Dennis Chan, a proud Air Force veteran, is living the
American dream. When first opening his business, VIP
Collision Center in Sacramento, California in 2011 he
started with $5,000 and a tool box. Now, Chan has five
employees, expanded the business twice and has made
enough income to purchase a 5,000 square foot building
in September 2015. He credits his continued success of
organic growth through the development of personal
relationships with customers – getting the job done
right, the first time – and creating an environment for
employees where everyone's part of the team; working
together towards one goal.
He and his shop have been NAPA/Martin Senour customers
since 2014 utilizing the brands' sanding, masking and
paint supplies. He was
recently profiled in Parts & People, a leading automotive trade publication, where he
explained to the editor how he came to the decision to
switch paint lines:
Chan was first a bit cautious when Genuine Paints
Salesman Joe Sybrant and John Lujan, district sales
manager for Martin Senour Automotive Finishes,
approached him about trying Vortex® waterborne paint.
"As a business owner, sometimes when people come in and
are super persistent, it throws you off balance," Chan
said. "But just the way they were so upfront and nice
and knowledgeable, that's what made me respect them
enough to hear them out."
As someone who is eager to learn new techniques and try
new products, Chan said he accepted the offer to
test-drive the paint at the Reno training center.
"What really got me sold is one of the other guys there
hit the panel with the hose and they were able to put
the venturi on it, wait five minutes, and take a 600 D/A
with an interface pad, feather it out, and
one-and-a-half coats later, you're back to where you
were before."
That was something he would have never tried with his
other brand, Chan said. But even though he was
impressed, Chan said he still had questions about how
the products would perform in his own shop.
"'How is this going to spray in the wintertime? Is it
going to flash right? Is it going to be blotchy because
the weather is just too cold and it's getting too
thick?' But they worked with me over the course of a few
months, and we were able to build a relationship
bouncing ideas off of each other."
Chan said he experimented with the products, using
different guns and spray pressures to try to get them to
not perform correctly.
"Once I got through winter, I knew it would be good for
the rest of the year," he said.
Because he was used to spraying another paint brand when
he was an employee, Chan said he thought he would choose
it for his shop. But he's been impressed with the hiding
ability of certain colors — reds would take six or seven
coats with the other brand — and the productivity of
Martin Senour's primers and the IPC21 clearcoat, which
allows fast flash times, even air drying.
One product in particular is Martin Senour's Vortex
Waterborne basecoat, an easy-to-apply, fast drying
basecoat that provides excellent color match to today's
OEM colors while meeting the strictest VOC limits in
North America. Vortex is especially suited for collision
centers specializing in high quality repair and
refinishing. Plus, the color program allows for 200
beautiful custom and classic restoration colors
utilizing the latest in cutting edge dry pigment
technology.
Chan adds there's going to be a learning curve anytime
you switch products, especially since a waterborne paint
is different than solvent, but there's no special tools
involved and you just need to practice. A hard working
mindset, willingness to learn new tricks of the trade
and continuous professional development has Chan
positioned for future success. "Anyone can sustain
business, but you need to make it grow," said Chan.
While Chan never thought he could own his own business
he's now envisioning multiple locations and a future of
endless opportunities.