You don’t have to be a major city bodyshop to be an award winner, according to John Igglesden, and he has the proof.

He owns Body Works of Perth, a small rural bodyshop situated in the little town of Perth, about 15 minutes south of Launceston in Tasmania. It’s grown from humble beginnings in 1993 when John returned to the industry with his dual qualifications (paint and panel), along with a wealth of experience gained from working in the retail sector. The shop is kitted out with all the latest equipment, backed with streamlined processes to quickly turn around small to medium repairs and has a team of dedicated staff. These factors received official recognition when Body Works of Perth was awarded ‘State Repairer of the Year’ by the Tasmanian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (TACC) in 2009. Now it’s a case of “little country panel shop does it again”, according to John.

“Each year the Tasmanian Skills Institute presents an award for the best apprentice spray painter. This year we had two painters eligible, Justin Clark and Cameron Malcolm, and the trade teachers couldn’t separate them so they’ve both won. It’s a double banger and I was blown away – it’s never been done before! They are both mature age apprentices and I think their maturity and attitude has a lot to do with it – they’re keen to learn and they feed off each other.”

Body Works of Perth is a loyal Protec customer so the pair have been ‘brought up’ on Protec products, says John. “After switching to Protec I worked out we were saving over 20% on paint costs and in the six years we’ve been using it we’ve had no issues at all. I’m really happy with Protec and we’re looking forward to using the new product range once our current stock runs out.”