13
years is a long time to be in automotive trim and I've enjoyed it!
I started on the production line making bits
for Jaguar seats and ended up as Product Launch Manager. In between I
have worked in Quality Assurance, Customer Support, Design and Testing,
Six Sigma Blackbelt and Product Development. Along the way I have worked
for and with some of the best companies: Jaguar, Aston Martin, Rolls
Royce, Ford, Toyota etc.
My three key lessons:
1. Quality starts and finishes with the customer
2. High Quality = Low Waste = Low Prices
3. Honesty at all times
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In
2003 I decided to turn my hobby of restoring classic cars into a
business.
At first I made clapped out classic cars
roadworthy before selling them on. This grew into bare metal
resprays and restorations.
I made most of the trim myself because I found
the existing suppliers to be too expensive or of poor quality. I tried
auctioning a few of my items on ebay and the feedback was really
positive.
In 2005 I decided to focus 100% on trim. Trim
boards came first followed by my highly popular kits.
Finally, in May 2006, I launched my own
website. |
Park
Lane Classics is growing all the time and I have only scratched the
surface of what I want to do.
I make my own trim boards, seat covers and
foams. This means that I can produce complete interiors using matching
vinyl.
I now make all my boards using CAD and CNC,
shortening development times. I am currently working on earlier model
Spitfires & GT6s.
I want to add new models to my range. I have a
set of TR6 seats... I wonder if I could justify buying a whole car to
the taxman? |