Business mission and vision:
Our mission is to provide the very best in customer service while delivering the highest standard of automotive repairs and services
“Collins delivers a WOW customer experience, we provide a huge range of automotive repair and maintenance services and solutions, but what we really do is provide a customer experience which is not normally associated with the independent vehicle repair industry”
Our modern approach to how automotive repairs are delivered, forget the dirty garage with mechanics wearing overalls, at Collins our facility is kept immaculately clean and our technicians wear a clean and well presented uniform. It all starts with the culture at Collins, where we truly believe in providing the very best customer experience we can.
2015 – Hamilton Central Business Awards – Winner Specialty Category
2016 – Hamilton Central Business Awards – Runner Up Specialty Category
2017 – LMI Group (Insurance Claim Preparation Company) – Phoenix Award
2018 – Westpac Waikato Business Awards – Finalist
I wanted to take on the challenge of running my own business and have always had a vision of what an automotive repair shop should be.
Getting off the ground was not such a challenge, I was fortunate enough to purchase an operating company, and just be able to take it the the next level with a bit on new energy. The biggest challenge was switching from the mindset of an employee and becoming an employer and also needing to learn all the skills of operating a business along the way having no formal training prior to starting out.
In October 2016 the business next door to ours burnt to the ground, because we shared a firewall we had to relocate as the building was damaged, we were very fortunate that nothing of ours was damaged in the fire, we just had no premises to operate from. We moved what we could into storage and took the essential things we needed to operate, to a building offered to us by a generous customer and friend, it was a huge challenge going from 900sqm to about 80sqm size workshop. The support we received from customers, suppliers and employees was amazing. In April 2017 we finally moved into our current premises which is nearly 1400sqm. In the between the fire and moving into our “new” workshop we acquired an automotive repair business to add to our existing auto electrical and air conditioning business and also ended up purchasing the client base of the tyre shop that burnt down and employing the guy that owned the tyre shop and a couple of his employees. This gave us the foundations for the business we operate now, providing a “one stop shop” for all automotive requirements and we have continued to grow the business while really focusing on the customer experience we offer. In November this year we are expanding again to add an automotive parts store in an adjoining building that has become available, to further add to our offering to customers, now they will be able to purchase any automotive related products for DIY, or purchase parts and accessories we can fit in our service center.
Looking back, tackling the fire situation head on was instrumental in building the business we now have, we could have easily found a building similar size to what we had, with not so much profile, and just carried on as we were. But I was confident we needed a site with high profile to build the brand rather than accept the status quo, and went looking for such a building and what we found was far too big for the size of the business we had so went looking for opportunities to compliment our existing business and fill the building.
The big overcoming adversity part of the story is a little more on the personal side than totally business, 2 months before the fire my wife Carley gave birth to our twin daughters in fairly challenging circumstances, and then ended up having to have open heart surgery in the same time frame between the fire and moving into the new workshop facility. So while trying to put the pieces of the business together and get everything in place, I was juggling a wife having heart surgery and 6 month old twins…..im really not sure where I managed to find the time, but it is amazing what you can achieve when you “have to”, because there wasn’t many other options in my eyes, except just do what had to be done……
The biggest success in my eyes is over 9 years taking a small 3 employee business and growing it to a team of 20 who are all passionate about what Collins stands for.
Overcoming the “fire” and using the situation which could have been disastrous and turning it into a positive opportunity and
As an operation we are quite self sufficient. As a business we use a range of professional services from business mentors/advisers through to marketing experts etc.
We have provided, and continue to do so, many apprenticeships for people entering our trade and we continuously up-skill our team with professional development in their specific field.
We have many positive reviews from Google and Facebook, and some testimonials from a few of our corporate customers, ie Turners and Fulton Hogan.
I actually really enjoy watching our team grow as people, and watching them all live the culture we have created. Its is very gratifying to see the impact we have had on their lives by providing not just a workplace but a place they can enjoy work. Aside from that I enjoy the lifestyle I have created and able to live with my family
We support a few sports teams, from school rugby teams to senior netball teams, we are always donating to small community initiatives, and also charities like Kidney Kids and Heart Foundation etc.
This is something Carley (my wife) and I have started to discuss, we believe in giving back to our community, and now that we are in a position to, are starting to look at ways we can do positive things in our community.
We are a family owned (husband and wife) and operated business who just do everyday life with our twin 4 year old daughters and running our not so little business.
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