BASF is a Big Part of Alamo Body & Paint's Present, Future Plans

NOTE: This October SPS was originally published online in October 2018.

Co-owners Mark Fuller and Randy Barnes at Alamo Body & Paint have two successful locations in Boerne and Schertz, TX, but are always looking to grow.

To flourish in our highly competitive and constantly changing industry, Fuller and Barnes know they need to continually step up their game in every aspect of their business—most importantly, hiring the right people, pursuing OE certifications, refining their processes and using top-quality products such as BASF to provide exceptional service to their ever-growing customer base.

Fuller has 35 years of experience in the collision repair industry, and in 2016 he and Barnes formed a partnership and purchased Alamo Body & Paint's Boerne location. One year later, they added the Schertz location, and the rest is history. They repair approximately 2,500 cars annually, much of which comes through local car dealerships.

“Our Boerne store is along Interstate 10 with dealerships up and down the street,” Barnes said. “We do internal work for them—repair cars from their loaner fleets, and we get a ton of direct referrals. We have learned that many Lexus owners call their dealership before they even call the police after getting into an accident, so they’re very connected. That’s why the referrals are so strong.”

By maintaining a wide range of OE certifications, Alamo Body & Paint is at the forefront of a new era in collision repair, Fuller said.

“We can clearly see that today’s vehicles are becoming more and more complicated all the time, so certifications are more important than ever,” he said. “More of the OEs, such as Toyota, Lexus and Honda, are creating their own certification programs to retain their customers because if their owners have a bad repair experience, they’re likely to switch brands and [the OEs] know it. Also, now the insurers are starting to care more about certifications and the quality of a repair as opposed to simply looking for the best prices, so DRPs are starting to evolve as well.”

In late 2017, Fuller and Barnes began shopping around for a new paint supplier that would alleviate some of the issues they had encountered with their previous vendor.

“We were fairly happy with their product, but we ran into problems on the supply side,” Barnes said. “We couldn’t get it when we needed it, so it impacted our production. That’s when we decided to take a good hard look at BASF's waterborne Glasurit 90 Line. We wanted to see it in action, so we went on a road trip here in Texas to see it demonstrated at other shops in the state. We met with the people at BASF and [they] took us to visit shops in Houston, Dallas and Wichita Falls, TX, before sitting down with them and outlining our needs and figuring out how we could work together. Our BASF business development manager is Dale ‘Duck’ Nelson, and we couldn’t be happier with him because he has helped us be more efficient.”

The transition was seamless and the results were outstanding from day one, Fuller explained:

“We started using Glasurit 90 Line on a Monday morning, and when we saw the finished cars we knew that we had made a good decision,” he said. “Our painters didn’t require a ton of training because the application process was pretty much the same as [it was] with our former paint, but the people from BASF came here for two days to teach us the intricacies of the product and the process. We have a painter and a prepper at each location, so the training was invaluable. If we ever have any additional questions, they’re ready to respond promptly with answers.”

One major advantage of their BASF relationship is that they will never be waiting around for product, Barnes said.

“Our jobber is Capital Paint and Refinish in San Antonio, and they have been great at making sure we have more than enough Glasurit 90 Line in both facilities,” he said. “They knew that inventory was an issue with our former vendor, so we worked with them to set up a system in which we always have enough of it on-hand. We have a cabinet in each facility and someone from Capital is here every weekday, replenishing our inventory and providing enough backup. This means that we don’t ever have to order product, which frees up a lot of time for us. Time is money, and we’re saving a ton in that area alone while also simplifying our entire process.”

When it comes to color-matching and how the cars look as they are unveiled to customers, BASF is ahead of the curve in both areas, Fuller said.

“We’re using BASF’s camera system and hitting all of our colors the first time due to the strength of the toners,” he said. “They do a great job of updating their COLOR-MAX cabinet and the formulas are always spot-on, even with a difficult color like Ford’s RR, 3-stage red. When the vehicles come out looking the way they do and we see our customers’ reactions, we’re delighted. We don’t have any use for cars that don’t look pretty, and these sure do look good!”

BASF Automotive Refinish
Company Contact: Tina Nelles
Marketing Services Manager
(248) 304-5413
tina.nelles@basf.com

Alamo Body & Paint
Location: Boerne and Schertz, TX
(830) 443-9556
www.alamobodypaint.com

Company At A Glance...
Type: Collision Repair
Facility Employees: 30
In Business Since: 2016
Number of Locations: Two
Combined Production Space: 17,500 square feet

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Source: Autobody News

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