CARLSBAD, Calif., May 28, 2019 (Newswire.com) - NOTE: This October SPS profile was originally published in print in September 2018 and online in October 2018.
In the small town of Winfield, WV, Greg Cline Automotive always tries to stay ahead of the curve, especially when it comes to vehicle safety and technology.
Henry Cline founded the business in 1968. At the time, it was known as Cline Automotive and Henry’s son, Greg, worked part-time at the shop. When Greg graduated high school in 1992, he took over running the company while attending college in the evenings.
Since graduating, Greg has made it a priority to carry on his father’s vision while incorporating new equipment and processes at Greg Cline Automotive.
“We’ve been striving to provide customers with the best quality service possible to gain their satisfaction,” said Greg.
An essential part of this is using top-of-the-line equipment, such as the products he purchased from Spanesi.
The shop owner first noticed Spanesi products online while looking at Instagram and Facebook.
“I had been following when K.C. Mathieu was building his shop and putting in a Spanesi spray booth,” said Greg. “I liked the looks of the equipment and it looked like good quality, but I didn’t know much about Spanesi.”
Mathieu, formerly on Gas Monkey Garage, owns KC Paint Shop: Hot Rods & Restorations.
Greg began researching Spanesi equipment and watched a video on the Spanesi Touch electronic measuring system. In January, he reached out to Tim Morgan, managing director and chief operating officer (COO), to learn more.
“I messaged Tim on Facebook and he offered to bring the equipment to show me,” Greg recalled. “It impressed me how easy it was to get in touch with him. It was surprising because at the time, I didn’t realize how high up he was at the company.”
Morgan loaded the Spanesi Touch system in his vehicle and drove in a snowstorm to Greg Cline Automotive. Greg purchased it that night.
“It’s a very good piece of equipment,” said Greg. “It’s quick to set up, easy to use and doesn’t take a lot of training to understand how it works.”
The electronic measuring system allows repairers to quickly diagnose damaged vehicles, determine the certification of correct reparation and measure mechanical parts. Greg has found that the more you work with it, the easier it is to operate.
Technicians know ahead of time if there are going to be structural issues with the vehicles. This has helped with speed and production in the shop.
“We know things a day or two before we would have known them using the other equipment we had,” he said.
Greg found the equipment to be very versatile. In addition to putting the Touch system on a frame, it can be used in any bay, a lift or on the floor. Recently, the shop was repairing an F-350 Ford that was too big to fit on the rack.
“There was some question about whether it had frame damage or not, so we took the head off the Spanesi Touch, mounted it on the bracket and placed it on the floor,” said Greg. “We were able to do a complete underbody measurement right there on the floor.”
Not only have they found it easy to use, but Greg said it also measures parts.
“We’re all struggling with complaining that parts don’t fit,” said Greg. “With the Spanesi Touch system, you can prove why you can’t make it fit, no matter how hard you try.”
A month after purchasing the Touch System, the shop installed a Spanesi multi-bench.
“I like the fact that it doesn’t take up a lot of space,” said Greg. “It’s used all day long and most days with multiple cars on it. The guys at the shop absolutely love it.”
The entire unit, which sits flush to the floor when fully lowered, can be used for teardowns, framework and quick inspections while customers wait. The ramps also lay flat on the floor to allow low-profile vehicles to drive onto the unit.
Another benefit is that it wasn’t necessary to purchase multiple pulling towers. If shops want to put more machines in, they just have to buy the bench itself and the adapters and fixtures will work with all of them.
Since using Spanesi products, Greg has been extremely impressed with the quality and service.
“He [Tim] will do whatever it takes. We’re a small business and you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to make the business go along,” he said.
The shop recently installed a custom-made spray booth. It is two booths wide with a wall in the middle. One bay is longer than the other. Greg said that taking a car apart and doing a full uni-side refinish takes up a lot of space, and having that wide booth will be helpful for doing a full teardown.
“We’re focused on doing a good, high-quality job for customers,” said Greg. “We’re doing it the right way using the right parts and equipment, such as those from Spanesi.”
Spanesi Americas
Company Contact: Tim Morgan, COO
(Managing Director)
tmorgan@spanesi-americas.com
(224) 772-6374
www.spanesi.com
Greg Cline Automotive
Location: Winfield, WV
(304) 755-1146
www.gregclineauto.com
Company At A Glance...
Type: Collision Repair
Facility Employees: 11
In Business Since: 1968
Number of Locations: One
DRP Programs: One
Combined Production Space: 11,000 square feet
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Source: Autobody News
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