The owner of Avia Autos has hailed Original Equipment Supplier Aftermarket Association (OESAA) member, Brembo, for its professionalism and influence during a visit to her workshop.

Hayley Pells and her team welcomed Brembo Aftermarket Area Manager, Siti Abdullah, to the workshop, who provided comprehensive business, marketing and technical advice and demonstrations throughout her stay.

Hayley, whose award-winning Avia Autos workshop is an OESAA Garage Forum member said the visit was “rewarding” and “thought-provoking” and, following her recommendations, has implemented a series of workshop practice improvements and bolstered her assortment of consumables and hand tools.

As part of the visit a front brake disc and pad replacement on a Renault Mégane was completed. This included, checking the connected parts to exclude any external issues that might cause brake issues in the future, stressing the importance of measuring components to ensure a ‘complete repair’ and using the appropriate tools to clean and replace the necessary parts, Siti observed and advised accordingly to ensure an accurate and professional job.

Siti said: “Part of our discussion was the lengths that OEMs go to guarantee the quality of brakes, which is a safety-critical product; for example, infrared cameras are used to find structural flaws, OEMs are given tolerances and the performance of the surrounding parts, so the OE part will perform to the exact requirement of the vehicle with no guess work or reverse engineering.”

Hayley commented, “Having a job on the ramp and being able to start from scratch was a valuable continuing professional development experience. I was very impressed with the amount of technology involved in the disc and pad kit; Siti’s depth of product knowledge was impressive, no-less expected from someone entrenched in an OEM business, and I enjoyed learning about the production process.

Siti shared details of the Brembo Expert programme with the Avia Autos team and how workshops could increase knowledge. Learning can be logged and assessed, and, as a result, it can be communicated to motorists, which Hayley described as an “excellent marketing tool”.

Hayley is close to completing her Brembo Expert training and has already starting to think about a digital marketing strategy to continue the “story-telling” style that has proven effective and complements Avia Autos’ passion for fitting OE, the core message of her business.

Hayley pointed out, “As motorists seek to keep their cars for longer, it is important my team and I are ready to correctly advise on long-term vehicle health with braking being one of the principal areas of concern.”

Hayley is a believer that Upselling should be replaced by ‘Right-selling’ when it comes to communicating with motorists, regardless of powertrain, all vehicles will still be required to steer, stop and stick to the road. If technicians are unsure of which area of technology to invest time for training, they should always have time for brakes.”