“Nobody wants to see a vehicle repair shop. It’s messy. It’s dirty. It’s loud,” said Forman Collision Centre Manager, Mike Tuttle.
At Forman Collision Centre, though, that’s not quite the truth.
“When you walk into our facility,” said Tuttle, “it’s inviting. You see your vehicle being worked on in front of your eyes while you’re having a coffee in our lounge area. It’s clean. It’s organized. It’s something worth seeing.”
The truth is that Forman Collision Centre isn’t like any repair shop you’ve been to before.
“We’re not afraid to bring our customers right into the back and show them the whole process,” said Tuttle. “We like to show off this aspect of our business – and now, with our updated open-concept facility, we can.”
Forman Collision Centre has been operating in Brandon since 2007. They expanded their facility once in 2009, and again just last year to accommodate their ever-growing client base.
Forman Collision Centre is an MPI direct repair facility (which means they can provide repair estimates for insurance claims), and they hold OEM certifications for most manufacturers. Although they operate alongside the Forman Honda and Forman Mazda dealerships, they take repairs for any vehicle make and model. They also offer towing services for out-of-town customers, so they have the chance to choose where their vehicle gets repaired.
“Our clientele exceeded the capacity of our previous facility,” said Tuttle. “As we continued to build our team in response to our growing clientele, we began to run out of space, which meant longer wait times for our customers.”
As the Forman team started planning their new space, they also revisited the repair process, looking for a way to speed it up without compromising the integrity of their work.
“We do it differently than any other shop in town,” said Tuttle. “It’s more of an assembly line process, which turns into faster cycle time, which means the vehicle is repaired and back to the customer more quickly.”
“This is important to us and our customers,” said Forman Collision Centre Owner, Kent Forman. “When customers give us their vehicle, quite often, they don’t have another one, or they’re using a rental. So, the quicker we can get each vehicle in and out, the happier our customers.”
Tuttle added, “Nobody’s ever really happy to come into a collision facility, so we wanted to create a warm, welcoming experience in light of a bad situation.”
The repair team, including seven Red Seal journeyperson repair technicians and an in-house Red Seal journeyperson mechanic, have been embracing the new process as well.
“They’re just as invested as I am,” said Tuttle. “They helped stage the shop. They helped with picking equipment. They bought into the whole process of making this place what it is today, and they're just as excited to show their friends and family around as I am.”
Even if you don’t have a vehicle in need of repair, Tuttle and Forman encourage you to check out the shop.
“Come for a shop tour, or even just take a peek through the glass. It really is something worth seeing,” he said.
Forman Collision Centre – 2050 Curry Blvd, Brandon, MB
Website – www.formancollision.com
Facebook – Forman Collision Centre
Instagram – @formancollision
