BARRINGTON, Ill., Nov. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Roadster Salon, the largest restorer of Fiat Spiders in the US has announced it's moving to a larger facility this November. While the COVID-19 Pandemic has dramatically impacted small businesses across the country, taking a cruise in a classic convertible is still an activity people can safely enjoy with a friend or family.
According to Ray Marchica, Roadster Salon's Director of Sales/Marketing, the company currently has a two-year backlog of orders on some models. Sales during the crisis have continued strong. The bigger challenge has been how to protect Roadster's high-risk craftsmen while working in cramped quarters. This has severely limited the number of technicians available since the beginning of the outbreak.
"Managing customer expectations while protecting our technicians has proven to be a bigger challenge than we anticipated," Marchica said. "With reduced staff, it's like a V8 engine running on just two cylinders." As a non-essential business, Roadster was forced to close four months during the Spring and part of the Summer. Despite Roadster's precautions, some team members have chosen to stay home and wait for conditions to improve.
With no end to the Pandemic in sight, Roadster's management began looking for a long-term solution to the social distancing problem this Fall. After much consideration, they decided to expand their operation so that more technicians can safely return to work. This includes dividing the new space into three buildings rather than combining assembly, storage, and administrative offices into one unit.
Roberto D'Avola, Roadster's Shop Manager says this expansion/separation is long overdue. "The work area in the new building is literally three times the size of our current facility. It will be much easier to set up stations to better protect our technicians and improve efficiency without compromising safety. It's not only a solution for the present, but one for the future as well".
Ray Marchica added, "Aside from dramatically increased delivery lead times, the Pandemic has also forced us to delay production of our new line of Electric Spiders. We simply could not safely integrate EV production without making an already potentially dangerous situation worse. Many of our technicians have pre-existing health concerns. Adding EV into the mix would have made the viral risk unacceptable. This move puts the EV program back on track."
Roadster Salon's expansion to Palatine, Illinois should be complete by year end.
Media Contact: Ray Marchica 847.769.7880 [email protected]
SOURCE Roadster Salon
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