Waikato Business News May/June 2020

24 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS May/June 2020
SD EUROPEAN - NEW SERVICE CENTRE
The team at DP
Media would like
to congratulate
SD European for
a great milestone
of 30 years in
business and we
wish them well
with their new
venture.
info@dpmedia.co.nz | 07 838 1333
Publishers of Waikato Business News,
Waikato AgriBusiness News and
Showcase Magazine
SD European opens
new state-of-the-art
centre
From page 22
workshop has a higher ceiling,
were the critical factors that
allowed SD European to move
into servicing VW Transporter,
Crafter, Amarok, and Caddy
and Mercedes Sprinter models.
In addition, besides its
growing service business, the
company can boast one of
the country’s largest new and
second-hand European spare
parts stores, from their Horotiu
premises.
“It is our point of difference
to other workshops,”
Steve explains. “One of the
bonuses we can offer customers
who bring their vehicles to
us for service or repair is great
value because we also have
the used car dismantling business
10-minutes up the road
in Horotiu. If we need a part,
new or second-hand, chances
are we’ll have it in stock, can
access it more quickly, and can
test it before fitting when possible.”
Steve and two of his sons,
Justin and Garett, both of
whom are shareholders in SD
European, have had a lifetime
of European vehicle experience,
starting with Steve’s
first BMW in 1984, and Justin
and Garett have owned and
repaired many European cars
over the years.
The spares arm of SD European,
housed on kilometres of
shelving in large, repurposed
farm buildings at Horotiu, currently
accounts for the lion’s
share of his business.
That’s not surprising – SD
European is known throughout
New Zealand thanks to a
far-reaching marketing strategy
that in the past utilised
every regional and town Yellow
Pages book Steve could
find.
The addition of a
second premises in
the city is a show of
confidence by the
Hamilton company
that has traded
successfully out of its
Horotiu site for three
decades.”
Nowadays the family-run
company relies on an up-todate
website with active Instagram
and Facebook social
media accounts to reach customers.
The decision to move the
servicing arm into the city
made a lot of business sense,
Steve says.
It bought the premises
closer to customers while SD
European’s fleet of 11 courtesy
cars meant folk could easily
access other amenities while
waiting to have their vehicle
returned to them.
“Being specialists, with
specialist technicians, we
understand European vehicles
and their fault characteristics.
This, along with the latest
diagnostic technology we
have available, enables our
technicians to fault find and
repair in a minimal amount
of time, which saves you
expense.”
Passionate about his business,
Steve is quietly proud of
another of his success stories,
his three sons.
Operations manager Justin,
service manager Garett,
who are both shareholders,
and marketing manager Brook
are all deeply involved in SD
European.
“They have all been
involved since they could
walk. They have all pulled
cars apart, they all know the
business from the bottom up,”
Steve says.
And that depth of experience
extends to his team of
five franchise-trained automotive
technicians, all of whom
have in-depth experience servicing
European cars.
European & Prestige Vehicle Repair
Specialise in Collision Repair & Paint
Preferred Insurance Repairer | Loan Cars
Vehicle Recovery | Quality Workmanship Guaranteed
P: 07 847 8399 M: 027 245 5839
E: workshop@mcrc.co.nz
1-3 Waterloo St, Frankton
Hamilton 3204
www.millscollisionrepaircentre.co.nz
“Our Aim is Total Customer Satisfaction”
204221AA