Paint & Panel Bodyshop Awards winners shine in Sydney

Friday was a truly magical night in more than one sense. Nearly 150 people gathered for the Paint & Panel Bodyshop Awards presentation night at Sydney's Establishment in the CBD last Friday 20 October.

As well as the winning business owners and their teams (10 came over from Queensland's Sommerville Smash Repairs), the sponsors Compass Claims, Mercedes-Benz, Car Craft, MTAA, Collision Repair Expo, Glasurit and Norton St Gobain all brought along additional repairers to cheer on the winners. A huge thank you for all the support the sponsors have given the 2017 awards.

First up was the presentation of the state award winners who feature in the current Paint & Panel magazine, each winning shop had a video shown of their facility - some of which are uploaded on to the Paint & Panel YouTube channel, the rest will be uploaded over the coming days. In between courses fabulous magicians, The Black Ties, confounded each table with their slight of hand.

Next to be recognised were the 'best practice' award winners. These were:

Axalta Sustainability Award

Paull & Warner Accident Repair Centre, WA

Rising Star

Scott Stephens

SmashTec and Monza Smash Repairs, NSW

Innovation Award

1Q1 Bodyshop Flow Management

Best Customer Experience

Len Hollis Repair Facility, NSW

Operational Excellence

Peter Kittle Collision, SA

Best Country Repair Shop

Ken Morely Smash Repairs

After a magic show which had this editor running up and down the stage in high heels (ouch) and various members of the audience acting as 'lovely assistants' it was time for the national winners to be announced. This year's deserving winners are:

National Best New Shop

Damage Control Accident Repair Centre, WA