MTA February 2022 SA

18
LONG-STANDING MEMBER
RHEMAC
MOTORS
BY LUCY BREWER
Rhemac Motors, located at Gawler, was started in 1969 by
friends David Jewis and John Day. The business initially
specialised in mechanical repairs, led by David, and crash
repairs, led by John.
A little while after the business opened David’s brother,
Des, joined as an apprentice mechanic. In the mid 80’s
John left the business, and took the crash repair section
with him. Around the same time Rhemac Motors added
Engine Reconditioning as a service, led by Des. During the
1990’s David’s sons, Peter and Mark, also joined the team,
ensuring the business would be a family affair for the
foreseeable future.
Mark started as an apprentice in 1994, and has worked his
way up over the years, developing as the business did.
“In the mid 2000s, I started spending more time on the
front counter dealing with customers, and working in the
background on business improvement. Currently, I manage
the engine machine shop and the parts of the business that
go on in the background that no one sees,” said Mark.
Rhemac Motors began as a small workshop but has
broadened its offering over the years. In the 1980s, an engine
machine shop was added and the business developed a
specialisation in performance engine work.
“Over the years, like all businesses, it adapted to suit the
market of the time,” said Mark.
The client range Rhemac Motors handles is extensive.
The business offers services and repairs for the cars of
local residents, as well as engine work for other mechanical
workshops throughout South Australia and interstate.
“We’ve also been an oil and lubricant distributor and
reseller for various brands for many years, servicing a
lot of smaller workshops and wineries in our area and in
the Barossa and Clare Valleys,” said Mark. “We’ve had a
close association with the RAA for many years starting as
an approved repairer, and then becoming a road service
contractor for the Gawler area.”
Rhemac Motors moved shops a decade ago, a process
Mark stated was a career highlight, and marked a new
stage for the business.
MTA CEO Paul Unerkov awarding Rhemac Motors with their 50-Year
MTA Membership Certificate.
“To move an entire workshop and machine shop, with
as minimal impact to business as possible, and get the
chance to set the workshop up from a clean slate was a
massive challenge,” he said. “It took an immense amount
of planning and work, but to see it all come together and
end up with the result we did was fantastic.”
COVID-19 proved challenging for Rhemac Motors with an
initial decline in work. However, Mark has since seen a
significant upside to the pandemic as far as mechanical
workshops are concerned.
“More recently with the restrictions and unpredictable
nature of travel, I believe it’s driven a boom in hobbyist
restorations and rebuilds which has seen us very busy,”
he said.
Rhemac Motors recently celebrated their 50-Year MTA
Membership milestone, an amazing achievement that
shows their dedication to the SA automotive industry.
“The MTA provide a valuable range or resources and advice
that we can rely on to help our business in many ways,
including keeping up with current regulations, advocating
for our industry, and training and support that smaller
businesses need,” said Mark.
As for the future (perhaps inspired by the pandemic),
Rhemac Motors is focussed on change: “If our business
isn’t looking to the future and changing to adapt, then the
future will pass us by.”
mtasant.com.au
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