Time to honour volunteers

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It has been a decade since the Barry Maney Group have undergone any serious upgrades at their Jubilee Highway West premises so when it was time to update the Ford dealership general manager Shannon Wilson decided to add other areas of the business to the renovation and this week the $1.5million upgrade gets underway.

Funded by parent company CMV Group, the four month project will be completed in four months across two stages and encompass the Ford showroom, the customer lounge, the car service and staff amenities.

“We will definitely be minimising the impact to customers and employees and once it is completed, they will be the ones who benefit,” Mr Wilson said. “Once we had the Ford update to do, we started looking at other parts of the car side of the business and it seemed the right time to update those facilities to improve the experience for customers and our staff.”

Stage One of the renovation will focus on the service department and the sales department will be the focus on State Two works.

“It will see the relocation of some of our offices but there will be plenty of signage and customers will be pointed in the right direction,” Mr Wilson said. “We are just asking all customers to be patient and take their time coming into the dealership and you can make a phone call ahead of time if you want to make sure you know where you need to go. We do apologise for any inconvenience but the upgraded facilities will be enjoyed for a long time.”

Kennett Builders, who have headed up many major projects in Mount Gambier and have a strong presence in the region, are in charge of the $1.5million upgrade and will be utilising as much local labour and products as possible.

“They always use local trades where possible and we are always committed to supporting our customers the same way they support us,” Mr Wilson said.

He also recommended the community stays in touch with the progress of the renovations via the Barry Maney Group’s social media platforms.

“In the end, everything will be in the same location but it will all be new.” Mr Wilson said.

The customer lounge will certainly be the jewel in the crown of the renovation.

“It will be larger, more comfortable and more inviting,” Mr Wilson said.

The toilet facilities will also be upgraded, including disability accessibility.

“All the work we are getting done is definitely overdue but the CMV Group is showing its willingness to invest in the region and I am hoping there will be more improvements and more investment in the coming years.”