Jacob Body & Paint
A well-executed renovation has doubled the size and scope of this stunning workshop.
The Jacob Group has been operating for over 90 years and has third generation owner Neville Jacobs at the helm who has turbocharged the group creating 27 diverse businesses within the group. Manager Dave Rogers has been in his position for 32 years and still has passion and drive for the business saying that it is the most exciting time to be in collision repair with so much opportunity in the marketplace.
The shop handles general insurance work and has multiple OEM approvals. Historically it has averaged around 175 cars a month which is impressive for a relatively small town like Wodonga with a population of just over 100,000. With the new shop layout Jacob expects to be able to double that monthly figure – if they can find enough staff. The shop has undergone a major renovation and it is a stunning fit out.
The workshop is beautifully lit, spotlessly clean and superbly equipped. There’s a large paintshop courtesy of Masterbooth with three prep bays and three stylish washbays. At the time of judging Jacob was going through an audit to be Audi approved and has further invested in new equipment to achieve VW compliance.
The panel shop also sports the Wielander and Schill aluminium and carbon fibre bay – that just shouts ‘operating theatre’ for cars. There are two dedicated electric bays with chargers in other parts of the workshop too. There’s a specially designed ADAS recalibration room off the paintshop which will save a lot of delay and vastly improve cycle times as previously cars had to be towed in all directions for calibration.
The exterior is white, clean and modern with very much a dealership feel and it’s signed Jacob Body & Paint as well as Wodonga Prestige for the BMW customers. There are four handover bays at the front of the shop undercover.
In the entry submission Rogers states: “At the heart of Jacob Body & Paint is a team fully committed to quality, ensuring that every aspect of our service contributes to high customer satisfaction, both today and in the future. Our philosophy of continuous improvement drives us to regularly refine our services, processes, and the quality management system itself.”
This passion for quality was evident on our Zoom tour. The renovation has transformed an already excellent bodyshop into a genuinely state-of-the-art facility set up for the future. With all of the training from its OEM partners the team will be able to stay ahead of the curve.
Processes are streamlined, eco-friendly practices are in place, plenty of community support, there’s investment in team development and retention, diversification as well as adoption and integration of the latest technology to ensure smooth workflow and customer interactions.