A family-owned car dealership and multiple generations of hard workers have generated a collision experience in Statesboro, GA, designed to cater to the most discerning customers. Franklin Collision Center has moved into a new era with a new 30,000-square-foot facility and a volume of business that has doubled in the three months it’s been open.
The collision center, General Manager Bill McFarlin told Autobody News, originally opened in the 1960s to the tune of about 2,500 square feet. That size doubled in the ‘90s to 5,500 square feet with one paint booth and about eight employees. Two years ago, the company, housed under the umbrella of the Franklin Motor Group, committed to the new facility, which now has about 16 employees.
Implementing Lean Processing
General Manager Bill McFarlin.
The shop’s evolution up to this point and into the future, McFarlin said, hinges on “lean processing,” which means greater efficiency and profitability through streamlined repair procedures.
Franklin Collision Center has a standardized approach, which includes pre-washing all vehicles to identify additional damage and to keep dirt out of the facility. A disassembly team disassembles affected parts on the cars, and estimators examine vehicles as they’re removed, he said. A lead technician inspects behind the disassembly techs and oversees their process.
“We identify everything. The second everything's torn down, we contact the insurance company, and we order our parts. We price match most of our parts that are possible with all the other OEMs, to try and get as many factory parts (as we can) back on the car,” McFarlin said. “With our lean processing … we're just chewing through cars is what we're doing. We're pushing them through the shop, but they're getting repaired right.”
This process eliminates the guesswork of old, in which techs took a car apart and requested parts, only to find more damage when work began, necessitating more parts orders. Now, the shop takes the extra time to identify all necessary parts on the original estimate, which eliminates not only extra orders but additional communication with insurance companies, too. Numbers have risen from 40 to 50 cars a month at the old shop to between 80 and 107 cars in the three months the new shop has been open.
“We are literally working smarter, not harder,” McFarlin said. “A repair that could have taken three weeks before, we can knock it out in seven days.”
Getting ‘Better and Better’
For years, explained Lehman Franklin, dealer principal and shop owner, the shop existed as part of the Franklin Chevrolet dealership.
Owner Lehman Franklin.
“It was on the financial statement,” he said. “And every year, we would look at it and try to make a decision on what we wanted to do with it — if we wanted to continue with the body shop, if we wanted to close it, incorporate it … it was just kind of maintaining business. We weren't losing money, but we weren't making a great amount of money either, and we always made the decision to continue.”
A couple of years ago, the company looked at its goals for the shop and began examining the processes and sizes of other collision centers. McFarlin and Franklin toured a few in other states and decided to implement major changes, beginning with the layout and design of a new facility inspired by a combination of other high-performing shops.
The decision paid off, with cars exiting the shop in half the time compared to the former facility.
“We're just getting better and better at it because it takes a while for the team to transition to those new processes, and we're only three months in,” Franklin said. “It's really exciting to think about what the future's going to hold for this facility.”
The new design, he said, takes into account a need for future expansion; a new wing could be added to increase the square footage to up to double the current size.
Separation and a Redesign
One challenge with the shop, Franklin said, has been letting the public know it exists to serve those beyond Chevrolet customers — that it’s not just an extension of the service department. The fact it’s now separated from the dealership in a different facility helps, he said.
The interior of Franklin Collision Center is modeled on a high-end hotel lobby concept, replete with plush furniture, a television and coffee station.
And the redesign that came with the new facility lets customers know Franklin Collision Center is serious about being a collision repair provider. With its plush furniture and television and coffee station, it’s meant to look somewhat like a high-end hotel lobby.
“From my perspective, honestly, seven to 10 customers that come through the door are women, and I can tell you, as a guy, when I walk into a body shop, I don't really care what it looks like. It wouldn't matter anything to me as long as I can go use the bathroom,” McFarlin said. “But I feel like most women customers want to have some nice touches. They want to feel comfortable that they're taken care of. If we take that good of care of them when they drop their car off, how good are we going to take care of their car?”
Getting It All Done
Meanwhile, Franklin, a third-generation dealership owner, has embarked on a new venture outside the industry. He’s in his third year as a state-level legislator representing the 160th Congressional District of Georgia.
His grandfather started in car sales in the 1940s, and his uncle took it over and managed it for 50 years. The family grew the business to include GMC brands and a standalone Toyota dealership, which Franklin now manages.
He described being a state representative as “a full-time job in itself,” but he still spends a lot of time between the family’s Toyota and Chevrolet dealerships and the collision shop. It’s a lot, he admits, but he gets it done with a solid team.
“You know, the core of it is that I've got really, really good people around me to help,” he said.
Elizabeth Green