Business
7 May, 2025
Autopro family backing Mount Isa to have a strong future
Kevin and Nikki Rowsell believe there's still plenty of life left in the Outback mining city.
Kevin and Nikki Rowsell know firsthand the highs and lows of running a business in a mining town, which is why they didn’t hesitate to invest in a rebrand despite some community concern about the city’s short-term outlook.
Last week, the family-owned-and-operated business became an Autopro after 29 years operating under the Autobarn banner.
“It’s the same parent company, so the customer won’t notice a lot of change, but it was a good opportunity to refresh the store,” Mr Rowsell told North West Weekly while reflecting on his lengthy stint as a business owner in Mount Isa.
“I’m a local, and growing up here, I saw an opportunity.
“We built the building, set up the business, and it’s been 29 years.
“In 1996, Mount Isa was pumping. There was a lot of excitement around town. On our opening day, we set one of the biggest records for a store opening at the time.
“The town appreciated what we did, I think, and they enjoyed it.
“We offered a service that was obviously needed.”
Mr Rowsell said he was not concerned about Mount Isa’s future, despite the forecast of hundreds of job losses from the closure of Glencore’s underground copper mines.
“In 29 years of being here, we’ve seen the town go up, we’ve seen the town go down, but it always just bounces back,” he said.
“Mount Isa bounces up and bounces down, but you just ride with the waves and keep innovating and keep moving forward.”
Mr Rowsell, who works alongside his wife and their son Anthony each day, with the latter able to run the store at a moment’s notice, said the rebrand came at a good time.
“(The Autopro brand) is more in line with a town and a population the size we have, but it offers all the same products, the same prices, and we can still do all the same things,” he said.
“When you refresh the store, give it a fresh coat of paint, fresh signs; it gives everyone an extra skip in their step.
“You feel good about coming to work, it looks good and it’s great to have a refresh and a refurb – it just improves everything.”
Ms Rowell said she had enjoyed the experience of working in automotive retail across three decades.
“It’s always evolving and changing,” she said.
“There are always new vehicles and new products. You never know day to day what somebody is going to come in and ask for. Even after being in the industry for 29 years, you occasionally get a customer walk in and ask you for something that you’ve never heard of before.
“Having been here so long, too, we do have customers that have shopped with us and – showing our age – we’ve actually got staff working for us after their parents had worked for us!”