December/January 2022

T he article strand is called Garage Visit, and we’re sticking with it. After all, more often than not the subject of this month’s piece is found inside a garage, specifically FRL Auto Services in Dartmouth. We are here to speak with the man of the hour, nay, the year. Yes, we are back down Devon way to talk to Kevin Toms, Top Technician for 2021. It’s more of a mechanic-focused piece for this reason, and yes, this is where we got the headline from. We asked Kevin how it felt to be the winner of Top Technician, at a point where he had a month to get used to the idea: “At the moment It is still sinking in,” he replied. “I still can’t believe it. To be honest, I never thought I would reach what is the pinnacle of our profession, which is to win this competition.” We went on to ask him what we thought got him across that finish line first: “I attribute my success to keeping on trying, and every day being a school day, and never being 58 AFTERMARKET DECEMBER/JANUARY 2022 GARAGE VISIT www.aftermarketonline.net We speak in-depth with Kevin Toms, Top Technician winner for 2021 MORE OF A MECHANIC afraid to learn from anyone. I’ve just got a thirst for knowledge. Because I work in a small independent garage, and the fact there is no training facilities near us, you never know how well you are keeping up with the movement of the trade. Top Technician was one way for me to do that.” Readers with long memories may recall we visited FRL Auto Services in 2017, with the article appearing in that year’s December/January issue. Founded by Fred R. Lay, which gives you the name, the business has been on its current site since 1986. From 1994 onwards, the business has been owned and led by Ian Gobel. Training Back in 2021, Kevin continued to discuss the importance of training: “Apart from the training itself, while you are on a course you can talk to other candidates. You learn a whole lot more about a diverse range of manufacturer faults from hearing about their experiences.”