April 2020

the UK market through a wholesaler through us, and also getting to understand the challenges that are happening on certain components such as exhausts. “We also get to understand why some manufacturers are not developing a DPF or catalytic converter on a certain model. It is things like that I see. Equally, on the next day I will be liaising with a workshop equipment provider such as Sigmavision and understanding the technologies they are bringing out, and how that can enhance the service advisor’s job and make it easier.” Then there is TechMan: “The garage trends we see and the communications we have with TechMan customers is very interesting. We could probably sit for a month and talk through many things. It is fascinating.” Every day is different in a garage, and for Terry and the team at In Town Automotive, more so than anyone.” I’d like to think I understand the garage industry. It is going particularly well with the growth we have seen here. There are still improvements we can make though on a day-to-day basis.” There always are improvements to be made when you want to be the best. APRIL 2020 AFTERMARKET 59 www.aftermarketonline.net cars that range in value from £1,000 to £10,000, we are not necessarily seeing prestigious marques. We see a little bit of fleet as well, but really it is around the local consumer. We hammer our postcode area hard.” Brand-aligned With Terry seeing the sector from a number of different angles simultaneously, we wondered if he though whether his approach as deployed at In Town Automotive offer a good textbook example for other garages to follow: “I think each demographic is different,” he mused. “We’ve got a lot of chimney pots around in the area – Our postcode district alone, NN4, has got 20,000 houses, and that is a good thing. Equally though, we do have a lot of competition on the estate. However, people always want choice. I think we have set our stall out in terms of the branding of the workshop. “We’ve got Bosch car service, which is a fantastic brand to be aligned with. You can see from the environment that even the staff are proud of their work environment, and we like to keep on top of it.” Exponential On plans for the future, Terry said: “Many people ask me if I want to open another garage. I think with the volume of work and vehicles I am putting through, I think this site is enough for us at the moment.” Of course, Terry is spinning three plates at the same time: “We have a focus on the other parts of the business as well. TechMan is a big part for us, parts still have an exponential future. “I think for the workshop, plans for the future really centre around getting more into tyres. We recently invested in a new bit of kit through Sigmavision. That has really made a tremendous difference from month one for us. It has probably trebled what we were originally doing. “We would also like to focus on other touch points of the car. As more vehicles become electric, we are looking at that. I am also asking ‘should we be getting more into glass, should we be getting more into body?’ We should be thinking about more than just repair and maintenance. We should be looking at what else there is that we can take on, and other junctures in the life of the car that we can explore.” Understanding We asked Terry if he thought having a parts business, running a garage management system provider and running a garage gave him a uniquely wide perspective: “On any given day I might be talking to a parts manufacturer that wants to get into