“It ripped the entire roof off of [the front shop],” Bell said. “It was completely exposed. And what was bad about that was a month after the tornado hit, West Plains got completely flooded. So, you can imagine with not having a roof how much water was in that shop. We were squeegeeing out water every day for almost a month and a half trying to let it air out.” 

The flood caused massive damage to the foundation, and more than 20 potholes formed in and around the shop. Black mold grew everywhere. Nine of the 10 steel beams in the back building of the shop buckled. 

Bell, who studied dentistry before finding his way back to the family business in 2013, took the rebuilding process as an opportunity to make some shop improvements, beginning with the paint booth. Staff first attempted repairs to the damaged original. 

“We had to re-weld the seams on it and caulk the seams, and we got it to where it contained the overspray from the paint, but it just wasn't right,” he said. “We wanted to make sure our jobs were going to have the highest quality of jobs.” 

Bell extended the wall and put in a new 27-foot paint booth – a Garmat Zephyr downdraft paint booth.  

He also connected the back building to the front building to create one fully connected repair experience. At the same time, the parking lot was expanded to accommodate a loyal customer base built over 46 years, plus new customers arriving daily. 

“For the design layout of everything, obviously we just want to make it one continuous building [with the] office in the front andmake it make sense for the workflow where teardown, repair, paint, and final touches are processed,” Bell said. “Our business sits on highway frontage and so we catch a lot of traffic coming from Arkansas to Missouri or vice versa.” 

The shop employs a variety of tools and equipment based on OEM requirements but has always had a preference for Snap-on tools since the 1980s. For welders, Bell’s has the Lincoln Electric SP-100 arc welder, Snap-on MIG 185 pulse welder, Miller Millermatic 150 arc welder, Hypertherm plasma cutter, Snap-on YAH-22350 dent puller, Dent Fix RIVE multifunction riveter (Model DF-SPR-80B), and Snap-on ADP-265 aluminum panel dent puller. 

The shop’s air compressor system employs the Kaishan KRSB 15 HP rotary screw air compressor, Sullair ShopTek ST-1100 air compressor, Schulz air storage tank, Schulz ADS-125 compressed air dryer, and Speedaire aftercooler. 

Other tool and equipment choices include the PPG DigiMatch spectrophotometer, Trisk CureMaster Super Twin infrared lamp, Polyvance 8003 Nitro-Fuzer plastic welder, Challenger Lifts Versymmetric model CL10V3 Tto-post automotive lift, and an LED lighting control system. 

Bell’s Body Shop prides itself on being a community. It has technicians who have worked on vehicles there for more than 40 years, and Jake Bell says he takes pride in making each repair experience unique for customers. 

“We want to continue growing Bell’s Body Shop while never losing the small-town values that built it…We don’t want customers to feel like they’re simply another repair order,” he says. “We want to know their names, hear their stories, earn their trust, and treat them like family. Every vehicle that leaves our facility represents our name, our reputation, and our promise that it has been repaired correctly, is road-ready, and is safe for the families driving it.” 

The shop's rebuilding and comeback was a true community effort, Bell said, including by PPG distributor ColorVision, whose staff checked on the welfare of the staff and the business.

"They helped us with damaged items, to organize our product cabinets, and to update our systems. Their customer service and professionalism speak volumes of who they are and what they represent." 

Employees, friends, neighboring businesses, customers, and other community members helped the shop get its doors back open for business. 

"That experience reinforced something we’ve always believed: a business is only as strong as the people who stand beside it," Bell said. "We hope to create more career opportunities, invest in our employees, provide exceptional customer service, perform the highest-quality repairs possible, and continue building genuine relationships throughout our community."