SHOP: Eurotech Auto Service LOCATION: New Brighton, MN OWNER: Seth Thorson
SIZE: 7,700 square feet ANNUAL REVENUE: $1.2 million STAFF: 6 CARS PER MONTH: 150-200
1) Branding is always in the forefront of Seth Thorson’s mind, so when it came to his technicians’ bays, he wanted to maintain a unified look. Blue flags hang from the ceiling, the logo is painted on the floor, and all of the toolboxes and cabinets are the same bright blue as the flags and logo.
2) While the floor was originally a white epoxy flooring, Thorson says the white quickly showed wear and tear and became an eyesore in the shop. To freshen the look, he had the floors painted with epoxy paint in the brand’s colors: blue, white, and dark grey for the bays.
3) Each of the nine bays is equipped with two lifts, which allows the technicians to work on more than one job without pulling and pushing cars. Thorson says the setup is more productive because if one car is waiting for parts, for example, techs can perform a quick diagnostics or programming check on a different car.
4) Connected to those lifts is a power supply. Since the shop mainly works on new European cars, Thorson says those models need a power supply for diagnosing and charging. The power supply is drilled directly into the hoist and hard-wired into the ceiling, so the technician simply has to grab the cable, hook it up to the car, and flip on a switch. “The customer never experiences any low-battery issues,” he says. “And the techs are more efficient because all they have to do is plug it in and the car is staying at a constant voltage for their diagnostic and programming.”
5) The shop floor uses all new T8, high-energy efficient light fixtures. Besides the overhead lighting, each bay is equipped with a T8 fixture along the wall, which is angled downward to reach under the hood of the car.
6) A pressure washer is centrally mounted on a pull bounce with a 200-foot hose that can reach anywhere in the shop. Thorson says the technicians can easily grab the pressure washer to power wash vehicles. The drains that run along the middle of the shop floor collect the runoff and the shop’s buffing machine quickly scrubs the floor clean.
