Celebrating 20 years of Flagstaff Autobody, but even longer in the industry, John Barry has been a leading figure in the Melbourne collision repair scene. Known for efficient business operations, he is also the embodiment of what it means to run an independent workshop.
Opening in 2004, Flagstaff Autobody has gone through different workshop locations, survived the changing climate of the industry and economy, and has embraced new technologies to best benefit the business. The desire to succeed has outweighed the challenges and has created a momentum in the workshop that thrives on getting the job done ‘once, and right’.
John Barry is the managing director of Flagstaff Autobody. Over the past twenty years, John has built Flagstaff Autobody to what it is today – a successful workshop that has a trusted reputation and independent streak that is driven by the core values of independence and quality.
Flagstaff Autobody is currently situated in Kensington, a suburb on the fringes of Melbourne’s CBD. The convenient location serves both clients residing in Melbourne and in regional Victoria.
The almost one-hectare Kensington site is a state of the art workshop, with a trusted reputation for quality repairs and a high standard of service. Flagstaff Autobody has 25 team members and the capacity to repair between 35 and 40 vehicles per week.
Throughout Flagstaff Autobody’s time on the collision repair scene, they have worked with some of Australia’s largest and most recognisable automotive companies, insurance companies, and fleet management companies.
The team at Flagstaff Autobody pride themselves on providing a corporate level of service with a personal feel, that is tailored to each client’s needs and requirements.
The evolution
After working and managing multiple workshops before owning his own, John was ready to expand his capabilities and take on a new challenge. In 2004, John acquired Flagstaff Autobody, when it was still situated in West Melbourne. The location suited the clientele at the time, with many customers in the fleet and corporate fields.
Not one to wait and see what happens, John was determined to make the business a thriving and successful workshop. He focussed his efforts on levelling up the existing business.
“My direction with the business was about providing a service that was above and beyond what was being offered elsewhere,” John says.
“I specifically targeted the needs and requirement of large fleets and corporates. The business grew quickly and over the years we had a customer base spread across Melbourne and well into regional Victoria.”
With the business expanding as the years went by, so did the workshop size. After adjoining the neighbouring properties to the workshop, it was clear that the workshop had to relocate in order to continue growing and living up to its full potential.
“We were nearing the limit of space in West Melbourne when we received a notice from the landlord that our property/s were marked for redevelopment in the coming years,” John says.
With all signs pointing towards moving locations, John inspected a building in Kensington and moved quickly to secure it.
“I jumped on the opportunity with the intention to operate across the two locations until time run out at the West Melbourne address,” John says.
Fast forward to late 2009, and a destructive hailstorm hit Melbourne, causing large scale damage across the city. Both the Flagstaff Autobody worksites were badly damaged, but John saw the silver lining and with strategic thinking, pushed forward with his vision.
“We quickly realised this was actually very good news and secured a team of PDR (Paintless Dent Repair) technicians and commenced repairing what turned out to be thousands of vehicles,” John says.
After some quick thinking and a reignited passion for the industry, expansion was on the cards once more.
“I was reinvigorated with the industry after moving to the Kensington workshop, and moving out of West Melbourne,” John says.
“When an adjacent property to the Kensington workshop became available, I jumped on the opportunity but it wasn’t in any state to operate a business, it was in a state of disarray.”
Unfazed by the challenge and ready to take anything in his stride, John funnelled his newly found enthusiasm and energy into expansion.
“I started building what I had always wanted in a bodyshop. I left behind everything I didn’t like about the industry and changed and adapted every aspect of the business,” John says.
“I prepared the work space with proper spaces for parts storage, processes for receiving new parts and worked with my team to refine our workshop standard.”
United by a shared goal and a positive momentum, John and his team at Flagstaff Autobody transformed how they approached everyday tasks.
“Acceptable was no longer enough and my team’s input was pivotal in setting the company standard moving forward,” John says.
“This is also when the company motto of ‘Do It Right, Do It Once’ grew to become part of everything we were doing as the tired old building started to shine into a modern, large and very well-equipped facility.”
Creating Touchflow
With a large-scale workshop and a physical separation between the repair building and the refinish building, the old-school system of using a whiteboard to coordinate the day to day operations was becoming increasingly challenging. Creating a new, online system called Touchflow allowed the workshop to thrive.
“I had the idea of creating an electronic whiteboard that would display the daily tasks independently for each working area,” John says.
“We engaged a website developer around 2012 to develop an electronic representation of the age-old workshop whiteboard.”
