Since opening his first collision repair facility in Beaverton, OR, 49 years ago, Ron Reichen said Precision Body & Paint’s philosophy has remained the same: “Dedication to excellence means consistent quality, fair pricing and unsurpassed customer service.” In addition to the flagship store in Beaverton, Reichen operates four additional locations in the state: Bend, Gresham, North Hillsboro and South Hillsboro. This year, they are opening a standalone mechanical and calibration center in Beaverton.
Precision Body & Paint
Beaverton, OR
503-793-0656
precisionfirst.com
Company At A Glance...
Type: Collision Repair
Facility Employees: 70+
In Business Since: 1974
Number of Locations: Five
Combined Production Space: 106,000 square feet
The business prides itself on being a certified auto body repair facility. “We grew from our first Audi certification in the early 2000s to over 15 manufacturer certifications today,” said Reichen.
Precision’s facilities are the only ones in Oregon certified by Audi, Porsche and Maserati; new certifications include Rivian, Lucid Motors and the electric Hummer. Reichen said the business strives to stay up to date with the latest technology and innovation in the collision industry.
“Our commitment is to create an undetectable repair through training and having the right tooling and facilities to have a positive outcome for our clients,” he said.
Prior to entering the collision industry, Reichen spent about eight years in the aircraft construction industry focused on molecular structure and energy pathing.
As an entrepreneur with a passion for working with metals, Reichen began working as a collision repair and refinish technician.
In 1974, the day after he turned 21, Reichen and two business partners opened Precision Body & Paint in a 10,000-square-foot rented facility with three employees. He eventually bought out his partners. Over the years, the business has grown to include five locations and currently has 70+ employees.
“I learned at a very young age that you never wasted a move,” recalled Reichen. “You were always efficient and consistent about what you did; hence, the company’s name is Precision.”
In addition to running Precision Paint & Body, Reichen has served as the chairman of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) and is involved in many facets of the industry.
One of his priorities has been to create a learning culture for employees. “I have a philosophy that the most important person in our business is the employee,” he said. “You take care of the employee, the employee takes care of the customer, and the bottom line will follow.”
The company also focuses on the relentless pursuit of rebuilding the car, following all OEM procedures and creating an undetectable repair. Working with AirPro Diagnostics, which specializes in remote automotive scanning, diagnostics and ADAS calibrations, is an important part of this pursuit.
AirPro uses OEM software and comprehensive multi-brand diagnostic applications directly connected to the vehicle while remotely operated by brand specialist diagnosticians.
Reichen has known the AirPro Diagnostics team for many years, being part of Collision Industry Conference (CIC) committees and seeing each other at tradeshows and SkillsUSA competitions.
Precision began using AirPro’s services when it was established in 2016. Working with the company’s remote brand specialists for so many years, Reichen has found the team has always been ahead of the game.
“They are constantly in a research and development stage and they do a really good job of staying up with current trends,” he said. “When a new product line comes out, they’re prepared for it.”
He has also been impressed with AirPro’s training and support. As new EVs come on the market, such as Rivian, Lucid and Polestar, Reichen said the AirPro team helps them navigate through the repair.
When Precision employees have a unique situation with a calibration or scan, they are matched with someone with that level of expertise. He said it makes a huge difference having a technician talking to a technician.
“The AirPro technicians are skilled in their product line and if they can’t solve it, they will find somebody within their organization and call us back so we’re never left without a resolution,” he said. “They are always a phone call away. They truly are specialists.”
For shops that feel they have the capability to service 45 brands on their own, Reichen said it’s not a reasonable expectation. With the price of OEM scan tools and targets, it can become very costly for a collision repair facility to invest in the equipment needed to repair vehicles.
By using AirPro’s services for scanning and calibrations, Reichen said they can rest assured that vehicles are being scanned with a factory scan tool and a certified repair was completed.
“We know when we finish the repair and give the vehicle back to the customer, we can be very comfortable that we’ve restored the safety features,” he said.
Since using AirPro, Reichen has always admired the products they produce and their commitment to ensuring the vehicle is repaired properly.
“What I appreciate is they have their hand on the throttle and that’s a testament to that fact that they know what repairers need,” he said.
AirPro Diagnostics
904-717-8693
airprodiagnostics.com
Facebook: @AirProDiag
Twitter: @AirProDiagnost1
Instagram: @airprodiag
LinkedIn: @airpro-diagnostics
YouTube: @airprodiagnostics1282
To read more auto body shop profiles from the June 2023 Shop and Product Showcase, click here.
