Sometimes the glitter of an awards ceremony doesn’t reveal what really makes a business tick. Chris and Fiona Bourke have won more than their share of awards but at heart it is their principles, energy and determination that have built a successful regional repair business.
Chris describes what he calls a gut feeling when it comes to some of the key decisions he has made over his long career in collision repair.
And with partner Fiona, this has led to some major success in the 25 years of growth at the multi award-winning Complete Body Craft in Rutherglen, Victoria.
But as many business owners would know, some of these decisions have been difficult and fraught with risk; like the first bold step into going out on your own.
“I had come out of an apprenticeship in Rutherglen at the local Holden dealer and being a local too, got to know a lot of local people,” Chris explains.
“I had worked for a large smash repair business in Wodonga, and learned how to use straightening body equipment, because the car dealership never had any of that equipment in those days. I got the experience, and then moved on to a shop in Corowa, and ran that for eight years, and had two or three apprentices come through under me.
“And then I thought, You know what? I reckon it’s time to give this a crack myself.
“I was 30 and we decided to start Complete Body Craft. But in those early days, we’d just built a house and Fiona was pregnant with our first child. And I can tell you, for the first few years I was pretty bloody nervous.”
Pathways to growth
But as Chris and Fiona know, success prompts growth and presents fresh challenges.
“When we got going, we were just renting a little shed, and we just outgrew it,” Chris says.
“We went gangbusters. All the locals supported us and followed us, and then I transitioned into doing heavy vehicles, which is what I sort of always wanted to do, but the old premises just didn’t have the capacity to do that.
“We purchased a block of land down the road, with the vision to build a facility on there, and then, lo and behold, there’s a property next door to the vacant block of land that we had come up for sale. So, we grabbed that as well. The old debt just went up and up pretty quick!”
The gradual development of this integrated complex at Complete Body Craft took many years but the Bourke’s explain there were also many constants they adhered to during the long journey.
Building reputation
“Fiona and I both being locally born and bred, that was the big plus to start with,” Chris says.
“But moving on, I think quality of work and customer service is the main thing that keeps you in a good stead.
“It’s the same old story, it takes a long time to get a good name, but not very long to get a bad one.”
Fiona explains that reputation must be built not only on the quality of individual jobs but an ongoing philosophy of a commitment to service.
“When Chris worked at the shop in Corowa, a lot of people had got to know him in that time while he was there. The business then followed Chris. Repeat business, which was obviously, all to do with quality and care,” she says.
But Fiona says this needs to be actively replicated with their whole team of 22 staff, from the old hands to the new apprentices.
“That’s part of the training,” Fiona says. “With the young apprentices we get in, we’ve taught them and told them how Chris and I respect people’s vehicles. We treat each vehicle as if it’s our own.
“We always pass that thought on, and ensure it is part of their mindset. It just comes down to that 100 per cent of quality. A hit and miss repair or paint job is not going to cut it. Do it right the first time and if you need that bit longer to do it right. Well, that’s how we’ll do it.”
Chris highlights how quality checks of the work then become a vital part of ensuring this intent converts into the completed work.
“If it’s not 100 per cent, it doesn’t go out the door,” he says. “You let the customer know that there’s an issue, or we’re not happy with some part of the repair and they respect that. The car stays for an extra day or so and they’d prefer that than have it not right.”
Training is key
To ensure this commitment to quality Complete Body Craft has a long and developed history of training and skills development. They utilise I-CAR Australia’s modules and the training programs of the paint companies to ensure staff are equipped with the latest knowledge and techniques.
“We’ve sent painters to training centres in Sydney and Melbourne over the years just to try and keep up with it, but we have a good relationship with our paint companies. They come in regularly and often spend a week with us if we need to brush up on things. You have got to be able to use what they’re offering.”
A proactive approach to training at Complete Body Craft extends also to evolving automotive technology and the changing nature of the car parc.
They have got in early with EV training and have a group on the staff who are up to date with the specialised training and this helps with an increasing number of the alternative vehicles they are seeing in Rutherglen.
“We’ve just done a couple of Nissan LEAFs,” Chris says. “They’ve got a plug in set up on them, and we’ve had to remove and refit that particular part of the car to be able to do a front-end collision. But it’s all doable stuff, if you’ve got the right people trained up.”
He has noticed this approach to learning is reciprocated with a passion from the staff, and a flexibility and appetite for the increasing sophistication of new technology and changing techniques.
“The other guys, especially the younger ones, they love it. They love a challenge. And even the painters. Some of these new paints that are on these cars are six, seven or eight different applications for one colour. And they take it and run with it.”
Fiona highlights fostering this enthusiasm is also about leading by example.
“I think our guys are pretty passionate,” she says. “And I think Chris’ confidence and in trusting them, washes onto them and that gives them the confidence to move forward and try these sophisticated new cars and tricky techniques.”
Keeping good staff longer
For Chris and Fiona this involvement is important for the whole team. They believe developing this passion, is one of the keys to retaining apprentices and ensuring they stay engaged in their first years of training.
