CSN Avalon – Growing and Gaining!
Two Slave Lake autobody shops have merged, with all employees, including Patsy Wells moving to the CSN Avalon location on 10th Avenue.
Patsy Wells is now the Assistant Manager at CSN Avalon, having moved with two technicians to the location following the merger. Mike Boucher, CSN Avalon’s long-standing location manager remains in his role with the support of Patsy and three administrative staff.
The facility is well-equipped with 12 bays for repairs and eight technicians.
Asked how the merger is going, Wells says, “Good so far.” “It’s overall been really, really good,” adds Boucher. “All of the files came over with me,” says Wells, “and they are all booked in for repairs. The customers still get a warranty on all their work. We’re here to serve Slave Lake.”
Lift acquired CSN Avalon in 2021 which has been in its location at 208 10 Av NW for 30 years. In 2023, it bought Carstar and merged the two. “There’s a multitude of reasons,” says Boucher, when asked why the companies merged. “A big one was difficulty in hiring technicians. Another was that Avalon needed to upgrade some equipment. Carstar had some new equipment, so the merger fixed this problem.”
Business at CSN Avalon is busy, booking into late October and November “People bring their vehicles to be repaired from Wabasca, Peace River, and as far away as High Level, which is about five hours north of Slave Lake. There are not a lot of options between here and High Level,” says Boucher. “Autobody isn’t a backyard trade anymore.”
