With only an apprentice helping him at first, in a few years Karl had established a strong reputation for quality repairs and excellent customer service which saw the Southport site grow into a million pound turnover company.
With an appetite for growth, the business opened its second site in Skelmersdale in 1994. At the time, this repair centre was one of the largest in the UK. The Skelmersdale site grew rapidly, establishing strong relationships with insurer customers and winning many awards, including Bodyshop of the Year and a variety for the business' Apprentice Training programmes.
In 1997 the business acquired a repair centre in Blackburn and in 1999 a repair centre in Preston, then in 2003 these acquisitions were followed by the opening of a multi-million, purpose built, state of the art repair centre on Preston's Docklands.
2010 saw the business acquire a repair centre in Barrow, expanding the company's footprint into Cumbria, five years later the consolidation of the company's presence in Cumbria was completed with the acquisition of a site in Workington.
Apprentice Industry Pioneers
As the business attracted more attention for its apprentice schemes, Karl was awarded the status of Chief Expert for Autobody Repair by World Skills, an international competition for apprentices from all fields of industry to showcase their skills against one another.
This dedication to training and apprenticeships led to Karl being awarded an MBE, at Buckingham Palace, and the IMI Industry Achiever Award, both in 2007.
The Story Continues
After almost thirty years in the industry, the business continued to pursue its goal for ongoing innovation with the opening of the Chester site in 2015, the next step in the evolution of repair centres and proof of concept for the future of the industry.