“Just keep them interested in the job,” Chris says. “Our industry can be a little bit repetitive but with our apprentices, for instance, they jump right in. They’re not hanging off a broom or just washing cars for the first year. From their first jobs, I get them right into it and try and keep them interested in the trade. You need to mix it up a bit. They’re not just doing little dings but big jobs as well, from the start. I think that that makes a big difference. And it shows in their trade school training as well.”
When it comes to staff engagement, the couple are also great advocates for the workplace to be a place all their workers are happy and comfortable.
“They have a good time in the workplace, they have a bit of fun and a bit of banter,” Chris says. “They don’t just get in at eight o’clock, and don’t talk to each other until 4.30 and then you go home. I like to see them having a bit of fun and a few laughs and jokes, and long as it’s, fair and reasonable. They’re all good friends.”
Personal love
When it comes to his own particular interests, Chris says this was what prompted him to diversify the business in 2006 into truck body repairs.
“I always had a passion for heavy vehicles,” he says. “I just loved trucks. My dad drove them and I just wanted to challenge myself, to be able to repair these big monsters.”
The proximity of Rutherglen to the Hume Freeway and major transport hubs nearby in Wodonga and Wangaratta, makes Rutherglen an ideal central hub for this work and their reputation has spread to Melbourne and other centres.
“The truckers have a lot of time to think when they’re driving up and down the road. They spread the word well if you do a good job.”
Award winning
Complete Body Craft has an enviable trophy cabinet and multiple awards to its credit including the best regional repair business in the recent VACC awards.
And while they love the recognition for their and the team’s hard work, they still return to the basic satisfaction of what has kept them going for decades.
“We’re pretty passionate about what we’re doing, and we love the industry,” Chris says. “So the accolades are good, but you can’t beat a customer when they pick their vehicle up. Whether it be a truck or a car that’s come in on a tow truck and it goes out looking like a new one. That’s a high.”
But the 25 years at Complete Body Craft hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Sometimes the blows a business experiences are incidental, like the floods of January 2022, which brought 100 cms of rain to Rutherglen in four hours.
“The storm water and the drainage systems couldn’t keep u. We had over a foot of water right through our whole workshop,” Chris recalls.
“We lost pretty much a full week of not being able to trade. The water went pretty quickly but then we had to rebuild the whole workshop because it’s a brick building and the water undermined the footings. It took 18 months to have our shed rebuilt. We couldn’t work in areas that we normally would because, we had construction workers trying to repair our shed while we were still working.”
“It wiped out all our security fences, the whole lot, they had to be replaced. There was a lot of bits and pieces of damage,” Fiona says.
But she reflects on the same spirit of challenge that helps them pick themselves up again.
“You say to yourself, ‘Well it’s happened, let’s run with it. Let’s do what we have to do to get through it.’”
Uncertain times
Sometimes the risk of running a successful business comes with serious investment and the strain of uncertainty. One of the low points they relate from their early days was the delay and frustration at becoming a recommended repairer for insurers, even after they had made considerable investment in equipment and skills development.
“The insurance companies came back to us and said. ‘You’ve got that inverter spot, welder, you’ve got the chassis alignment machine but because you’re in regional area, population is not huge, the volumes of vehicles on the road is not huge, we just don’t think that you’re right fit to be one of our selected repairers.’
“We’d spent all this money to do their work, and we know we can do their work, but they wouldn’t have us.”
But their commitment to quality and service won through eventually and they got the recommendations that brought with it the flow of work.
Hands to do the work
The rapid influx of more work came with challenges, including the shortage of skilled workers that were available, often felt acutely in the regions.
“We ended up going and bringing some offshore guys over,” Chris says. “We have three Filipinos here, and we’ve got another one that’s coming next month, and that’s been the best thing ever. They has just been a breath of fresh air.
“Accommodation, housing was a bit of a challenge, but we ended up pulling that one off. We got them in two houses. They just come with two bags. They have no tools or furniture, obviously, so we had to furnish them. But anyway, I’d do it again tomorrow if I had to, because they’re just such good workers.”
Industry legacy
One of the other outcomes of their thriving workplace is developing workers to a level of skill and passion that they too are willing to take on the risk of starting their own businesses, a legacy the Bourkes are proud of.
“I take my hat off to anyone who wants to have a go at any business in this day and age, because it’s not easy,” Chris says
“I’m proud of the fellas that we’ve had that have worked for us and have now got their own businesses, and we’re really good friends with them and their families,” Fiona says. “And like Chris said, it’s not easy at all being in business and then juggling other things of your life. But we are so proud that we’ve had a crack it, because it’s better to have a go rather than later in your life you end up saying. ‘I wish I’d tried that.’ and then you haven’t done it. You’ve got to have a go.”
State of the repair industry
What they both believe is their own commitment to quality is shared around many parts of the industry and this bodes well for its future.
“I think the industry is probably in one of the better positions that it has been for a long time now,” Chris says.
“The repairers that have closed the doors or are not doing the work anymore, have done that for a reason, or they haven’t been able to comply with the insurance company criteria.
“But I think the vehicles that get repaired today are getting repaired by some of the best repairers in Australia because they’ve got to be the best repairers to be able to produce the levels of work that the insurance companies are asking of us.”