AUTOINC. ONLINE - Shop Profile

Paramount Centre's 16,000-square-foot facility is an impressive building with an equally grand level of customer service.

Walk into Paramount Centre in Fife, Wash., and you may feel like you are stepping into a bank rather than a collision repair facility. The floors are meticulously polished to a shiny hue, comparable to that of the finished cars the facility repairs. The leather furniture and the personalized desks of its employees all give Paramount a feel that is atypical of body shops today.

But then again, Paramount Center is no ordinary body shop. Consider its recent successes as a facility:

What makes this impressive array of accomplishments even more remarkable is that Paramount Centre has only been in business for one and a half years.

Co-owner Russ Wyman handles administrative and front-end details of Paramount Centre while Mike Huber (not pictured) handles more of the behind-the-scenes duties, working with technicians in the shop.

Paramount Centre owners Russ Wyman and Mike Huber have combined their administrative and technical skills to carry out a common goal: To provide the highest quality of collision service possible to each and every customer, said Dan Olson, director of marketing at Paramount and estimator.

In building their 16,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art collision repair facility, Wyman and Huber worked with industry leaders such as BASF and Wesco Autobody Supplies. Between both owners, they have 36 years of management experience, working at some of the most prestigious repair facilities in the Pacific Northwest. Wyman manages the administrative details of Paramount while Huber oversees the work of technicians in the body shop.

"We have been able to recruit the best people in every position," he said. "That means the best techs, painters, paint prep staff, detailers, and every position in the front office."

The shop's emphasis, commitment and investment in technology help elevate it to another level when it comes to repairing cars.

In an industry that has faced a shortage of qualified workers, Paramount Centre's excellent reputation has had prospective employees lining up to work at one of the top collision shops in its area. Paramount is proud of the five body technicians it employs who are either I-CAR Gold or Platinum Certified. In addition, it employs two ASE master techs.

All told, the company, which started with nine employees, is fully staffed at 25. The large staff allows the facility to repair about 45 cars each week.

Paramount Centre has become an authorized facility for Lexus, Infiniti, Land Rover, Jaguar, BMW, Mini and Volvo. Olson said the facility has even become the No. 1 referral center for Chevrolet and Honda.

Olson said Paramount's emphasis on its unique marketing strategies has also helped to create its quality reputation. Taking a cue from the pharmaceutical industry, Paramount Centre began marketing to the end user by working with dealerships.

"When they [pharmaceutical companies] started marketing to the end user (patients), customers started asking for them by name," Olson explained.

Owners wanted to give Paramount Centre a "Nordstrom" feel when customers walked in.

"It has been proven that when someone drives a high-end vehicle, they will usually call the dealership to ask where their authorized repair facility is. We have built very strong relationships with all of the dealerships in the area. If you call their service or sales departments - or even the receptionist who answers their phone - they will recommend Paramount Centre."

Paramount inserts their sales brochures in new car sales packets so they are introduced to customers immediately. This results in customers knowing what facility they want to take their vehicle to instead of relying on an insurance company's recommendation, said Olson.

"We haven't needed any direct repair program (DRP) relationships yet and we're running full capacity. We are proud to say we are in charge of the repairs," said Olson. "The only way this works is if you design the right facility. We try to give it a 'Nordstrom's' feel when they enter. We put out one of the best products in a consistent manner and our cycle time is better than anyone due to diligent organization and constant refining of processes."

Besides its emphasis on quality employees, Olson believes another component to Paramount's success is its use of technology. The shop has designed custom management software that it uses with production and also sends the automatic e-mails to its customers, reminding them of service schedules. Paramount has several other shops that are using its management software.

Paramount uses its Web site (www.fifecar.com) to promote its various technologies, as well as acquaint its customers with the shop including its online tracker, lifetime warranty, a video about the facility and more.

Paramount believes in supporting the community it serves. That is why it joined ASA and other industry associations - to be part of a larger community in the automotive service industry. With a business model that is working, and success at every corner, Paramount Centre looks forward to only getting better in the years to come.

Shop Stats

Name: Paramount Centre
Location: Fife, Wash.
No. of employees: 25
Projected annual sales volume: $3.6 million
No. of years in business: One and a half years
Web site: www.fifecar.com
On the shop's introduction of a new collision shop management system: “ Paramount Centre helped pioneer a new marketing and production management system that was introduced at the International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE) in 2005. COLLISIONshopPro is a user-friendly, easy-to-use, powerful, Web-based software program designed by Russ Wyman with the programming help of Steven Rush. It is designed to manage the staff, production and communication with customers. It is also a marketing tool. It has helped decrease cycle time, increase through-put and profits, improve production efficiency and dramatically improve customer satisfaction. Paramount Centre credits the innovative software system with empowering them to double through-put without increasing their staff. ”

Paramount Centre: No Ordinary Shop

Shop Stats