Liner,” Lindsay says. “We have built a great relationship in the industry, and like all of my customers I consider we all have special relationships.”
“I have good relationships with all the body shop owners, and I like to see them doing well,” he says. “I have a lot of time for people. I enjoy training, I enjoy passing on information, that’s all part of the support. There is so much new information, so pass it on if you can.”
In all this 26-year journey with Car-O-Liner, Lindsay also has a special word for his boss, industry veteran and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Julie Thomas.
“I have to say how great it is to have a boss like Julie that has been easy to work with and so understanding whether they are great or trying times.”
“Without a boss like that I may not have lasted this long,” he says. “And all the people in the Car-O-Liner family. That’s what it’s like, a big family and support network.”
Lindsay has also witnessed the strain of skills recruitment felt in the many workshops he visits and believes nurturing a next generation of technicians and business owners is something the whole industry can play a part in.
He says Car-O-Liner’s long relationship with TAFEs are important, particularly in training on the latest equipment that can send a strong message to young people about the high standards of the trade.
“There is a lot of good people in this trade, especially apprentices that we deal with. We look after WorldSkills as well, as a preferred partner and supply equipment for WorldSkills in Queensland. There’s lots of opportunities for apprentices, which is great. To see an apprentice in a shop, and to say in five – or 10-years’ time, he could own his own shop and to know you’ve sort of planted that seed.”
He says young people need to know it is a career with a future and multiple career pathways that can open for those with dedication and skill.
If Lindsay is an example of how repair careers can give back to the industry with new roles, he is not alone. His own son Michael, having qualified and worked as a panel beater then moved into construction but has now returned and also works for Car-O-Liner.
Despite challenges around recruitment and ensuring the high levels of skilled repair work are sufficiently remunerated by insurance companies, Lindsay says he is optimistic about the industry’s future.
“I’ve seen a lot and a lot of different stuff but I don’t think it’s going backwards at all. I think it’s growing. There’s a lot more MSOs and the industry will continue,” he says.
“It’s an amazing group of people. And they are the people that have been in this field for a long time and there is definitely some characters out there in this industry. It’s not a dying race, that’s for sure.”