Superfinish Express: A Lucrative Auto Franchise Opportunity

The franchise opportunity offered by Superfinish Express is one of the most profitable in the market place and gives car-lovers a chance to be around cars every working day. The business started in 1993 when David Bruckshaw, a sixth generation spray painter, developed a unique mobile system for repairing the paintwork, plastics, alloy wheels, bumpers and interiors of cars.

The first franchise was awarded in 1995 and today Superfinish Express is acknowledged as one of the best franchise businesses in the country. These franchises offer repair facilities to the trade and organisations like auction houses, car dealerships and manufacturers, and the government. The arrangement involves a modest investment and franchisees receive comprehensive training using state-of-the-art equipment.

Most importantly, franchisees are awarded exclusive geographical territories into which other franchisees do not venture. Each territory contains a minimum number of potential trade customers. All these factors combine to make a Superfinish Express franchise one of the most profitable ventures in its category and franchisees get to take advantage of a decades-old time-tested business model which yields handsome returns.

Caedmon Foy, Franchise Development Manager, describes the inception of the enterprise and the company’s approach to franchising, “In 1995 we sold the first franchise in Brisbane and then continued on from there and currently we have about 45 mobile units. Our head office is in Redcliffe in Queensland, about 20 km from Brisbane. We have franchisees all over the country and the only state that we haven’t got an entry in is Tasmania.

We don’t sell our franchise to just anybody. Part of the induction process includes spending a day with us at head office. We are very protective of our brand and would not give our franchise to somebody who may damage it. Before making someone our franchisee we ensure that he enjoys working outside. Many of the franchisees we get are office workers who have always had a passion for working on motor vehicles.

So we look for people who might be doing work related to cars on the weekend. These type of people are attracted straight away because we are car people. An affinity to cars is the first thing we look for because a franchisee will be working with people in the car industry.”

Training provided to franchisees

Superfinish Express has a most comprehensive and rigorous training program that equips franchisees with all the skills and capabilities necessary to carry out work in a competent and professional manner. The range of services that a mobile Superfinish Express unit provides is very wide and includes paint restoration, paint chips and scratch repairs, bumper repairs, alloy wheel repairs, interior repairs and windscreen repairs.

“There is three week training period at our centre at Redcliffe and trainees work one on one with a qualified spray painter. We then do another two weeks on-site training, so someone will go out with them to introduce them to potential customers. That’s a total of five weeks training to get a franchise”, explains Caedmon Foy.

“”The on-site training is necessary because some people are really good when they are in training but the moment they go into the field by themselves and they haven’t got that safety blanket, they tend to waver a bit and doubt themselves on particular jobs.”

Once a franchisee completes his training and starts operation in the territory assigned to him, he can seek advice from a technical help line which is available seven days a week. He can also log on to an intranet site which provides 24/7 access. The company believes that their support to franchisees has resulted in the growth of Superfinish Express over the years. The company regularly organises field visits and regional workshops and publishes a bi-monthly newsletter for the benefit of its franchisees.

Use of the best environment-friendly technology and equipment

One of the main reasons that Superfinish Express has grown from a single mobile unit in 1993 to 45 units currently, is its insistence on the use of cutting edge technology and the most modern equipment. The company has been awarded the only patent in repairing damaged paintwork and its repair processes are the best in the industry. One of the important suppliers to the company is 3M in the U.S.A

Caedmon Foy discloses the facts regarding the company’s use of equipment and material, “We use American designed turbine systems which work on compressed air and there is minimum over-spray. It keeps us within the limits set by the California Clean Air Act which is the most stringent legislation regarding pollution in the world. That gives us opportunities to get into places where our competition does not go, like government facilities and aviation sites.

Competition, which tries to break into the trade, specifically the area we operate in, cannot do so because they just cannot keep up with every council legislation regarding spraying paint outdoors. We maintain accreditation at every level and that is a lot of work.

These initiatives help us as they make for safer health conditions for the operators. Although we are a family based company we have dealings with large corporates and we know that environment issues are very important. We now use water based paints that incorporate the latest technology and we have introduced it into the mobile sector. We also capture all the waste that our repair work generates. Another initiative that we have taken is that the uniforms we use protect our operators from UV rays.

We use only top of the line technology and we have to take special permission for its use. We work with the suppliers to obtain these approvals and the manufacturers provide training regarding the application of these technologies.”

The Superfinish Express franchise model

Franchisees extend their services to the trade and not to retail customers thereby assuring themselves of repeat business of a bulk nature from a limited set of clients. Superfinish Express provides the unique facility of administrative and accounts support from its national office to its franchisees. This facility includes the provision of monthly reports which document business progress, sales data, customer evaluation and progress assessments for each franchisee.

The central administrative office chases up with customers for payments, leaving the franchisees free to go about their business of repairing paintwork and allied activities. The accounting system handled from the head office ensures weekly payment and the franchisee’s role is restricted to completing the company’s e-billing procedure. These practices, honed over the years, make for an extraordinary franchisee experience where there are no administrative worries and it is not necessary to spend time on chasing debtors.

Caedmon Foy explains the factors which lead to repeat business for franchisees, “It is not unusual for me to see a car three times before it makes it to the dealership. They have damage when somebody tints the window or when interior leather work is being done. If a mechanic has done a road test on a brand new vehicle he may have knocked the car against a pole or run it into another car in the wash bay. Mechanics, when they are fitting certain parts in the car, may make a mistake and put a scratch or a nick on the vehicle.

I have got a lot of friends in business who tell me that we are the only company that does not advertise our toll free number on the side of our vehicles. This is because we do not reach out to the public, we are in the trade and most of our business comes from word-of-mouth.”

Future prospects

Superfinish Express is a two-decade old franchise business that has established itself as the premier company in its field of operations. Its sharp focus on using the latest technology and equipment and its unwavering concentration on increasing the profitability of its franchisees has helped to make the company one of the best run franchise enterprises in the country.

Superfinish Express has been listed as one of the best value franchises in its category (2008/09) by the Australian Financial Review’s Smart Business Magazine and the company won the Franchise Council of Australia’s prestigious ‘Franchise System of the Year Award’ in 2004.

The company measures its success by the success of its franchisees.  Caedmon Foy reveals the company’s focus on its franchisees, “We want our franchisees to become more profitable by controlling their material costs and equipment operation costs. We are already working on that by organising business training for them. We want to make them more business savvy and better business managers than just “men in a van”. We have been focussing on that for the last year.”