Al Meyer Ford has a new addition to its body shop, a state-of-the-art painting system that is the first of its kind for Lufkin.
The shop acquired the Concepts "paint bath" system last week at a price tag of $65,000, making it possible for the car dealership to paint larger cars in half the time.
Steven Alford/The Lufkin Daily News |
A look inside the Concepts 'paint booth,' the newest addition to Al Meyer Ford, located on Loop 287. The computerized system makes it possible for the body shop to paint larger cars in half the time.
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Steven Alford/The Lufkin Daily News |
Al Meyer Ford body shop manager Jesse Hale demonstrates the computer system that controls the new paint booth.
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"Now within two hours we can have a car painted and ready to go," said Jesse Hale, body shop manager. "And we can handle bigger vehicles like the newer truck models."
The large device, which resembles a big white box with lights inside, is 15-feet wide and 30-feet long and can shoot paint of all kinds of colors onto vehicles. After the pain is applied, it is then can-dried with the room's super-heated air vents.
The whole system is completely computerized too, with technology that's light years ahead of the shop's old analog painting system, Hale said.
Staff say the investment is a sign of Al Meyer Ford's commitment to quality and the community.
"As bad as the economic times are, we're happy we can make a capital investment of this magnitude to help the dealership as a whole," said Carl Crain, vice president of Al Meyer Ford. "I think it shows that we're here to stay in Lufkin."
The new painting box was delivered to the dealership in several sections on an 18-wheeler and was later assembled at the shop.
"It was like putting together a metal house," Hale said. "It was big project."
A new paint job in the booth can cost anywhere from $2,500 to $9,000 depending on the size and make of the vehicle.
Hale said that more and more people are fixing up older cars, trying to make them last longer and the paint booth is an easy way to give an old car a new shine.
"You can take an old car and bring it into the shop and within two hours your car will look good as new," he said.
The Al Meyer Ford body shop is the only full service body shop in Lufkin, staff say, and now with the newest addition, the shop's capabilities have grown even more.
"We do it all here from sales, to repairs, to towing, to body work," Crain said. ''And we're happy to have the new equipment because it sets us apart for what we can do for our customers."
For more information call Al Meyer Ford at 699-5261.
