SAC Celebrates Milestone Birthdays throughout the Group
Steve’s Auto Clinic is getting ready to step on the accelerator as it celebrates more than three decades in business and two decades as a national group of vehicle service and upgrade centres.
This year the group marks the 20th birthday of the Franchising Era of Steve’s Auto Clinic (SAC), with the announcement of a significant expansion programme that will see SAC invest in its existing network and create SAC Centres in new regions.
The regions identified for expansion include Klerksdorp, Potchefstroom, Polokwane and eMalahleni, while SAC has also identified new investment opportunities in existing workshops.
SAC Kyalami was the first facility to open its doors after the original Steve’s Auto Clinic was opened in 1983 in Vanderbijlpark (32 Years).
“By 1995 we were servicing a large and growing number of clients in Vanderbijlpark that drove from Johannesburg and Pretoria to have their GTIs and VW Kombis upgraded. We realised that we needed to support these clients by opening a facility near them,” says Stephen Fischer, founder and owner of SAC Holdings.
With that in mind, Stephen packed an overnight bag and drove the road he knew best – to the Kyalami racetrack. A month later the Kyalami dealership opened next to the track with Stephen running between receiving customers and fitting performance equipment in the service bays behind the counter
“Vanderbijlpark is our birthplace and our Holdings office is established there, but in many respects Kyalami is our spiritual home. From here on we established our growing network of franchise outlets.
Kyalami (20 Years) will soon be followed by milestone-birthdays for SAC Cape Town (18 Years), SAC Centurion (17 Years) and later SAC Nelspruit (12 Years). The ‘young guns’, including SAC Boksburg, SAC Durban and SAC Port Elizabeth are also close to their 10th birthdays.
SAC Holdings recently implemented a virtual support hub where all its dealers can share best practices; discuss new developments and access support manuals. This will allow it to further improve its range of vehicle service options.
“With our new online system in place, SAC offers one of the most comprehensive service offerings in South Africa. Each branch has a range of diagnostic equipment to service any modern out-of-warranty vehicle. Add to that our performance upgrade expertise and our many years of service, and you know where to come for vehicle service and advice,” says Stephen.
SAC has one of the longest uninterrupted AA Quality Assurance records and is part of the RMI.