Vehicle body builder
Aimee Brown
Geoffrey Sandry is a body builder, but he doesn’t pump iron at the gym. Rather than spend hours honing his own figure, as a vehicle body builder, Sandry’s workouts involve constructing bus and coach frames. “Every time I say I’m a body builder people say `Oh, so do you do weights?’,” he says. “It’s pretty funny. I have to tell them it’s a different kind of body building.”
Sandry, who is about to complete the third year of his apprenticeship with Custom Coaches in Smithfield, says he fell into the industry by chance. He knew he wanted to do a trade and enjoyed metalwork at school, so when he saw an online advertisement for an apprenticeship in the field at Custom Coaches, he decided to apply. The vehicle body-building trade turned out to be just what he was looking for; it provides him with the skills to build large coaches and buses and has given him basic mechanical awareness to be able to apply his skills outside of work.
“I love working on my cars at home,” Sandry says. “It gives me the knowledge to do that.” At Custom Coaches, the job is divided into three sections; the frame, panel and the finish lines.
Sandry, 20, is working on the frame line, which is the first step in the body-building process. The basic structure of a coach is assembled from the plan, including the chassis and metal frame. Other major metal sections are then welded or bolted on to the primary framework.
While Sandry has experienced working on all three lines during his apprenticeship, he enjoys the frame stage the most because it lets him indulge his love of metalwork. Sandry says attention to detail is crucial across all lines. “You have to keep within the standards,” he says. “If it’s over the weight restriction, or too wide for the road, too long or too high, it can be illegal.”
Early in his apprenticeship, Sandry was guided by senior tradesmen to ensure regulatory standards were adhered to, but now he is trusted to work largely on his own.
Sandry says government jobs are excellent for honing skills, as each bus has to be built to strict uniform standards. The private consignments, however, are more of a challenge because each job has different requirements. While Sandry enjoys the whole process, he admits to getting a particular kick out of seeing his work on the road.
How to be a vehicle body builder
You need a Certificate III in Automotive (Vehicle Body Building) at TAFE or accredited training institution while working in a related field. Details: contact the Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Authority, 02 9712 2200 or mvria.nsw.gov.au
By Aimee Brown, The Daily Telegraph.
