Cleanline Automotive is making use of a well-known Boler for their temporary office while the companys building in the Industrial Park gets renovated. Photos by Steph van de Kemp
Over the years, residents of the Columbia Valley have owned, ordered coffee, or even worked out of the Boler trailer now parked out front of Cleanline Automotive. The Boler, which is on loan from Ray Schnerch, is currently repurposed as an office space for Cleanline as the company goes through a renovation.
Aaron and Stephanie Van de Kemp, owners of Cleanline Automotive, realized they needed to get creative with what to use as an office space while the shop received an expansion. Stephanie had previously worked in the Boler, selling Kicking Horse Coffee at the Kaslo Jazz Festival, and knew that Ray had since acquired a new coffee trailer (Ray and Jacqueline Schnerch had used the Boler to sell Kicking Horse Coffee at music festivals across B.C. and Alberta).
We were trying to figure out what we were going to do when our office got ripped off and we just thought, Well, that would work. So we approached him and he said we could borrow it, said Stephanie.
When they received the Boler, it still had a sink, a till and plumbing in it, so it was up to Aaron to renovate it into a functional office space.
It took me a couple days working on it. It was odd because of the round corners; nothings square in it, making it a bit complicated to make everything fit a certain way. Once it did, it was good (but) it was a bit of work, said Aaron.
For clients coming to Cleanline to get work done on their vehicles, the Boler office has been a conversation piece. Adam, who spends his days at work inside the Boler, has been hearing a lot of burger jokes with people coming up to order food. For many clients, the Boler has even brought back childhood memories of camping in Boler trailers.
Some people are devastated that we ruined a Boler and some people think its the coolest thing ever, said Aaron.
Cleanline Automotive has been serving the community for four years, providing environmentally friendly automotive services. The company has now grown to have a loyal client base and receives many new clients by word of mouth for their clean shop.
When we get new clients, because a lot of our clients come by word of mouth, and they hear about this really clean tidy shop that we are and they come down and were working out of a Boler and they have maybe brought their high-end vehicle here, I dont know if the perception is really aligning with what they heard via word of mouth… Our existing clients, were not worried about because they know what were about and they know this is temporary. When we have new clients come, we have some explaining to do, said Stephanie.
Renovations started on the building in early July and they hope to have the project completed by the end of September.
Two months from now hopefully its done because were going to start to run into cold weather, said Stephanie.
The new expansion will feature a new hoist and bay allowing Cleanline to cut down on wait times for appointments, as well as a brand new office space and lunch area for the staff.
At the very least, we hope to get the hoist up and running pretty quickly. That parts important, we want to start getting more cars in, said Stephanie.
Once the renovations are finished, the Boler will return to Ray Schnerch and he will be restoring it into a high-end coffee trailer. Until then, the Boler will continue to house the Cleanline Automotive office and serve as a conversation piece for staff and clients.
