Fix Auto Loughborough owner and industry consultant Paul Smith is the latest franchisee in Fix Auto UK’s network to invest significantly to develop a state-of-the-art Fix Auto Fix & Go express repair facility.

Smith has revealed plans to transform a 10,000 sq ft unit adjacent to the existing Fix Auto Loughborough bodyshop in order to create a separate express centre.

Repairs that can be completed in two days or less will be triaged to the new centre, leaving the existing bodyshop to carry out predominantly heavier repairs.

The new centre will utilise a four-bay STL moveable spraybooth designed to accommodate four work-flow lines, along with a raft of the latest equipment and fast repair technology to create additional repair capacity of more than 60 LCVs and cars per week.

Smith said: “This is a great opportunity to develop a new site with the potential industry capacity issue looming.

“The time is now right to completely revisit and assess our processes while reviewing new technologies available in today's market which will dramatically decrease our cycle time.

"For me, the Fix & Go concept so championed by my Fix Auto colleagues is integral to the future of our industry.

“Repair process time is actually increasing as the complexity of repairs is getting higher, coupled with ever-increasing customer expectations which often exceed original build specifications.

“By looking at new available equipment and technologies, alongside continuous process reviews, our team will be engaging with forward thinking suppliers in order to reduce ‘dead process time’.  

"This will ensure substantial improvements in customer cycle times while maintaining excellent cost control and quality.

"It is our opinion this approach will provide an improved and leading edge customer experience for our clients while ensuring our business will be sustainable going forward and able to meet the demands of the future."