Rihm Kenworth
📍 Coon Rapids, MN
There are a lot of moving pieces when repairing heavy-duty trucks, with large parts orders, tons of labor and jobs in various stages of completion. As a body shop manager for Rihm Kenworth, Randy Johansson needed efficient finishing equipment that will not slow down production, and Global Finishing Solutions (GFS) delivered as promised.
Please introduce your business and tell us your story.
“Rihm Kenworth is a fourth-generation, family-owned company. We have had roots in the Twin Cities metro area for nearly 90 years. We have expanded considerably in the past 10 years – with more than 20 locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota. Our Coon Rapids, Minnesota, location has truck sales, leasing and rental, service, parts and a body shop, which specializes in repairs of medium and heavy-duty trucks, buses and RVs. Our concentration is on quality repairs and quick turnaround times. We do not compromise on quality.”
What kind of jobs do you usually perform?
“In the car business, they count cars. With heavy-duty truck repairs, it is different. We have some jobs that exceed 300 hours. We typically have about 25 claims in process — from estimating to tear down, repair to reassembly. You definitely need to be organized. We recently completed a repair with more than $70,000 worth of parts. That is a big job, and you have to really stay on top of things to make sure it goes smoothly.”
What GFS equipment do you have in your shop?
“We have two Large Equipment Paint Booths from GFS — a downdraft booth with a crossdraft booth attached to it, separated by a roll-up door. An Ultra Paint Mix Room is attached as well, with an Axalta mixing system, so we mix all of our paint in-house. The way it is set up, we can go from priming and prep right into the booth. I really can’t find a fault with our paint department.”
How has GFS equipment changed your processes and impacted your business?
“The paint booths work really well. The lighting and the airflow are very good. Painting the roofs of trucks can be difficult. Personnel lifts on each side of our paint booths makes it much easier on the technicians to reach the tops of the trucks.”
What is the plan for the future of your business?
“Here in our body shop, we are running a second shift, and we eventually plan to expand that. Our goal is to have our paint booths running every day all day and to have them shut down only for maintenance purposes. We have a preventative maintenance program set up, so we plan for our paint booths to last a long time.”
