In 2002, Chris Lindstrom started Practical Applications, a specialty manure handling and spreading business in Durand, Wisconsin. He managed a fleet of semis and truck-mounted spreaders designed to handle any size field at any distance from the client’s farm.
Two years later, he expanded his services, acquired another facility and started Maxville Truck and Repair. Maxville now offers custom truck builds and truck alterations, silage, grain and TMR trucks, and new truck sales.
His niche was noticed from hundreds of miles away. The business grew rapidly via word of mouth and reached areas such as Iowa, Tennessee, Kentucky and even Australia. Through the growth, Lindstrom recognized a need for heavy-duty truck repair.
After 10 years of coordinating with outside painters and sandblasters, Lindstrom was ready to expedite the process and bring painting services in-house. He reached out to local paint booth manufacturer, Global Finishing Solutions (GFS).
“I didn’t do any shopping around,” Lindstrom said. “GFS was down the road, and I knew they produced quality paint booths. I even trucked the paint booth over myself. It took two trips, but it was worth it.”
In June 2014, Maxville Truck and Repair started up their new 18-by-16-by-50-foot drive-thru crossdraft Heavy-Duty Truck Paint Booth for the first time. Since then, Lindstrom has stuck to the same paint scheme for his fleet of trucks — Massey Ferguson Red, black and a silver/gray metallic.
“With our truck paint booth, we produce consistent, clean and quality work,” Lindstrom mentioned. “It has improved our image 100 percent.”
In a dirty business like manure, it is going above and beyond that makes Maxville stand out — as a supplier and an employer.
“The paint booth isn’t for me, it’s for my people,” Lindstrom added. “My drivers take pride in what they’re doing. They look professional and they put out better work. I also didn’t want my people spraying in an unsafe and dirty environment.”
Lindstrom is a jack of many trades. He builds and paints hose reels, fabricates bumpers, and paints custom trucks and trailers. With sandblasting and painting services in-house, there is not much they cannot do.
“I don’t buy anything new,” Lindstrom said. “We have the ability to put anything together. We can fix it up and make anything look good.”
Since the addition of their truck paint booth, Lindstrom has also noticed he is able to rapidly turn trucks over.
“Our truck paint booth has definitely shortened the time it takes to get trucks done,” Lindstrom explained. “It has improved how I look with my fleet. It’s pretty cool that I can make my stuff look awesome.”
Businesses that perform heavy-duty truck repairs are hard to come by, especially in rural areas. When an oversized vehicle is in an accident, the nearest shop with a paint booth large enough to accommodate it is sometimes hundreds of miles away.
Although Maxville is not positioned directly off an interstate, Lindstrom saw the potential in adding a truck paint booth. Without a single competitor within two hours, he is able to assist his customers in repairing large vehicles. Depicted below is a $10,000 to $12,000 truck job, which can be a week’s worth of work for the company.
The purchase of a heavy-duty truck paint booth is a game-changer for most shops. Not only does it increase the physical paint booth footprint, it can also boost their bottom line. Maxville Truck and Repair is a prime example, as they can accommodate practically anything that is oversized.
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