 
Auto Glass Shop Turnover Rates Continue to
Rise
December 17, 2012
by Casey Neeley, cneeley@glass.com
Several collision repair groups have announced new acquisitions
and shop openings recently.
Gerber Collision and Glass, a subsidiary of the Boyd Group, has
announced the opening of another Florida repair center. The shop,
which Gerber has purchased, formerly operated as Colonial Auto Body.
Kim Allen, business development manager for Gerber, confirmed to
glassBYTEs.com/AGRR magazine that the deal was
a company takeover, but did not include acquisition of Colonial's
debts and financials. "It was an asset deal, but it was not a stock
deal," says Allen. "We did buy all of the intangibles, such as the
[company] name."
The addition of this shop brings Gerber's total number of greater
Orlando-area shops to 14, its total number of Florida shops to 37
and its U.S. national number of shops to 180.
"We continue to grow our presence in Florida, as we open our 14th
location in the Greater Orlando Area," says Tim O'Day, president
and chief operating officer of the Boyd Group's U.S. operations.
"We strongly believe that Florida is an attractive market for the
Boyd Group. The new location on Amelia Street helps expands the
Gerber brand and allows us to better serve customers and insurance
partners in the Orlando metro market."
Gerber added 14 additional Jacksonville, Fla., locations under
its Autocrafters
acquisition finalized December 3 and 11 Florida locations with its
acquisition of The
Recovery Room November 16.
Minneapolis, Minn.-based ABRA Auto Body and Glass has also announced
its acquisition of five Collision Solutions locations in Indianapolis,
Ind. This deal brings ABRA's national presence to 132 repair centers
in 14 states. "Acquiring Collision Solutions is an important part
of accelerating our national growth plans," says Duane Rouse, president
and CEO of ABRA. "Our long-term strategic goals are taking shape
and we look forward to being an important part of the Indianapolis
community."
"I was impressed with ABRA's approach to the acquisition process
and their commitment to acquiring top quality facilities," says
Aaron Clark, co-founder of Collision Solutions. "They also value
the importance of developing employee talent and building a culture
of ethics, integrity and teamwork. I know ABRA will be a great fit
for our employees as our cultures are very much aligned."
ABRA finalized its acquisition of Schoonover
Bodyworks and Glass in Stillwater, Minn., November 16.
Additionally, Lewisville, Texas-based Caliber Collision Centers
announced the opening of a new location in Edmond, Okla., Friday.
"Today's Edmond grand opening is the latest example of Caliber's
continued commitment to provide additional capacity in markets that
require the customer focus, operational excellence and cost management
that Caliber consistently delivers to our clients," said Steve Grimshaw,
Caliber's CEO, in a statement issued Friday.
"Our new Edmond location is Caliber Collision's third location
in and around the Oklahoma City market," adds Mark Sanders, COO
for Caliber. "We will continue to increase our market penetration
in this and other southwestern U.S. markets in the months to come
as we restore our customers to the rhythm of their lives."
Greg Clark, senior vice president of marketing for Caliber, confirms
that this new opening is not an acquisition of an existing auto
glass repair shop. "It was an old company building that we converted
into a collision repair building; it's what we would call a brownfilled
location, where we take a pre-existing building and convert it,"
says Clark.
What are your thoughts on the many acquisitions and shop openings
which have taken place over the past three months? E-mail Casey
Neeley at cneeley@glass.com
with your comments.
This story is an original story by AGRR™ magazine/glassBYTEs.com™. Subscribe to AGRR™ Magazine.
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