Thalia Richardson | Daily Journal

Thalia Richardson | Daily Journal

ROCKINGHAM — Community members and leaders gathered on Friday to celebrate a ribbon-cutting at Sandhills Collision Center on Lady Mary Lane in Rockingham.

Their original location is in the West End of Moore County, where they’ve operated since 2017. They noticed they had a large number of clientele and employees from Richmond County, and it was a logical place for them to expand too. They’ve operated out of the former Bobby King’s Body Shop building since July of this year.

“We have really met so many nice people in Rockingham. We’re so glad to be there,” said co-owner Susan Read. “So many of our employees live in Ellerbe, Hamlet, Rockingham. It’s been just such as easy and natural progression.”

Susan is a a former music educator who ended her career in Montgomery County as an instructional technology facilitator. The other co-owner is her husband, Tim Read, who learned the trade from his father who worked in Germany and has been in and out of shops his whole life as a body man and now a manager.

During the pandemic, Susan said it was really hard for shops to get all the necessary parts, and it wasn’t uncommon for even major retailers to be backed up months at a time.

“Insurance companies were sending people long distances just to get estimates,” Susan said. “We got a lot of business and a lot of people found us during that time. It’s really worked well for us because the need is definitely there.”

While their West End location does NC state inspections, mechanical repairs, oil changes, alignments and tire mounts, their Rockingham location is currently only focused on collision repair, which is anywhere from the outer cosmetic area to the various parts, brackets, welding and structure of the vehicle.

“Our big thing is, it’s stressful going through accidents,” Susan said. “We try to help alleviate that stress, especially if it’s the first time you have to file insurance claims and go through all that, it’s a very stressful situation. We have people say we use y’all for business just because you were nice on the phone. I’ve always wanted this to be a place that my mother or grandmother would be comfortable going to.”

While Sandhills Collision Center celebrated with a ribbon cutting on Friday, they’ve been members of the Richmond County Chamber of Commerce for about as long as they’ve been in business.

“We really have good employees and really appreciate them,” Susan said. “We’re blessed to have such great employees.”

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