A manager's innovation is helping Grappone Collision Center in Bow not only to save money, but possibly create a new revenue stream for the business. The company has a patent pending for The Lean Line Refinishing System invented by Collision Center Manager Moe Gagnon. The paint stand system consists of three metal rolling stands that allow multiple car panels to be painted at once.
This results in a better paint match of the panels, maximizes space in the spray and drying booth, and reduces the energy needed to dry car panels. Gagnon was inspired to create the new system after the collision center downsized from 13,000 square feet to 5,500 square feet.
Most people think the smaller you are, the less you can produce, but it freed us up to find greater efficiencies, says Amanda Grappone Osmer, COO of Grappone Automotive. We can be working on the same car in two different [parts of the shop] at the same time. Where whole cars were previously rolled into the paint booth and taped, a stand with car parts is now used-cutting taping time from 45 minutes to 10 minutes and allowing two-to-three cars' worth of panels to be in the booth at once. As the panels are removed from the car, staff can work on engines and other systems while parts are painted.
The stand system is now being tested at five cities nationwide and in Canada. The system costs $2,095 plus shipping for a set of three stands. B&B Speed in Nashua produces the stands. Osmer and Gagnon aim to sell 100 systems next year. Hoping to fuel future ideas, Grappone created Grappone Grand Ideas, a new division to encourage and support staff to develop ideas that can better business. Where ideas are successful, as with the paint stand, the inventor will share in the royalties. Our job is not [only] to fix cars, but to fix the process of collision repair, Osmer says. For information, visit www.Grappone.com
Current Issue - May 2024