Bertram Construction completes Honda dealership with ‘wow’ factor

 Robin MacLennan

Ontario Construction News editor

The wow factor at a new Honda dealership in Midland is something employees, customers and the community have welcomed.

“This dealership deserves to be described as a “wow” dealership because of the top of the line service equipment including a Hunter Quick Check machine that scans every car that comes into the service department using its 32 lasers and eight cameras to give an alignment analysis and the status of your tread depth,” said Jordan Metz, Bertram Construction project manager.

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Midland Honda officially opened the state-of-the-art dealership at 947 Jones Rd. on Nov. 23. It’s a 23,422-square-foot facility, located on a 2.48-hectare lot at the corner of Highway 12 and Jones Road. Featuring a seven-vehicle indoor showroom, 11 service bays, a customer client centre and drive-thru car wash – an upgrade from the old Midland Honda dealership, it sets a high bar for design.

There’s a fully automated car wash, 10 hoist bays, an alignment machine, two detailing bays and a photo booth. At this dealership customers also enjoy a large showroom that displays five of Honda’s top of the line cars/ trucks, all the parts you could possibly need at the retail parts department and a customer lounge while you wait to have your car serviced.

It’s a facility that Metz knows well from the ground up, since the Bertram Construction project manager lead the year-long construction project, working with a solid team of local sub-contractors.

“As always it was a pleasure to work with all the local subtrades on this project. It was great to see everyone work together to complete this project on schedule during these uncertain times,” he said.

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The new facility opened on time, despite a short delay during last year’s COVID-19 shutdown. It’s a unique facility with many details that enhance the customer experience – including upgraded finishes in the showroom and other areas.

“The shop floor finish is an epoxy Stonhard flooring. This is a high-strength industrial flooring that is designed to provide superior impact, abrasion and chemical resistance,” Metz said.

In late May and early June last year, concrete trucks poured the floors in the Showroom, the Service Drive-in and the Service Shop. This phase of construction was little different than what normally occurs. The initial pour is handled by seasoned craftsmen that will level and finish sections of the concrete floors for proper drainage.

While many car dealerships have floors created this way and it is functional and usable, it is not hardened with a sealant.

“Floors at the Midland dealership were hardened and colored with a liquid product expertly applied by the company Stonhard. The Drive-in Service area was coated with Stonshield HRI Mortar and the Service Shop floor has the bullet proof Stonclad GS Mortar applied. Both service areas will use two tones of grey to identify work areas and a bold yellow pathway will be laid out to define where customers can walk safely while visiting the work area to inspect their vehicles,” said Richard Davies, Honda dealership vice president and general manager.

“Customers are very impressed with the clean finished look of the drive-in greeting zone and the technicians’ work area. The red tool storage bays and hoists surrounded by the grey colored floor accented with vibrant yellow will be eye popping for sure.”

This meticulous attention to detail is found throughout the building.

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Thanks to the teamwork of all subtrades and the leadership of the Bertram Construction team, Midland Honda “feels right” for customers, staff and the community.

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