The Shamrock Automotive Team
From left to right: Sean Jr. ,Carmel, Monica, Sean Sr. , Colum, Braendan
How It All Started
It’s been over 4 decades since Sean Reddy fixed his first car on the driveway of his Beacon Hill home, dreaming of the day when he would own his own automotive business and serve the community of Fort McMurray.
And now, after his 44th anniversary of being in business as the owner and operator of Shamrock Maintenance & Autobody, he owes it all to the support of the community.
“I started as a one-man shop. I began working out of my home – out of a pickup truck. No garage, no nothing. My garage was my house in Beacon Hill, Beacon Hill Drive was my parking lot,” he laughs. “I overhauled many a truck on Beacon Hill Drive.”
In the fall of 1977, Sean rented his first shop on Manning Avenue and two short years later he was moving once again in the spring of 1980 to Shamrock’s permanent location on MacDonald Crescent.
Moving from 1800 sq. ft. to 6,000 sq. ft. in the MacKenzie Industrial Park in Gregoire, Sean was ready to meet the demand of his customers and accommodate Fort McMurray’s growing community.
“Our goal has always been to be the most complete service centre in town and with a lot of hard work, a commitment to customer satisfaction and a team of well trained & experienced technicians – we’ve been able to meet that goal.”
– Sean Reddy
Where We Are Today
With a successful automotive repair business and used car & truck lot, Sean has taken what was once a small-scale business on his driveway and turned it into a thriving enterprise, backed by the experience, expertise and support of a family that has grown beyond his own three sons.
With a staff that has grown by leaps and bounds over the years, Sean is proud to call his staff family, working side by side with some for upwards of 20 years.
Each member of the team contributes to the overall success of the business and has become an integral part of the shop’s daily operations.
In fact, Sean said that if it wasn’t for the dedication and loyalty of his team at Shamrock Maintenance & Autobody, the business would not have grown to what it is today.
“I’m very proud of my employees and without them, I wouldn’t have a business today. They are the backbone of the operation and I thank them for all the hard work they have done over the years.”
Eldest son Sean Jr. is a licensed Automotive Service Technician, along with younger brothers Colum, a licensed Autobody Technician, and Breandan, a licensed Automotive & Heavy Duty Service Technician.
“The boys have all been involved in the business since they’ve been able to walk,” said Sean. “It’s a family business. It’s grown from being just Monica (Reddy) and myself – we now have the three boys.”
In the past 44+ years, Sean has seen the city evolve from a quiet little community to one of the biggest boom towns in the country, with his shop growing to an impressive 25,000 sq. ft. Plus the startup of Tirecraft, next door to Shamrock Maintenance & Autobody’s location, in the fall of 2009. “Tires were becoming a full-time job for a few employees at Shamrock so we saw the need to start a tire shop just for this service,” Sean mentions.
And the one thing that has remained consistent, is Sean’s dedication to his customers, both private and fleet business.
“We’ve expanded over the last number of years to do a lot of fleet maintenance. Probably about 70% of our business right now is fleet maintenance,” he added.
“Even though they’re big companies, we strive on giving them personal service. My motto is: ‘It’s not finished until it’s road tested!!!’ I still road test many vehicles myself and I do a lot of troubleshooting in the course of a day. Nobody says a vehicle is ready until it has been test driven, either by myself, my sons or our shop foreman, permitting that the weather cooperates around Fort McMurray for safe driving! …It’s been my motto and it has paid off in customer satisfaction.”
“We never lose sight of the general public. We’ve had customers here since the start and we intend to look after them. I want to thank all my customers, both private and fleet, and all the people that have supported us over the years. We look forward to serving them for many more years to come!”
– Sean Reddy