Symach appointment confirms UK subsidiary

Symach has named Stephen Healer as UK sales manager, signalling a larger plan to open a Symach UK subsidiary within next year.

The new UK office will reinforce commercial structure in UK to give effective on-site support to its customers and provide timely responses to their needs.

Osvaldo Bergaglio, Symach’s CEO, said, ‘With Stephen’s extensive experience in the coatings industry, he will be instrumental in helping Symach showcase its complete body shop solution. He will work closely with body shops across the UK to demonstrate how they can shift from using the conventional repair process to Symach’s unique FixLine process, which drastically reduces the cost of repairs.’

Stephen said, ‘I quickly developed a passion for the refinish industry and greatly value the relationships I have formed over the years. I’m excited to join Symach’s international team and help collision repair facilities across the UK learn more about Symach’s unique approach repairing vehicles based on the FixLine process.’

He continued, ‘Over the last decade, the accident repair industry in the UK has declined by around 20% to just over 3,000 bodyshops, leading to a shortage in repair capacity. We also see a shortage in skilled staff, specifically painters, contributing to increased staffing costs.

‘As repair volumes decrease and costs increase, this is applying pressure on bodyshops to reduce their costs and increase productivity.

‘I look forward to building new relationships with these groups and demonstrating how Symach equipment and technology is perfectly aligned to help them be successful now and, in the future.’