You can’t keep a good entrepreneur down. Steve Lozenkovski from the hail repair company Bears Group did not spend lockdown idle.
The Wollongong native took advantage of a slow hail season and lockdown to not only start up a micro brewery which opens this year, but to painstakingly develop a top quality silicone-free detailing and compound range that is as environmentally friendly as possible.
“It’s been a bit of a passion project for me,” Lozenkovski said. “Over the years we have tried so many different types of silicone-free detailing products and none of them really impressed and the finish didn’t last long. Customers always ask what we use and it occurred to me that we could develop our own.”
Lozenkovski teamed up with (and drove to the outer edges of sanity) a chemical manufacturer in Sydney. He wanted a good looking range that gave an amazing finish - and it had to have excellent environmental credentials, smell good and be made in ‘Straylia’.
After 12 months development he has launched two ranges. One is aimed at the owner driver who can buy the products in 500ml, refillable aluminium cans. These can be topped up from a 1litre plastic bottle which can then be returned via a pre-paid post bag where it will be washed and refilled at the Wollongong base. The customer will then get a 25% discount off their next order and the program is called Eco Swap.
The professional range is aimed at the trade and is set to be around 20% cheaper than the market leaders.
“It’s because we are an entirely online organisation and you buy direct with no middle man that we can offer such a quality product cheaper than the competition,” he said. “We don’t offer the same deal of sending back the plastic bottles however each of the detailing products such as the interior cleaner, glass cleaner and polish spritzer etc all come with the reusable aluminium cans which detailers simply top up from the 20L tubs.”
There’s also a compound trio on offer called simply Cut, Polish and Glaze. The more you buy, the bigger the discount Bears offers.
Lozenkovski knows that getting paint shops to change products is an uphill struggle and so is offering to send out free samples (see the QR code on his advertisement on page 13).
“Everyone who has tried the range so far loves it, we’re very happy with the product,” he said.
Anyone with an ABN number can access the professional range which includes: waterless wash, tyre conditioner, autowash, all interior, clear glass and polish spritzer as well as the Cut, Polish and Glaze compounds.
For more information visit: bearsautocare.com.au