C&L Auto Body, a premier family-owned and operated business located in the greater Los Angeles area, specializes in collision repair as well as auto restoration. Located in Covina, California, when the owners moved their business closer to home, they wanted a booth product that was budget friendly and gave them an edge over their competition. Rely-On Technologies gave them ideas to make this vision into a reality. After a few meetings and phone calls, the most creative solution would be to put in a semi-downdraft spray booth, tall enough to paint a 108” Sprinter-style work van.
C&L Auto Body loved the idea! Not only did this differentiate themselves in the eyes of the insurance companies, but also added a way to work with other collision repair facilities in the area who are incapable of painting these taller vehicles in their own paint facilities. It gave them a source of revenue and allowed C&L Auto Body to rapidly expand their client base.
Fletcher Jones Mercedes Benz in Newport Beach, California, was in the market to expand their already busy collision center with the addition of the Mercedes Benz Sprinter van collision repair to meet the high demand of what the dealership sold. A fully outfitted Sprinter van can be almost 10’ tall with the air conditioning unit and any additional rooftop equipment one might use to customize their rig. The standard spray booth is about 9’ tall, so another solution would need to be installed at the facility. The biggest problem with installing one of these specialized spray booths is restrictions pertaining to height. Fletcher Jones only had 12’ to work with, so rather than working with what was considered a “standard” unit, Rely-On Technologies worked backwards and installed a custom drive through Garmat 3000 Hi-Roof Modified Downdraft paint booth, equipped with an AQMD LoNox Pre-Approved 1MBTU burner integrated into the roof of the booth. The final product works seamlessly with their existing shop throughput. Sprinter vans preparing Mercedes Benz vehicles ready for prep and paint was the visual Rely-On Technologies saw from the initial meeting and the fully functional operation adds an additional revenue stream to a previously established shop.
2015 brought many changes in the automotive repair industry. Caruso Ford has long been a family owned and operated Ford dealership in Long Beach for many years. When their twenty (plus)-year spray booth suffered a catastrophic fire earlier this year, it proved beyond repair and required a full replacement. Additionally, Ford decided to raise the height of their 2015 Transit van, making a vehicle to compete with the Sprinter van offering from Mercedes and Chrysler. Rely-On Technologies is always researching the direction the industry is moving; when Caruso Ford called us in to look at the project, the Garmat Hi-Roof down draft booth was suggested to accommodate their future growth. Seeing as how the booth would replace an existing downdraft paint booth, the original concrete pit could be spared and reused, which would make the entire project fit within the budgetary concerns of the dealership. The standard Garmat 3000 Hi-Roof downdraft paint booth comes with all the latest Garmat technologies, capacitive touch screen, SC AQMD Pre-Approved LoNox Burner, Integrated Accele-Cure Waterborne Drying Technology, and balance adjusted drive through doors. Not only would this booth replace the booth lost in the fire, but it would also add another revenue source in an existing shop.
As these Sprinter vans become affordable, businesses further develop their product fleet. Colors change, repairs will be made, and the industry will continue to move forward as technology grows. That is the evolution of the collision repair business, and Rely-On Technologies continues to be there to evolve along side of it—no matter what budget, demand, or emergency arises.