Jason Stahl and Nadine Battah count down the top 10 consolidation stories of 2023.

Drum roll, please … here are the top 10 consolidation stories of 2023!

1. Joe Hudson’s Acquires Four Stores in Arkansas. Joe Hudson’s Collision Center, a leading national multi-site collision repair operator in 15 states, announced four new closings: the acquisition of Steve’s Auto Body in Arkansas with locations in Jonesboro, Marion, Paragould and Searcy.
2. Focus Advisors Offers 2022 Consolidation Year in Review. Focus Advisors published its annual paper on M&A activity in the collision repair industry, remarking that the “Big Four” became the “Big Three”, and the second tier continued to accelerate their growth.
3. Damien Reyna: From Technician to COO of Driven Brands Collision. When Damien Reyna started out as an apprentice technician at CARSTAR Mundelein, he never envisioned leading the entire organization, but, nearly twenty years later, that dream came true as he was  promoted to chief operating officer for U.S. Collision, Driven Brands.
4. Classic Collision Adds 40th Location in Florida. Classic Collision announced the acquisition of R&R CARSTAR in Apopka, Florida, upping their number of repair centers to 40 in the Sunshine State.  
5. Auto Glass Now Expands with 10 New Locations. Auto Glass Now, part of the Driven Brands family, announced the opening of 10 new facilities across the country, each measuring thousands of square feet and offering full auto glass repair and replacement services, including ADAS calibration.
6. Classic Collision Announces Executive Promotions. Classic Collision announced the promotion of Alexander Brinkman and Cody Johnson to vice president of mergers and acquisitions.
7. CARSTAR Fort Collins: Process Produces Performance. A new facility, which had been used for granite storage, provided ample room for owner Doug Kaltenberger to install a repair process system he had long dreamed about,  including a production area drawn from his 30 years of working as a collision repair technician.
8. Classic Collision Reaches 250 Locations. Classic Collision announced three new closings in Colorado: Vintage Autoworks & Collision in Littleton, Body’s by Brown in Englewood and Northern Colorado Auto Reconditioning in Greeley, pushing its nationwide shop total to 250.
9. Victory Automotive Group Acquires Two Ohio Dealerships. Michigan-based Victory Automotive Group acquired C&C Toyota and C&C Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealerships, with the deal including 12,480 square feet of office/showroom space between the two dealerships as well as a collision center and body shop, detail shop and quick lube shop.
10. Oka’s Collision Centers of Hawaii Purchases Island Fender. Oka’s Collision Centers of Hawaii, a family-owned company with more than 50 years in business, announced the purchase of Island Fender in Honolulu, Hawaii.