Inside a Mercedes-Benz approved bodyshop
A commercial truck and van dealership is celebrating its high-quality, Mercedes-Benz approved bodyshop, which helps to breathe new life into trucks and vans. CVW took a trip down to Kent to find out more.
The Sparshatt Truck and Van bodyshop team delivers all levels of collision and body repairs on light commercial vehicles and HGVs, attending to dents, scratches, damaged panels and frames and plenty more from its base in Sittingbourne.
Revitalising vehicles by using only Mercedes-Benz genuine parts, the team ensures vehicles regain their optimal condition after accidents, while its comprehensive painting service allows customers’ vehicles to match company colours, extending to the chassis.
Last year alone, the bodyshop helped to rejuvenate over 500 vehicles to an as-new state, with the average turnaround for a repair just seven days, with many completed in a much shorter time.
Loyal customers
Managing the Sparshatt bodyshop is Declan Gogerly, who has worked his way up through the ranks and gained vast experience in the business: “I have worked in the bodyshop now for 15 years, from being an apprentice right up to becoming a manager.
“I help in all areas from doing estimates, raising jobs, ordering parts, invoicing, ordering of stock, and working on the shop floor when needed. I also manage all the health and safety in the shop, ensuring all colleagues work in a safe manner.
“My day-to-day role is a mixture of things. I check on all the team and get updates on their jobs, as well as checking with the bodyshop estimating manager to see what we have ongoing or completed.”
Since its inception in 1984, the bodyshop has amassed an impressive customer base due to its continued high-standard repairs.
One of the longest-standing relationships is with JBS Haulage, a general haulage contractor operating in Kent and Yorkshire, with Sparshatt dealing with all its accident repair as well as full refurbishments on selected classic vehicles. More recently, the bodyshop team painted Lenham Storage’s 75th-anniversary vehicles.
Managing a team of seven highly trained bodyshop technicians, Declan puts pride in speed and efficiency, while maximising quality and safety in repairs, with an understanding of the cost to local businesses of their vehicles being out of action.
On the growth of the bodyshop at Sparshatt Truck and Van, Declan said: “My biggest goal for the team is to continue to expand and grow both our customer base and personnel.
“We are currently in the process of hiring an apprentice, as I believe training young adults is key to the success of any business.The people around you are key to how you succeed and it’s no different in the bodyshop. We would not be so successful without our great team. I am entirely grateful for having a fantastic calibre of people around me.”
With operations in Dartford, Sittingbourne, Ashford and Tonbridge, Sparshatt has held a long-standing presence in the South East for nearly 50 years.
With eyes on the future, the dealership boasts a thriving apprenticeship scheme through its standalone training academy, which will take on 2024’s recruits in January next year after receiving over 240 applications.
