TRADE TALK
AN AUTOMOTIVE JOURNEY! From preparing a Datsun Sunny to being the GM of Sales ANZ at one of Australia’s leading aftermarket companies, Shane Jeffreys has had quite the journey The Disc Brakes Australia General Manager of Sales ANZ was drawn to the automotive industry after helping a mate prepare a car to compete in club level motorsport.
license and heading for the beach as a young guy, with no air conditioning and wound down windows – it was the perfect introduction to motoring,” he says.
It was during this activity that Shane Jeffreys discovered the camaraderie amongst car people.
Shane gained his work ethic at a young age while helping out in his father’s business.
“I’ve always been drawn to the automotive industry for several reasons. But I would have to say the number one reason is the people,” Shane explains.
“I was still at school. I was working with my father in a kitchen business. During school holidays and weekends I would deliver kitchens to job sites. I remember the ridiculously long hours I worked back then. When we were busy it was nothing to do 16-plus hours a day,” he says.
Shane had been tinkering with mechanical machines long before helping his mate to build his race car engine. He grew up in country New South Wales on the mid-north coast where he loved the rural lifestyle, which included mucking around with motorbikes on his Dad’s acreage. “For 10 years I worked outside the automotive industry when a good friend of mine was building an engine for his Datsun Sunny to take part in NSW Improved Performance Racing Association (IPRA) racing,” Shane said. “Many evenings and weekends were spent preparing this vehicle and I was just helping where I could. When the season started, I recall being at the track when one of the competitors suffered a mechanical failure and everyone pitched in to get him back on the track for the race.” His mate’s Datsun was not the first time he had experienced the iconic Japanese model either – his first car was also a Sunny. “It was a 1979 Datsun Sunny; I swear I washed the red off that car literally. I still recall getting my
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Australian Automotive Aftermarket Magazine October 2021
Shane moved to Sydney when he was 17 and soon found a job which took in his passion in the automotive industry. “After moving to Sydney when I was 17, I bounced around a few jobs before I found a job with a Bridgestone Tyre dealer in Waitara (Jobsons Tyre and Mechanical),” Shane reflects. “Originally I was hired as tyre fitter, fitting tyres and doing wheel alignments. I was soon given additional responsibilities, which involved me filling in and running other stores in the network when managers where away.” A career move to GUD Automotive (RYCO filters) in 2010 was the impetus to take his career to the next level. “GUD Automotive is an amazing place to work under some passionate and knowledgeable leaders and alongside some of the best people in the industry,” Shane explains. “I have had and continue to have the opportunity
to learn from amazing people in the automotive industry.” He believes it was his “hard work and determination” that has been the keys to his career success. “Starting out as a young guy for me it was all about work ethic; working harder than the others; putting my hand up for additional work (on the weekends) and when I was asked to deliver a result, I made sure I exceeded that expected result,” Shane says. “Work ethic and attitude are attributes that can’t be learnt, you either have them or you don’t. Growing up as a kid my father and grandfather were great role models of this.
