The Automotive Industry is filled with plenty of wise old heads. In the tiny town of Ravenshoe in Far North Queensland, there is a young family making a go of their first mechanic shop. Jerry Withers and his wife Emily make the small business work for them and their children as they build Withers Workshop in their local community.

Words and pictures: Lara Wilde

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How did your workshop come to be?

JW: In 2018, Emily and I established the mechanical workshop in the main street of Ravenshoe. The building used to be the local tyre dealership and so it was very easy to convert it to a mechanic workshop with hoists, easy driveway access and storage areas already in place.

What services do you offer at Withers Workshop?

JW: We offer all general servicing for vehicles and provide regular maintenance and repairs on a wide variety of cars. We take on small and big jobs, from the pensioner through to Government vehicles. We provide roadworthy certificates for cars and motorcycles. Living in the tropics of North Queensland our air-conditioning maintenance and servicing is very popular. Recently, we purchased a tilt-tray tow truck to recover and move local breakdowns for our customers. The latest addition to the workshop is a full suite of tyre equipment so we can now fit, balance and repair tyres and wheels for our clients.

What does the team at Withers Workshop specialise in?

JW: Ravenshoe is a small, close-knit community and we pride ourselves on being locals. We don’t specialise in a particular service or technique, but we pride ourselves on our local knowledge and our commitment to caring for our customer. We take the time to get to know them and give them the best advice we can. Our focus at Withers Workshop is on building long-term relationships with the people in our community.

Jerry, what is your background in the automotive industry?

JW: I started my career as an apprentice in a small mechanic workshop that worked on just about everything. I quickly learnt to be innovative and adapt solutions to be a jack of all trades. That little workshop offered Dyno tuning for customers and I enjoyed the opportunity to work on high-performance vehicles. Once I completed my apprenticeship and became a qualified mechanic, I went contracting as a freelancer working for a variety of other businesses in the region. Eventually, my wife Emily and I decided it was time to take the leap and open our own workshop.

Who is your current team at the Withers Workshop?

JW: There are three mechanical staff in the current team: myself as head mechanic, our other qualified mechanic Quinton, and our mechanic apprentice Jai. Emily provides administration support in the office and takes care of our marketing.

Do you do much to upskill or train yourself and your staff?

JW: Being based in a relatively remote area, we place a lot of value on keeping our staff up to date and as well-trained as we can. We attend networking events, training sessions, and read extensively whenever possible. Reading industry relevant material such as the MTA Queensland magazine is also very useful to keep us up to date with the latest developments in the industry.

What are your plans for the business for the next few years?

JW: The past six months have seen a lot of growth at the Withers Workshop. New signage on the building, the new shop tilt-tray tow truck and the new tyre machine have raised our profile and increased our opportunities to grow. Over the next few years, we intend to continue to slowly grow the business and work on some cool cars.

What advice would you give a young Jerry Withers starting out in the automotive business?

JW: Go hard, and don’t work with friends or family!

How much importance do you place on social media for marketing the business?

JW: We have a Facebook page and find that it is something that helps reach our local customers. It allows us to add a human element to our workshop, connecting the stories of our family and staff with our customers in the community. However, we also know that we are not taking full advantage of Facebook as a marketing tool.

What do you see as the greatest advancement in technology for your business?

JW: Scan tools definitely make our lives easier. They allow us to stop guessing at what the problem might be and cut straight to the solution quickly and easily.

Do you consider that the advancements in electric vehicles will have an impact on your business and if so, how?

JW: I am not sure just yet what impact the electric vehicle market will have on Withers Workshop as we haven’t seen any electric vehicles in our little town. I’m sure the biggest impact we will have to consider will be the tools and equipment necessary to work on them.

Has Covid-19 affected your business?

JW: We had not been open long when Covid first hit and so we didn’t have a lot of runs on the board to measure the impact against. Also, North Queensland was a pretty safe zone without many restrictions. We still followed all of the guidelines we were advised to adhere to and I believe that gave our customers confidence in dealing with us.

What do you do with your spare time?

JW: We love spending time as a family. We are in prime fishing country and it isn’t too far to the coast to head out on the reef. And we have plenty of lakes locally for Barramundi fishing.

What cars do you own?

JW: I currently have a GQ patrol as my daily driver and an assortment of old Holdens, including a VH SLX Commodore.

What has been the greatest benefit of your MTAQ membership?

JW: We signed Withers Workshop up as an MTA Queensland member about a year ago. It has been great to be able to access the resources and to have support when it comes to the running of the business. In particular, and as I am a new employer of staff, MTA Queensland has been excellent to turn to for human resources advice. Most
of all, we appreciate knowing there is someone to call when we need them.

Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (May 2021)

5 May 2021