New Sydney home for Don Kyatt Spare Parts

Don Kyatt Spare Parts’ new Sydney warehouse is located at 5 Ultimo Place, Marsden Park

Don Kyatt Spare Parts has moved its Sydney branch into a new, state-of-the-art facility in Marsden Park in the city’s North West. From this exciting new location, the company will continue to service the customers of both its Terrain Tamer 4WD and Flashlube brands. Don Kyatt Spare Parts was previously operating from a branch in Seven Hills, where it had operated for more than 30 years since opening in 1988. The branch had outgrown this former home however, and work on planning the new facility started in early 2020 before COVID-19 slowed down those plans. Working with a team of architects and project managers, the company navigated the slowdown of building permits and supply issues due to the pandemic, and held all design meetings online to finally deliver the new premises in May 2022. Built on a large 4500m2 site, the new building features two adjoining warehouses providing ample space and covers an area of a little over 1900m2 . Landscaping features bottle trees and timber totems of varying heights, to give the building an organic, outback feel. This outback theme is complemented by a red stone “corroboree” area at the building’s main entry, and a visually striking façade which features an aboriginal painting from long term Terrain Tamer customer, Kurun Warun, that has been digitised and laser cut onto a steel sunscreen which spans the width of the building. Titled “Dry Water,” the painting depicts two men travelling on the same journey and assisting each other when things get broken and pays homage to the roots of the Terrain Tamer brand, assisting the likes of Bill King who ran outback tours in the 1970s. It also depicts Terrain Tamer’s various locations as billabongs, across the outback and beyond, as a symbol that customers are never far away from the company’s network and support, wherever their travels take them. “The Aboriginal input into the screen and the inspiration for the landscaping gives the building an element of soul and timelessness which is very hard to do with a modern building,” says Adam Wright of Building Principals, who Project Managed the build. “It has turned what could have otherwise been just another building into a truly meaningful connection to what the brand represents.” Don Kyatt Spare Parts General Manager Brent Hutchinson agrees. “Having Tio (Kurun Warun) paint our story for us is one thing, but to be able to present it across a 40-metre building has really brought the culture of the company into light,” Brent said. “Terrain Tamer is more than just moving boxes, and our connection with our customers is achieved with a great amount of passion.” For more information visit www.donkyatt.com.au

OEC EXPANDS GLOBAL DELIVERY

The aftersales technology provider has opened a new technology centre in India

OEC, which says it is a leading technology provider for the aftersales industry, recently opened a new centre in Chennai, India, to build its digital expertise and improve its service offering globally. The expansion into a new Technology Centre of Excellence comes as a result of OEC’s growth, acting as an extension to the technology and operations teams in North America and Europe. Having a new base in India allows OEC to offer support 24 hours a day to manufacturers, dealers, repairers and insurers around the world. Opening on 6 April 2022, the new centre welcomed 300 employees, with OEC investing to attract and retain people with digital skills in the hub of automotive experience in Chennai. Chennai is the Indian base for many leading global automotive companies, including Ford, Daimler, BMW, Renault, Nissan, Ashok Leyland and Mahindra and Mahindra. The office has been designed to enable an agile way of working, building the technology provider’s expertise in business intelligence, data analytics, artificial intelligence and proof of concept for new software products. It will also increase OEC’s capacity for customer support, automation and software testing. Technology industry veteran Shan Nagappan will head up the new facility in India, bringing his 27 years of experience in technology leadership to the company. Before joining OEC, Shan was the chief operating officer for India at Replicon and managing director for India at Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions and Pride Technologies. “I am thrilled to be joining OEC at such an exciting time for the company. This expansion in India will make the most of the incredible pool of automotive and software talent in Chennai,” Shan said. “We cannot wait to grow our team to build on our services and innovate new products for our customers around the world.” “Shan’s experience will be a huge asset for our ambitious plans at the new Technology Centre of Excellence in Chennai. The office is well positioned to support our global operations and will enable us to offer support 24 hours a day to our customers across the aftersales industry,” Roger Heinz, the Managing Director (International) for OEC, said. OEC was also recently a Gold Partner for June’s International Bodyshop Industry Symposium (IBIS) Global Summit, at Le Méridien in Monaco. The three-day event brought leaders of the global auto collision repair industry together for a face-to-face networking event, where bodyshop technology and vehicle repair solutions took full focus in a series of plenary assemblies and conferences. For more information about OEC, visit www.oeconnection.com