“There’s a world-class facility right in their backyard and they don’t really know it exists.”

So says Rick Francoeur, who, along with brother Daryl, owns 360 Fabrication, a custom shop for cars, trucks and anything else with wheels.

In business for just three years – and one of the newest members of the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce – the Francoeurs have built their business to be one of the largest shops of its kind in the Lower Mainland.

“We do stuff here that most shops would never even try,” said Rick. That includes custom work on cars, exotic cars, trucks, hot rods, muscle cars, bikes and boats. In short, 360 [the name means full service] can build or restore everything from a Malibu to a monster truck to a Maserati sports car.

“It’s not a body shop, it’s a custom shop,” said Rick, adding he and his brother can hand build anything to their customer’s satisfaction.

“There’s no such thing as no. We can build it. We can take your vehicle from start to finish.”

At age 35, Rick has a background as a body shop technician who specialized in heavy collision.

Older brother Daryl, 37, has his training in the aviation industry, where he specialized in aircraft structure building. Together, they make the perfect team and have collected 38 awards from car shows in just two years.

“Some say I’m the gas and he’s the brakes,” said Rick, who does most of the talking for the pair. “Most days we complement each other. And no matter what, we trust each other.”

He said their professional team can build a car faster, more efficiently and deliver it for less money to the customer.

But being the new kids on the block in the custom industry has had it challenges. And Rick admitted they don’t exactly fit into the hot rod or car club mold.

“The hardest part is being accepted by the local market,” he said.

That’s where the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce comes in. The brothers decided to join the Chamber in August because they liked the networking and the business development end of it.

“It’s a niche market, there’s no doubt about that,” said Rick, adding they just doubled their space to 7,000 square feet and added an extra bay in July.

Wanting to hang on to their skilled, tightly-knit crew, the brothers have one way of keeping their four employees happy. They take them out for lunch every Friday to show their appreciation.

Thinking beyond the Fraser Valley to the North American market, the team is currently working on a ’65 Chev Malibu convertible that will be going to an electronics show in Las Vegas in January, while also doing a complete restoration on a ’73 Maserati.

With some customers coming from thousands of miles away the Francoeurs see only bigger and better things on the horizon.

“We give old style service. Our customers leave here being friends,” said Rick. “Daryl and I are pretty proud of that.”