The Touchflow system was an instant success in the workshop, with an easy-to-use design which allowed for clear communication and information to be shared across each department.
“It allowed the technicians to view their tasks and easily communicate with the office or other departments about the status of a job with a few quick touches of the screen,” John says.
“Touchflow was built for the workshop from the workshop. It was very modern for the time using touchscreen terminals and designed with minimal interaction or button presses required to move the jobs around the system.”
John designed Touchflow to be a continuously evolving tool that allowed for processes and functions to be updated and improved where needed. Touchflow was an asset to the growing workshop, and provided a solution to the growing problem of parts.
“As the business continued to thrive, we started outgrowing the space and the systems and processes for managing the parts too,” John says.
A new feature was created on Touchflow to locate the parts in storage and the problem disappeared.
“All of a sudden, we were managing hundreds and thousands of parts movements each month with zero lost, missing or other issues,” John says.
“Parts control doesn’t even get a second thought now, it just happens. It is because this was exactly what the team needed not something forced upon them.”
Small changes with big rewards
There are plenty of memorable moments over twenty years of a workshop’s life. Yet, it is often the small moments that are the most memorable and can reap the most rewards, and in John’s case, this sentiment rings true.
“I was observing the workshop shortly after introducing Touchflow, when I noticed a staff member as he was finishing a job,” John says.
“I watched as he stopped, stood back and checked out his work was complete, but it wasn’t the usual ‘yeah I’m finished’ though. I was watching the moment it all clicked for him. I could see what he was thinking as he carefully went over the job and made sure it was thoroughly checked and completed to a high standard.”
The careful and considered response by the staff member was exactly what John had envisaged for his workshop and embodied the ethos behind Touchflow.
“It was proof to me that Touchflow and all the encouragement I was providing my team to be their best was paying off,” John says.
“We often joke that we would be blind without Touchflow, but it’s not really a joke. Touchflow has since evolved further and encompasses just about every step, stage or process in our workshop.”
Going from strength to strength and implementing smart systems is part of Flagstaff Autobody’s ability to dynamically analyse, adapt and change ‘on the fly’.
“We monitor every aspect of the business, not to criticise or call out someone, but to find areas we can improve or reason for a change. If you don’t monitor it, you can’t manage it!” John says.
Proudly independent
The landscape of the collision repair industry is changing, but John remains certain that Flagstaff Autobody will be a proudly independent workshop for decades to come.
“As an independent, the challenges for the future are remaining relevant as the waves of consolidators, corporates and MSOs gain a hold of the industry,” John says.
“That is why we have joined the Car Craft group which is a group of like minded and fiercely independent business facing the same issue. I am also a member of the Car-Craft Victoria board and aim to drive the effort towards a thriving industry.”
Discussing solutions to industry problems all boils down to networking and sharing ideas.
“The industry in Melbourne is very closed, and although we all repair damaged cars, I can only assume how other workshops operate,” John says.
“In the relatively short time that I have been part of Car-Craft, I have met, discussed and learned from business owners about their businesses where we are happy to discuss details that are usually held tightly.”
“I encourage other independent workshops to think about their approach to this growing concern for the livelihood of independent operators in this industry.”
Future thinking
After twenty years at the helm of the business, John has taken a sidestep to focus on the future of Flagstaff Autobody.
“I am responsible to ensure everyone is rowing in the same direction. I’m not directly involved in the tasks anymore, but through encouragement and building trust I empower my team to do their best every day,” John says.
“My focus is now about how we, as an independent workshop, can tackle the challenges presented by corporate entities and MSO’s gaining market share and getting a strong hold on the industry,” John says.
John’s sons, Chris and Daniel Barry now run the day-to-day operations of the workshop. This has enabled John to sit back and focus on the bigger picture of what is happening at his workshop, and in the industry.
“It has been great to include my family and watch as they grow, develop and learn new skills and gain knowledge to make well thought out decisions,” John says.
“They have also given the business a stronger position for the future with new and fresh ideas.”
There is no doubt that electric vehicles are changing the collision repair game. With new technology and additional training required, the investment in learning about electric vehicles is on a lot of workshop’s minds.
“New thinking and ideas from Chris and Daniel are keeping us in the game with electric vehicles. As our customer base has changed over the years, so too has the way we deliver our service,” John says.
Watching his two sons take over the operations side of the business has been an inspiring time for John.
“Watching my sons and the team achieve success month after month and the rapport they are building with customers, and suppliers is inspirational,” John says.
“We have a great team of amazing people driving the success of Flagstaff Autobody and I am proud of everyone.”