At Budget Truck & Auto, high-quality repairs with top-notch paint jobs are the name of the game, whether on a passenger car for someone in town or on a super-sized bus for a celebrity musician.
Due to their stellar reputation for making wrecked motor coaches look like they just rolled off the factory floor, coupled with heavy-duty equipment that is large enough for the task and a slick vinyl graphics division, Budget Truck & Auto never has a shortage of vehicles awaiting repairs at their 40,000-square-foot shop.
Incorporating REVO Accelerated Curing Systems from Global Finishing Solutions (GFS) into their operations in 2021 has enabled Budget Truck & Auto to increase quality and reduce time in the repair process, resulting in a big boost on their bottom line. Suddenly, yesterday’s production-crippling setbacks have become today’s opportunities for growth.
“REVO Systems was a no-brainer,” said Aaron Polzin, general manager for the 40-employee shop in Janesville, Wisconsin. “Once we tested REVO Systems, we almost felt like we didn’t have a choice but to invest in it. If we didn’t do it, we would be facing the same problems we were running into.”
About 65 percent of Budget Truck & Auto’s repair work involves semi trucks, trailers and motor coaches, with the other 35 percent being standard collision repair. “If it’s big, we work on it. We have even painted helicopters,” Polzin said.
The 65-foot-long frame rack at Budget Truck & Auto is one of the largest in the country, capable of holding heavy-duty vehicles of all shapes and sizes. Their in-house graphics team produces showroom-quality decals and wraps. Plus, they are best known for sparkling custom paint jobs on entertainers’ coaches.
It is why major motor coach manufacturers, including Prevost, MCI and TEMSA, use Budget Truck & Auto for painting and warranty services. It is why Polzin’s phone keeps ringing — for a transit bus that crashed in South Dakota, for a pair of buses from Missouri that blew over in Iowa. Customers are willing to have their heavy-duty vehicles towed hundreds of miles to rural Wisconsin because they trust Budget Truck & Auto to consistently meet their lofty standards.
“Most truck repair shops focus on the collision side, and they will get into some paint work. We handle collision work, but our paint work sets us apart from other shops,” Polzin said. “Our technicians know the expectation of what we’re trying to put out the door. And when our quality ends up being better than something they see coming from the factory, they’re proud of the work they’re doing.”
Typical for the industry, specialized repairs on heavy-duty vehicles warrant a higher labor rate, which translates to larger profit margins compared to passenger cars. Saving time whenever possible is key to avoiding backlogs, which makes REVO Systems so valuable for Budget Truck & Auto.
The REVO Rapid MC2 and REVO Handheld are used in nearly every step of their repair process. On RVs and larger trucks, the Rapid is ideal for quickly curing primer and fast finishing of body work, whereas the smaller Handheld is best for removing graphics and adhesives, sealing seams and curing basecoat. The Handheld even has been used to soften glue on fenders of semi trucks, so that the glue can more easily be pulled apart — significantly better than using a blow torch.
“If we have a part that we have to take care of, it’s easy enough to take care of with the REVO Rapid, rather than running through another bake cycle. We wouldn’t have had it done until the next day,” said Justin Schoville, a technician for Budget Truck & Auto. “And the REVO Handheld is perfect for a lot of little things that can make our jobs more efficient. Everybody is finding new ways to use it.”
From reduced rework to quicker repairs to unquestionably good finishes, Polzin cannot imagine life without REVO Systems.
“REVO Systems has definitely exceeded our expectations,” he said. “Not having to wait four to five hours to finish priming is so beneficial. You can quickly cure your filler and then cure your primer. We’re not just running bake cycles to get everything done. It’s definitely a huge time saver and a huge quality booster.”
Polzin said REVO Systems has taught him that “technology is always changing in the collision repair industry. It’s constant innovation and improvement. We don’t like to look at things like, ‘This is how we’ve always done it.’ We want to explore how we can do it differently, how we can do it better.”
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