In the Fast Lane: How NTI and City Panelbeaters Turned a Six-Month Setback Into a Success Story

When a Mitsubishi Fuso arrived at City Panelbeaters in Bayswater with a crushed cabin, it set the stage for a repair that would demand practical problem-solving, industry expertise and decisive action to stop a long wait from becoming a major setback.

The family-owned workshop has been part of Perth’s transport landscape since 1970, with a purpose-built facility and a team of technicians who rebuild everything from prime movers to light commercial vehicles. They see a wide mix of customers, from major fleets and mining operators to owner-drivers who rely on a single truck to put food on the table.

For years, they’ve worked closely with NTI as part of the Premium Repairer Network, a hand-picked alliance of top-tier repair professionals. In order to be invited to join the network, repairers must meet strict standards for specialist skills, workmanship, customer service, facilities and equipment levels. 

The trust that these premium repairers have earned means that when an NTI customer’s vehicle arrives in their workshop, they have automatic authority to begin work immediately, rather than waiting for an assessor to approve the repairs. It’s a process designed to minimise disruption, because in transport, time off the road has real consequences.

“Having that support means we can get moving straight away,” owner Carlo Rossi says. “It saves downtime, and it means our customers aren’t sitting around waiting for paperwork. We can do the repairs in half the time it would take otherwise.” 

Carlo Rossi (Owner, City Panelbeaters)

“It really allows us to fast-track and streamline the process,” adds Operations Manager Stefan Kuvekalovic, “and roll out the red carpet for NTI customers. With the green light NTI have given us, we can push their customers straight to the front of the line.” 

Stefan Kuvekalovic (Operations Manager, City Panelbeaters)

A daunting delay

This collaborative approach would prove critical when an NTI customer’s Mitsubishi Fuso arrived with significant cabin damage. “The cab was definitely beyond repair,” Stefan says. “It had copped a really nasty hit.” 

The only option was to replace the cabin, and that’s where the challenge emerged. The workshop was aware of stock shortages for that model, so when they contacted the dealer to source a replacement, they braced for bad news. 

“It looked pretty grim,” Stefan says. “We were told it could be four to six months before a cabin became available. With repair and fit-out time added, the truck could have been off the road for seven months.”

For owner-drivers and smaller operators, that kind of delay can be catastrophic. “If the wheels aren’t turning, they’re not earning,” Carlo says.

“We’ve seen people who operate on a fine-line budget, and if they’re having a bad run, it actually could send them broke. They simply can’t afford to have vehicles off the road.”

Long delays also strain the workshop. A half-stripped truck occupies valuable space and ties up resources. “Picking it back up months later is difficult,” Carlo says. “You lose momentum and the rhythm of the repair, and everything around it slows down.” Multiply that across busy periods and the effect is substantial.

Calling in the cavalry

With the timeline looking bleak, City Panelbeaters sought help from NTI Parts. Senior Parts Auditor Simon Dalgliesh was already on site assisting with another repair when he heard the details, and he immediately understood the stakes. 

“If it were my vehicle, and someone told me it’d be off the road for six or seven months, I know how I’d feel,” he says. It was that ability to put himself in the customer’s shoes that shaped what happened next.

“Simon heard our call for help and he went to work immediately,” Stefan says. “He loves these situations; he loves these challenges.” 

Rather than accepting the quoted timeframe, Simon called on NTI’s national supplier network. “We don’t just take six months as the answer,” he says.

“We look for alternatives, we pick up the phone, and we explore every option.”

Simon Dalgliesh (Senior Parts Auditor, NTI)

Years spent building supplier relationships, as well as a strong understanding of parts availability across the country, gave him the inside track. He knew exactly where to start making calls. 

“That’s the benefit of the network that NTI Parts has access to,” Simon explains. “We have the ability to reach out to suppliers around the country, and we just have so many different options to help get vehicles back on the road quicker.”

Within roughly thirty minutes, Simon had utilised his connections to track down a compatible replacement cabin. Pushing hard for a quick result, he made sure the cabin was already on its way to the workshop later that afternoon. 

It was delivered within seven days; a dramatic turnaround from the delay originally forecast. “We were gobsmacked,” Stefan recalls. “We went from thinking we’d have a truck sitting here for months to having a cab arrive at our doorstep in a week.”

That changed the entire trajectory of the repair. The workshop maintained momentum, fitted the replacement and had the truck back on the road in three weeks. For the customer, the relief was immediate. 

“He went from having his head in his hands, thinking about how he was going to fulfil his contracts and keep his customers happy, to being extremely happy and relieved,” Stefan says. “He could plan his next move, without having to worry about that strain and that business interruption. It was a nice conversation to have.”

Sharing the load

For City Panelbeaters, this outcome wasn’t just a win for the customer. It reinforced the value of having an insurance provider who understands the pressures of long lead times and doesn’t leave repairers to navigate those challenges alone.

“There’s a big difference between NTI and other insurance providers,” Carlo says. “Others don’t have a specialised parts team working in the background, which means we can be left high and dry on our own in situations like this. With NTI, they get involved early. They hear our call, and they do everything they can to help us.” 

“It gives us a lot of confidence,” Stefan adds, “knowing that we can lean on NTI Parts and their network of suppliers and contacts they’ve built over the years, rather than just being told, ‘It is what it is’. 

“When a customer rolls up in the driveway and says they’re with NTI and they’ve got a claim number on hand, it just makes it easy to move forward and get them back on the road.” 

In this case, half an hour on the phone meant a job that might have sat idle for six months was completed in three weeks, and a business that could have been pushed to the brink was able to keep moving.

“We were really hoping for a miracle,” Stefan says. “And thanks to NTI, we got one.”

This article contains general information only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should obtain professional advice based on relevant personal circumstances. Our products are subject to limits and exclusions. NTI is not responsible or liable for your use or reliance on the information in this article. Insurance products are provided by National Transport Insurance, a joint venture of the insurers CGU Australia Pty Ltd trading as CGU Insurance ABN 62 004 478 960 AFSL 700014 and AAI Limited Trading as Vero Insurance ABN 48 005 297 807 AFSL 230859 each holding a 50% share. National Transport Insurance is administered on behalf of the insurers by its manager NTI Limited ABN 84 000 746 109 AFSL 237246