AN EYE FOR DETAIL
A GEELONG car detailing business is positioned to grow with the installation of a purpose-built detailing studio in its new factory.
The studio’s specialised lighting system exposes different levels of imperfection in the paintwork and assists the paint protection coating process.
Securing more high-end work on new and classic cars is a key part of the growth strategy for Car Detailing Geelong which also has major corporate clients and offers a range of detailing services for privately-owned vehicles.
Two months ago, owners Tania and Brad Goss moved into their new South Geelong factory, giving them three times the space than their former site in Breakwater.
While the business is almost equally divided between high-end, corporate and private work, they are seeing encouraging growth at the top end.
Mr Goss said the perception of professional car detailing services was changing from its common association with commercial car washing businesses or the standard service at a car dealership.
Australians were starting to follow the trend in the US where a high percentage of new cars were sent directly to professional car detailers for paintwork improvement and protection, he said.
“There is a perception of what a dealer offers, but it’s a totally different to what a professional detailer does,” Mr Goss said.
For instance, a brand new and freshly imported Ford Mustang was last week in his business’s new studio for four days.
“We make the paintwork the best and as clean as possible, and once that’s achieved we put a protectant of some sort on it,” he said.
“Being a metallic finish, we can really make metallics pop … so it’s really deep.”
He said each of three sets of lights in the studio revealed different imperfections in the paint, no matter how minor they were.
“(The studio) is aimed at the client that just wants their car looking the absolute best it can,” he said.
“The time is irrelevant, we just work to get a result.”
Mr Goss said the new factory had space for an extra studio, should the high-end side of the business continue to grow over the next couple of years.
“If what we think is going to happen does happen, we will have the space straight away to cater for that,” he said.
Ms Goss said the business had put on an extra staff member with the move to its new site and had continued to grow its healthy list of corporate clients with fleet cars.
The couple initially started in a mobile car detailing franchise 11 years ago but found the franchise packages were not flexible enough to meet clients’ needs.
An opportunity arose to leave the franchise, allowing Car Detailing Geelong to offer more tailored packages and four years ago it moved into its Breakwater factory.
“We weren’t sure if we should start a factory … (but) we outgrew it within six months,” Ms Goss said.
She credited a business mentor and networking through the Geelong Chamber of Commerce and the Geelong council’s economic development team for helping to foster the business when they were unsure what direction to take.
“We were a bit lost, and not sure where we should go and who we should talk to,” she said.
“It was a case of getting out and mixing, which is tough in small business.”