An integrated auto repair garage,
Fix Factors Auto, is changing the face of auto repairs in Lagos and its
environs.
Partnering indigenous oil giant, Conoil Plc., to manage the Conoil Care Care, a quick auto repair and service centre, which is poised to become a model in the country, Fix Factors Auto , which is raising the bar in quick service, repairs and electronic vehicle diagnostics , is currently drawing clientele from corporate organisations, blue-chip companies and high networth individuals.
Though Fix Factors Auto has its
head office and ultra modern auto garage with state-of-the-art equipment
located in the highbrow Balarabe Musa Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, the
Conoil Car Care centre is strategically located at the Conoil Filling Station
at the Marina, Lagos. Two weeks ago, the company opened the second Conoil Car
Care garage in Lagos at the Conoil Filling Station on Eric Moore Road, Surulere
to take care of clients in the Iganmu Industrial Area as part of the ultimate
goal of opening four of such centres in Lagos and two in Abuja before the end
of the year.
“Marina is the corporate
headquarters of Nigeria. The idea is have a one-stop shop for fast-moving
services , not heavy things; to provide quick service, electronic vehicle
diagnostics, tyre and lube sales, vulcanizing and wheel alignment and balancing
to corporate organisations and high net worth individuals working in and around
Lagos .
“This is to save them the stress
of looking around for roadside auto technicians and mechanics to work on their
vehicles and give them rest of mind as they return to their jobs, ” Managing
Director, Fix Factors Auto, Mr. Abiodun Osokoya, told THISDAY in an encounter
at the Conoil Car Care in Marina.
“We pioneered the running of fast-moving lube shop in 1997. Nobody was doing it then. Four years ago, we approached Conoil; they gave us a letter to go round the country and we came up with a report. Conoil later agreed on non-fuel revenue – lube base has to be run and property has to be leased and that was how we started.”
Tracing the genesis further,
Osokoya, who is well grounded in all aspects of auto repairs, both theoretical
and practical, said the initial concept was to run chains of lube shops. “We
approached AP to separate their business for professionalism. AP agreed and we
proposed running five of their stations and we started with the AP station
on Awolowo Road in Ikoyi. But management soon changed and we had to
vacate to Balarabe Musa Street in Victoria Island where we now run a
full-fledged auto garage,” he explained.
THISDAY was later conducted round
the Fix Factors Auto garage in Victoria Island, Lagos, where state-of-the-art
equipment are being deployed to provide quick service to customers. The
equipment, described as some of the best in the country, include
automatic transmission flush and fill machine; quick service lip stick; sludge
removing machine; fuel system cleaning machine to clean the injectors and
decarbonise the engines;Co2 welding machine for body works and plastic machines
for straightening bumpers.
Others include plasma cutters; portable puller kit; infra-red dryers for painting; aluminium welding machine for new generation cars with aluminium body; four-camera wheel alignment machine which can handle bullet-proof tyres , paint-mixing laboratory and a gas-powered painting bay.
Osokoya lamented that financing
has been difficult to access as he disclosed that putting a workshop as big as
they have in Lagos together could be quite expensive. He noted that insurance
companies could save 30 per cent of their losses through plastic repairs which
can be done at Fix Factors Auto , saying most cars that are thrown away could
be repaired. On the investment in the equipment, Osokoya said “It’s
expensive for us but we know with time, it will pay off and we need to keep to
standard.”
He also disclosed that the company is placing great emphasis on training of its staff. “A lot of our staff have been with us since 2007 .They are used to our machines and equipment as we train and re-train them often,” he said.
Article Credit: www.thisdaylive.com
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