Maynell Panel Beaters to specialise

ONE of Bulawayo’s reputable panel beating companies, Maynell Panel Beaters has set sights on specialising in repairing Toyota vehicle models as it bids to grab a market niche in the highly competitive automobiles repairing industry.

Maynell Panel Beaters managing director Mr Jabulani Magunje said the company was focusing on a narrower business area in an effort to build a depth of expertise to enable it to stand out against its competitors.

There has been a surge in the number of panel beating companies including backyard garages largely due to an influx of imported secondhand vehicles mostly from Japan and the United Kingdom.

According to officials from the country’s motor industry nearly 30 000 secondhand cars are imported into Zimbabwe each year. More than 2 000 used vehicles enter Zimbabwe, up from just 250 in 2008.

“As a company we realised that the key to promoting business more effectively than the rest is to make sure we are different thus we are looking at specialising in all Toyota models.

“This will be our company’s unique selling point; which will be a differentiating factor as from next year. Another value of specialisation is depth of experience,” he said.

Mr Magunje said the company decided to specialise in repairing Toyota vehicle bodies as well as carrying out minor engine services after carrying out a random survey, which revealed that a number of motorists in the country owned this model.

“We realised that Toyota was the most used car in the country thus the reason we opted to specialise in doing its body work as well as carrying our minor engine services. We are also working on supplying spares for this model.”

Mr Magunje also bemoaned the delay payment of claims by insurance firms for stifling their business.

“General business has been on a low largely due to the prevailing liquidity crunch in the country. The delay in payment of claims to our customers by insurance companies has also affected our operations,” he said.

Maynell Panel Beaters has been in operation since 2010 and has a workforce of eight with a capacity of repairing 30 cars a month. Its directors also operate another company, Ramclass Panel Beaters in Harare.