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» WE CATCH UP WITH Autowave ’ s Ravi Kotecha to find out what market and industry trends are the driving force behind his business so far this year …
“ As garages and motor factors start to sell spare keys as an add-on , auto locksmiths are being pushed into more specialist jobs . By this I mean that the non-locksmiths are offering a more basic service so we ’ ve seen our locksmith customers take on more skills .
“ Of course , we ’ ve been able to evolve with this trend and supply all aspects of the market . But as we always remain loyal to locksmiths , we ’ re constantly looking at ways to help them more . Two ways we can do this is through training and distribution .
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“ Looking at devices , while we saw many advancements in tools and equipment up to 2023 . We ’ re now seeing those start to be refined . Advancement has slowed down , but it ’ s not a bad thing . I think it ’ s because the machines are so good now . So what we see now are upgrades and refinements . Plus , when one manufacturer does something , another one will so we see more versions of the |
same thing rather than ‘ new ’ machines .
“ This comes back to locksmith skills too . Machines don ’ t do the work , people do . And , whereas in the past , the locksmith would always be more advanced than their equipment – it ’ s not always the case now . As such , more auto locksmith companies are offering training courses , ourselves included , with our IMI-approved training centre .
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“ Next up is distribution – and we have some really exciting news to share on that next month . We all know that it ’ s not economically viable for a locksmith to carry all possible stock ‘ just in case ’ they need something for a job . Our work is nearly always ‘ emergency ’ and rarely planned in advanced .
“ Our customers need to be able to get their products same day , whether that ’ s ordering online , giving us a call or picking up the order physically . In our mind , car keys are just like car parts and should be as easily available to get the job done and move onto the next . But more of that in July issue !”
www . autowave . co . uk
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