Custom Craft Auto Collision
📍 Santa Fe, NM
Repairing high-end vehicles requires nothing less than the highest-quality finishes, and Robert Gallegos wanted the best equipment he could find for the body shop he co-owns with his brother, Andrew. Global Finishing Solutions (GFS) met their needs in 2018, with three Ultra Paint Booths that are integrated with REVO Accelerated Curing Systems — part of a Side-Load Finishing System to boost productivity and maximize efficiency.
Please tell us your story and introduce your business.
“My brother and I grew up in the automotive industry. My dad had a body shop. We always knew the mechanical side really well, and we started drag racing. My dad would build the cars, and we would help out, and then we would always go to whoever was the best painter in town at the time to get our cars painted. We started hitting the national events, and our cars looked good, but the paint jobs were nothing compared to the quality of the paint work on other vehicles. Our cars didn’t even come close. So at 16 years old, I built a Chevrolet S-10 Blazer and put a moon roof and other stuff on it, and it won a major car show in California. I thought we knew what we were doing, and little did I know how much more there was to learn. You’re young, dumb and you think you know it all, but this industry has come a long way.
“At Custom Craft Auto Collision, we are known for high-end collision repairs. If you wreck your car and want it repaired, you can take it to any shop. If you wreck your car and want it repaired and want it to be perfect and everything to totally match, you bring it to us. We are certified by Honda, Subaru and Volvo, and we are close to completing our Mercedes and Jaguar Land Rover certifications.”
How did you decide on GFS equipment?
“We wanted the best equipment. We looked at equipment at a lot of other body shops. At the end of the day, GFS was going to give us what we wanted. GFS is on the cutting edge, and that’s why we went with them. We were the first body shop in the country to use REVO Systems at altitude. A lot of stuff that we were doing with REVO Systems had never been done before at altitude, and it took some time, but we got it dialed in.”
How has your GFS equipment changed your processes and impacted your business?
“We switched paint lines after talking with one of GFS’ technical advisors, and right off the bat, with REVO Systems, we had a 20 to 40 percent increase in productivity. From then on, we’ve never looked back. The shop is rocking and rolling right now.
“The REVO Speed and REVO Rapid have benefited our shop so much — the time, the speed, the quality, the ease of use. Now that everything is dialed in, REVO Systems are so easy to use. Having drive-thru paint booths, bifold doors and extended height and extended length on the booths also helps us when performing repairs on high-end vehicles. We’re one of the only shops in New Mexico that is recommended by Mercedes to repair Sprinter vans. We can stick a full-length, customized Sprinter van into the booth, and we have enough room to spray the roof and walk all the way around the van. We want to work smarter, not harder.”
What is the plan for the future of your business?
“Someone told me it would take a year to learn how to run the shop, and they were correct. We’re still not running at 100 percent capacity. We’re hoping that in about another year, we have the shop running at full capacity. We’re at $5 million a year right now, and there’s no reason why we can’t be at that $7 million mark. Our goal is to really turn it up and see what we can make that baby do.”
