Macadam hails Portuguese assistance

A Colne company has drafted in a Portuguese master in hailstone damage repair after being inundated with calls from owners of storm damaged vehicles.

John Macadam & Son Ltd brought in Jose Paulo Du Silva and his team after receiving close to 50 repair requests, due to damage caused on the evening of July 1st by £2 coin sized hailstones.

David Magill, Macadam’s body shop director, said: “It’s now two weeks since the storms, yet we’re still receiving calls from insurance companies and car owners themselves asking us to look at their hail damaged cars.

“Paulo came recommended to us because of his unrivalled skills in repairing hail damaged vehicles expertly and quickly; a job which has taken him around the world doing just that.”

Paulo, who hails from the Northern Portuguese city of Porto, has spent some 14 years chasing storms around the globe; a job which has seen him work in Australia, USA, Japan, Germany, South Africa and many more far flung destinations.

He said: “I constantly monitor the web and meteorological data to see where storms are anticipated. I remember three years ago I was in Austria and monitoring an expected storm in Catalonia and I received notification of a storm happening in the UK right then. We collected our equipment together and got straight on a plane.”

Paulo, of Auramotive, uses a method known as PDR (paintless dent repair) which enables him and his employees to repair dents of various sizes and shapes, without the need to paint the affected area.

He said: “Over the years we have noticed more and more storms are occurring and have even had reports of stones weighing 9kg; that would be some damage!"

Paulo and his team currently working on storm damaged vehicles from Sunderland through to Colne, so he, and employee Luis Landebar will be with Macadam’s for another two weeks yet and they are more than happy with their surroundings. “As soon as I got off the plane in Newcastle I could smell the fresh air and the Pendle area in particular is beautiful. I’ve been told I need to go up Pendle Hill while I’m here and will do just that if I find time before the next hail storm beckons,” he said.