A journeyman technician with 15 years experience in the automotive trade and a second-year apprentice technician have joined together to open a new automotive repair and detailing business in Kamsack.
On March 8, Mike Guillet and Chris Fesik began accepting jobs at Shining Armour Auto in a newly-renovated building located at the intersection of main street and Third Street in Kamsack.
“We’re accepting work on all vehicles that are one ton and under,” Guillet said last week during the afternoon of the partners’ first day of business.
Shining Armour is equipped with three bays, two of which are already in use, including one with a two-post lift.
“We’re prepared to do all types of mechanical work and will be able to do wheel alignment jobs by the end of June, he said. “We can provide electrical diagnostic services and are working on being CAA accredited.”
The business is handling a full line of vehicle engine additives and is stocked with wiper blades, batteries and oil products.
“At $90 an hour, we have the lowest shop rate in town,” he said. “Our three core values are honesty, trust and integrity.
“This business is something I’ve been looking forward to for years,” he said, adding that partnering with Fesik, who also enjoys the work, is a good fit “for us and for Kamsack.”
In his 15 years in automotive repair, Guillet said he has accumulated 20,000 trade hours. For the past four years he has worked at Country Service in Kamsack, and before that he worked at Concept Auto Works in Calgary. He received his journeyman technician’s accreditation in October from SIAST.
Fesik is a second-year apprentice who has been doing custom contracting work.
Also working at the business are: Steph Danyluk, a part-time receptionist; Kevin Didychuk, an apprentice mechanic who has been working at Broda Construction for the past few years, and James Perry, who previously worked at the Kamsack Petro-Can outlet, and is the business’s detailer.
The building was previously the location of A & L Plumbing, he said. Before that it was owned by Todd Chrysler, and before that, Johnny’s Super Shell.
“As far as I can tell, it was built in 1947,” he said.
Guillet and Fesik began renovations to the building on December 23. The work included gutting the interior, re-insulating and re-sheeting walls and roof and installing new electrical, plumbing and heating fixtures.
“We appreciate all the help we received from the contractors,” he said. “We could not have opened without their help.”
Shining Armour Auto is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“We will have someone on duty during the lunch hour,” he said, adding that nowhere else in Kamsack can one go to such a service depot during lunch.
Guillet and his wife Michelle are the parents of three children ranging in age from three years to 16 years, while Chris lives with Celeste Bielecki.
A grand opening of the business is being planned for May with a ribbon cutting ceremony and a customer-appreciation barbecue.
