The last Sydney shops were visited on Friday concluding the second day of NSW judging, marking the end of this year's judging circuit.
State winners have been selected and will be notified by the end of the week.
We were thwarted by traffic on the day we visited the first three shops which we reported on here. On Friday we took in ARM in chilly Penrith first up. The guys had been working until 10pm the night before and the place wasn't looking quite as pristine as last year when it took the State best new shop award. They take their three day cycle time very seriously.
Next was Bennett Elder Smash Repairs in Condell Park. It's the first time we've visited this facility and we were very impressed. A sound business plan, superb organisation, clean, high levels of equipment, smart working practices, I-CAR Gold training - all good. The only downside from the visit was that I couldn't get the Elvis Costello song Allison out of my head - have a look at owner Scott Elder, then you won't wonder why this particular artist came to mind.
Our last visit was to another business we hadn't seen before, Cosgrove Smash Repairs. Owner Fabian Storino has expanded the shop and put in a new paint room. Cosgrove is really in the middle of its renovation, so we'll definately be back to look next year and see it all finished.
Flying around the country to visit all of the finalists would not be possible without a huge amount of coffee and the financial support of our sponsors. A big thank you to our Platinum sponsors Axalta Coatings, Mercedes-Benz and Compass Claims.
