A rapidly-growing car body repair company is a business that’s going places.
Nody Perfect at Wrexham. Joe Price at work watched by Amy Bell and Anthony Lewis from Coxeys, Nicola and Simon Edwards and general manager Steve Gittins.
Wrexham-based Body Perfect have created 12 new jobs after virtually doubling the size of the operation.
They are also looking to take on another seven apprentices of their own after investing £500,000 in new 30,000 sq ft premises on Rhosddu Industrial Estate, just across the road from their old base.
Among the big ticket items of expenditure have been £180,000 on new spray booths, £35,000 on a state of the art airline system and 15 new courtesy vehicles for customers.
In the driving seat is company founder Simon Edwards, 43, who served his time at the former Ford dealership, Kirby’s, in Wrexham which is also his hometown.
According to Simon, much of the credit for having the confidence to invest and expand was down to the expert advice from chartered accountants Coxeys, who have offices in Wrexham and Saltney.
Simon said: “Coxeys have been excellent since we moved to them two years ago.
“They’re really on the ball and they’ll always give you top class advice. They’re more business partners than accountants. That’s how I would class them.
“For a company that’s growing like us that’s really important. You need good advice to avoid any pitfalls and give you the confidence to grow.”
After striking out on his own in 1996 Simon initially set up a car valeting company and later established a mobile cosmetics repair business called Flying Colours which is still going strong.
The fledgling operation moved into premises on Wrexham Industrial Estate the had a car wash and a 1,500 sq ft body shop.
As the operation continued to grow, they move to bigger premises on Rhosddu Industrial estate where their success continued to accelerate with manufacturer approvals from the likes of Peugeot, Citroen, Toyota, Kia and Hyundai.
Key figures in the company include Simon’s wife, Nicola, who in charge of the accounts department, and general manager Steve Gittins, his former boss at Kirby’s.
Simon said: “The new premises are nearly double the size of our old base and we have invested more than £500,000 on the site to get it how we need it.
“It’s a far cry from how it all started with just me. Now we have 40 people on the payroll and seven new apprentices in the offing.
“I’m a firm believer in growing your own in terms of staff because then they buy into the quality-driven ethos of the company.
“Currently, we’re dealing with 60 to 70 customers every single week through the paints and garage. We’ve also got a servicing centre in Glyn Ceiriog.
“We’re not planning to stop here because we want to keep on growing with Body Perfect sites elsewhere.
Steve Gittins revealed he spotted Simon’s potential immediately after he started working in the paint shop at Kirby’s.
He said: “Simon was always one that had a spark and he always wanted to improve and be the best at what he did. If I needed anything communicating to the workshop I went to Simon.
“So his success with Body Perfect comes as absolutely no surprise.”
Accountant Anthony Lewis, a director of Coxeys, was delighted with Body Perfect’s growing success.
He said: “With Simon as the driving force, Body Perfect is certainly heading in the right direction and we are very pleased to have to opportunity to play our part in their continuing growth and development.
“It’s good to see an inspirational character like Simon making a go of a business and turning it into a real success.
“The growth over the last three or four years has been phenomenal and they are now well placed to take things to the next level.
“Body Perfect are great ambassadors for local business and industry, SMEs like this are the backbone of our economy.
“They are a company that’s going places. The sky’s the limit.”
