Raquel Bowen builds Alignment General from electrical roots into wheel-alignment trade

Kingston-area motor trade circles are hearing more from Raquel Bowen, who introduces herself as Candy: an auto technician whose daily focus is wheel alignment and who co-founded Alignment General in 2020 alongside a business partner she no longer works with.

Bowen said the firm’s launch was demanding at first, likening the handover to being dropped in deep water, but she leaned on years of electrical practice—work she describes as mentally taxing—to steady the operation. She did not attend university; at high school she studied auto electrics after being unable to get a place in accounting, and the core wiring skills she picked up there were for domestic installations. A work-experience placement then took her to Transport and Repairs, the police-linked workshop that later became the Transport and Maintenance and Management Division (TMMD), where she said George Brahma oversaw her training and where she absorbed lessons from working among mostly male colleagues.

She still handles electrical faults on vehicles but has concentrated on alignment for over six years, a discipline she prefers to tracing hidden electrical gremlins because, she explained, results can be seen and felt through the steering wheel after a road test. Days run long—typically 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sundays, though she said Sunday shifts sometimes stretch—and she recounted a recent evening when a customer insisted she remain to inspect a car before she could leave to cook dinner.

Bowen shared two encounters where male motorists questioned whether a woman would perform their alignment; in one case the driver left the yard, while in another the man stayed, watched quietly, and later praised the outcome. She tells motorists that routine front-end checks cost less than deferring maintenance, especially with Jamaica’s rough road surfaces, and urges drivers to steer around potholes where they can.

Looking ahead, she said she wants additional outlets—possibly overseas—and is training two mechanics, including her son, so customers receive consistent service when she is off site. To girls considering the trade she offered practical encouragement: do not let oil and grime deter you—manageable grooming choices exist—and push to outperform expectations in a male-dominated field. Asked whether she ever second-guessed the career switch, she replied, “No. Not for 1 second. Not for 1 minute.”