It’s been three years since Redde Northgate acquired 77 of Nationwide Crash Repair Centres’ 102 sites from the administrators and launched FMG Repair Services. Today, FMG Repair Services has 65 sites with more than 1,500 staff and the capability to manage over 100,000 repairs per year. ABP met with Andrew Chandler, Sales Director, Redde group of companies, which encompasses FMG Repair Services, to find out its game plan for the future and how it sits alongside sister business, FMG.
MG and FMG Repair Services are standalone businesses trading independently of each other that serve the repair market in two distinct ways. FMG specialises in accident management and claims management and has a network of around 400 repairers. The relatively newly-formed FMG Repair Services is a large bodyshop group and an additional supply chain partner, providing capacity to insurers directly as well as FMG and Auxillis. The launch of FMG Repair Services created market speculation around FMG’s intentions with having a bodyshop group within the wider ownership structure. “When specific assets of Nationwide were acquired, we had to establish a name quite quickly that would resonate with new colleagues, suppliers and customers,” said Andrew Chandler, Sales Director, Redde group of companies. “The FMG name was well established and well known in the market and a perfect fit for our brand values and so rebranding as FMG Repair Services made sense. “The addition of FMG Repair Services within the broader group has helped with the retention of the pre-existing direct insurer relationships as otherwise repair demand would have quickly exceeded our repair capacity,” added Andrew. “Alongside the FMG Repair Services bodyshops, FMG has boosted its own independent network by an additional 100 repair partners within the last 12 months whilst also adding additional Network Managers to provide support to repairers to help guarantee the highest standards.” FMG RS also made changes to the boardroom structure in the first year. “A newly-founded business will undergo management changes to align to requirements at that time, and we have brought in two new Operations Directors within the last 12 months with strong bodyshop backgrounds,” said Andrew. “Paul Wrigglesworth was appointed as Operations Director – Bodyshops, to lead the bodyshop teams and secure repair capacity for the future and Carl Manton as Operations Director – Change & Support Services, to lead strategic planning for the future to optimise performance across the company.
Two years ago, we put Trustpilot in place; today we are just shy of 1,500 reviews with a star rating of 4.6 “The repairer market is evolving quickly and to keep pace and run efficiently you have to understand vehicle repair from the inception of receipt of an instruction, through the different stages of vehicle repair through to managing teams, creating future strategies and delivering a customer journey aligned to customer expectations within an on-demand society,” said Andrew. “We recruited vastly experienced and respected key industry figures with strong track records and put management teams in place to set a solid foundation for taking the business forward. “The immediate focus was to cement the foundations of quality excellence within the business and latterly moved on to develop a technical strategy to address under invested sites,” added Andrew.
“Today, we have a target operating model in place and that includes our plan for strategic capital investments. We’re planning organic growth, with investment and upgrade works within our existing estate, as well as purpose developed sites in new locations, with the first one, a brand new, 24,000 sq ft site in Hoddesdon due to imminently open. As with Hoddesdon, all new sites will be largely driven by capacity shortfalls and customer demand.” Investment in people is also high on the agenda and there continues to be a steady flow of apprentices within the group. “Just over 5% of all our colleagues today are apprentices and we are looking to increase this to 10% coming through year on year,” said Andrew. “The long-term success of our business relies upon a steady flow of new talent and so we’re committed to addressing the current skills shortage in the market by making vehicle repair roles accessible and appealing to entice new entrants in.” With this target in mind, FMG Repair Services’ Technical Training Centre (TTC) in Goole remains a jewel in the company’s crown. Dedicated to closing the skills gap in the vehicle repair industry and creating the next generation of vehicle repairers, the TTC delivers industry accreditations, practical skills, on-the-job training and mentoring support with a range of courses covering panel, paint, welding, ADAS, glass and EV repair. “The TTC is a real attribute for the business, giving us the ability to provide training both within FMG Repair Services and externally to other accident repair groups,” said Andrew. “Training isn’t limited to new entrants and apprentices, we provide reaccreditation and ongoing training to long-serving vehicle repairers too. Hundreds of colleagues have attended EV training through this facility and we’re looking to expand the TTC further over the next year to make it an external brand in its own right.”
Three months ago, FMG Repair Services held a two-day off-site management leadership meeting to discuss future strategy for the business in terms of people, investment and its five-year business programme to retain expertise within the organisation.
“The key thing for us was to share our vision and roadmap with our
colleagues, to ensure we’re all heading in the same direction and make sure we’re getting closer to the type of business our employees want us to be,” said Andrew. “We want to be recognised as an employer of choice in the industry and our people plan has been created around employee feedback and survey results.”
Today FMG Repair Services has a significant number of direct contracts with insurers and it also receives instructions from other companies within the group, such as Northgate Vehicle Hire, FMG and Auxillis.
Jobs are allocated through its centralised deployment team in Northwich. “We receive all instructions
at Northwich and the repair will be allocated to the most suitable bodyshop based around postcode, repair requirements and capacity at individual sites,” said Andrew.
Keeping bodyshops efficient can be challenging due to parts delays, and is a consideration at allocation level. “As one of the largest parts procurers in the UK, we have diversified our parts supply strategy to include non-OE and green parts options, which we provide closely in line with insurer stipulation,” said Andrew. “Open communication with customers is vital and we’ll always clearly explain the reason behind
each parts delay and the different approaches our Parts Managers can take to source the required parts along with the most likely timescales.”
In addition to traditional bodyshop repair, FMG Repair Services also offers a mobile repair service and has retained the MotorGlass business. “Both are
real assets for us and over the next 18 months we plan to grow the mobile division extensively,” said Andrew. “Customer needs are changing with more working from home and we see demand for flexible services growing. Ultimately, if we could source a greater number of technicians with the right
people skills we could double or quadruple the number of mobile repair vans we have overnight. The operatives don’t just need the technical capability for one day repair, they also need to have excellent customer service skills and operate with integrity, reliability, skill and expertise.”
Despite industry-wide challenges, FMG RS can be very proud of its efficiency and service level. “From the outset
we make sure our bodyshop teams clearly understand their responsibility as a representative of the insurer and perhaps the only actual physical
in-person contact each customer has with their insurer or related supply chain during a claim.” said Andrew. “Customer feedback from individual drivers and insurance clients is very positive. Two years ago, we put Trustpilot in place; today we are just shy of 1,500 reviews with a star rating of
4.6. Bodyshop Managers and General Managers look at feedback every day. Positive service feedback is shared with the relevant technicians to recognise excellence and promote best practice. Queries and complaints are valuable for pinpointing the exact areas we
need to improve.”
As with Hoddesdon,
all new sites will be
largely driven by
capacity shortfalls
and customer demand.
Asked about what’s next, Andrew said: “With strong foundations in place and stability established within the business, our long-term success is around becoming recognised as a bodyshop group of the future. We’ll continue to focus on managing costs for our customers, and with so much evolution in the vehicle repair market
we’ll continually analyse our operations, working with our repair partners and our Technical Training Academy to ensure we’re promoting the latest technology and repair techniques through the business.
“We’re firmly looking ahead now, with an engaged workforce and a clear plan,” added Andrew. “We’re quietly focusing on organic growth
and staying true to our commitment to continually find new ways to meet our customer, supply partner and colleague requirements. This is a time of optimism, ambition and growth for the business – we’re in an exciting chapter.”