Painting shop in XL format

Painting shop in XL format

Big ideas need big space. There is no other way to describe Roland Gredinger's project in Vienna-Simmering. The bare numbers are impressive: 2,500 square meters of built-up area, half of which is for the paint shop, and another 10,000 square meters of open space for the vehicles. One year of construction, current vehicle throughput: 30 to 40 cars per week with 20 employees. And there's something else going on, as Roland Gredinger explains: "With the location, we have completely concentrated on the fleet business. We work with importers and large leasing companies and insurance companies. The final expansion stage of the operation is planned in two to three years. The goal: 40 to 50 employees and a vehicle throughput of 130 per week." Roland Gredinger runs the car dealership of the same name in Gols, Burgenland.

FIRST THE PAINT

What's special about Flottenservice GmbH in Simmering, in addition to its sheer size, is its close ties with the paint supplier Standox. “I reached an agreement with Standox as a paint partner very early on,” says Gredinger. The advantage: “In order to define the optimal work processes for the painting company, Fritz Pewny, technical trainer Standox Austria, was involved in the planning from the start.” As an experienced painter, Pewny knows exactly which methods are important and where you can save time and energy. "This is about high throughput. That's why every move has to be perfect, the routes have to be short and logical. We have planned the paint shop so efficiently that the employees can work faster and more effectively," says Pewny. This is why the paint mixing room with Daisy Wheel is right next to the paint booth. Using a rail system, the car is moved from the paint booth to one of the two drying booths. This means that the paint booth is not blocked by unnecessary drying times and more cars can be sprayed in the same time. For Roland Gredinger, high throughput is even a quality boost. "In the painting trade, higher throughput means higher quality of work. That's unique." In order not to be slowed down by the paint material and its drying times, the entrepreneur chose Standox. Because trainer Pewny knows: "We currently have the fastest system on the market. That means more throughput and more yield in the same time."

SIZE AS AN ADVANTAGE

The impressive size of the company is the ace up its sleeve, as Gredinger says: "The geographical location is perfect: close to the airport, close to the A23 - the busiest road in Austria - and direct motorway connections. This means we can serve our major customers best. And only when the company is of a certain size can we offer our quality and quantity." For Gredinger, the focus on B2B business is a logical consequence: "There are clear agreements with major customers. If you stick to them, you have a calculable business ahead of you. With private customers as the main target group, such a project would not be possible." Exciting: Roland Gredinger's Flottenservice GmbH is the fourth largest paint shop in Vienna and the largest privately run one in the federal capital.