Lucky Break Points Way to New Business
Two friends with a passion for cars have given up their long-standing careers to work together doing what they love best.
Whitley Bay pals Simon Greaves and Greg Alderson met as young dads more than a decade ago when taking their respective children to nursery. The friendship blossomed mainly around their mutual interest in cars and in particular their substantial skills in repairing, restoring and selling cars. Now, they are turning their hobby into a full-scale business.
The pair now own RS Performance Paint Work on North Tyneside’s West Chirton industrial Estate – a location fast becoming a hub for all things car related.
Their previous jobs were a far cry from the glitz and glamour of performance cars.
Greg was a taxi driver and also travelled the world as a musician with a Beatles tribute band while Simon was a Sous Chef at a popular seaside hotel.
While repairing a Mazda in his spare time, Greg needed to replace a broken ABS sensor but snapped a 12mm socket in the process. Not having the specialist tools to hand, he took the car to a garage to get the socket drilled out. While he was there he saw that the unit next door – a car paint workshop, was up for sale. He asked Simon to come and see it and it was at that moment that the pair decided to start their own business. Coincidently, both friends had independently resigned from their day jobs within 24 hours of each other earlier in the week.
“I’m not sure if it was a coincidence or fate playing a hand in our business but if that 12mm socket hadn’t broken then we would never have opened the paint shop and probably would’ve been still fixing cars in our own home-based garages,” said Greg. “
Together they run the operational side of the paint shop as well as marketing, customer service and business strategy. They have employed an experienced sprayer and business is growing thanks to their reputation and the proximity of the nearby Cobalt Business Park.
“There are around 20,000 people working on Cobalt and nearby Silverlink,” said Simon “While we do major paint resprays on performance cars, we also specialise in small paint repairs for cars that have had a slight prang. We also get a lot of people coming in just before they return their lease cars when their term is over. We can save these people hundreds of pounds on even minor paint repairs and often we can complete the repair in a few hours. We even offer a complimentary pick up and drop off service for our customers too so that they can get on with their working day.
“Both Greg and I feel that our lives have changed for the better by moving into the automotive industry. It’s something we should have done years ago. It’s like a new complete respray for us both – the business looks good and ready for wherever the road ahead may take us.”
ENDS
Photo shows: Simon (foreground) and Greg
Photo Credit: Highlights PR
PR Media enquiries contact Keith Newman Highlights PR 07814 397951
Unit 10,Larch Court
West Chirton Industrial Estate
North Shields
Tyne & Wear
NE29 8SG
01912571217