MJB Bodyworks & Fabrication
MJB Bodyworks submitted perhaps the most detailed and impressive awards submission we’ve ever seen.
MJB’s submission was 17 pages of detailed explanation of every aspect of the business with examples for each segment of the judging questions. There are people who can write a good submission but when you visit the business there is a serious disconnect. Not so with MJB Bodyworks who have never entered the awards before but boy, are they a worthy winner.
While the judging panel was impressed with the submission, on the ground judges Powell and Street were impressed with owner Matt Bruce and by the workshop itself. The neat reception area has a massive mural of the local beach with Matt explaining that he wants his customers to feel relaxed when they come in. The cheerful red exterior has great street appeal and the workshop is well laid out and clean and brightly lit. There’s an excellent parts storage system with racks in the panel shop and a mezzanine with hydraulic lift access for larger parts.
The paint shop is beautifully presented and Matt really makes the best use of the limited space. Matt founded the company in 2011 focusing on fabrication. In 2015 he’d relocated to larger premises undertaking more collision repair and in 2023 the workshop was expanded again. Matt is an intelligent business owner who thinks about every aspect of the business in detail. He keeps a keen eye on the market and having grown the business steadily year on year is now looking to open a second location.
He has cultivated good working relationships with local dealerships for warranty work and undertakes a variety of insurance work as well as some bull bar painting for ARB to ensure his painters are always busy. Damage-wise he sticks to driveable repairs and aims to get customers’ cars back to them as quickly as possible. His impressive Google rating of 4.9 from 126 reviews is full of glowing testimonials.
MJB ticks all of the boxes. Excellent community engagement with local schools and sports clubs, investment in training for the team, an apprentice (female) and an impressive staff retention rate.
From a one man start up Matt has grown the business to nine staff and created a cohesive team. He invested over nearly $2.5K to train all of the team in electric vehicle repair but it’s not all about technical skills. He allocates 40 per cent of his training budget to certified training programs around customer service, communication, and leadership skills. When it comes to recruitment Matt says they are committed to finding the right person for the job: “Religion, culture, skin colour, sex or even fashion sense are irrelevant.”