CARSTAR has announced that it’s celebrating its 30th year of business, with plans to only accelerate its rapid growth.

Marking this anniversary, CARSTAR has plans to honor this occasion with new initiatives throughout the year that give back to the communities it serves through everything from customer appreciation to charitable donations.

“This landmark anniversary means the world to our organization, and we know that we would not have been able to make it to this moment without the support of our tremendous network, customers and communities we serve,” said Michael Macaluso, president, CARSTAR. “Offering tokens of appreciation throughout the year is our way to say thank you and, as we accelerate our growth in 2019, we look forward to celebrating many more milestones with all of you.”

CARSTAR was founded in 1989 by Lirel Holt on the belief that a network of high-quality collision repair facilities would benefit consumers.

“We were the first CARSTAR store, joining the network on October 1st, 1989,” said Gerald Wicklund, owner of CARSTAR Wicklund’s Collision Center. “Our location in Liberty, Missouri, is now a three-generation CARSTAR. To this day, I would highly recommend that a person join CARSTAR purely for the fact that you can do things that you could not do by yourself, from hosting golf tournaments to procurement support, while still being a local owner and operator.”

In 1994, CARSTAR expanded to Canada with master franchisee Sam Mercanti and, from there, the business expanded rapidly across the nation.

“Sam Mercanti advised us that it would be in our best interest to join CARSTAR, which is where our journey began,” said Paul Saputo, owner of CARSTAR Ancaster East and West. “As one of the first Canadian franchise partners, we were encouraged to operate as the best collision repair facility we could be. Here we are decades later, accelerating our drive to exceed expectations, and really the sky is the limit for us and CARSTAR as an entire network.”

The company has celebrated other milestones in the past, including repairing a total of over six million vehicles, employing more than 8,000 people across the U.S. and Canada, and opening its 600th location in 2018.

“Having been with CARSTAR since the beginning of its Canadian history, we have been able to witness the team make strategic decisions alongside industry advancements to help us achieve these milestone accomplishments,” said Domenic Lucarelli, owner of CARSTAR Stoney Creek. “Our favorite part about CARSTAR though has been the lasting friendships we have created. Relationships that once centered on business have now evolved into friendships with our insurance partners, vendors, customers and other owners. It is exciting to see the next generation, like our two sons Joseph and Domenic Jr., follow in these footsteps and succeed with CARSTAR, just like we have.”

Having begun 2019 with plans to accelerate its growth, CARSTAR said it is eager to support the next generation in advancing their collision repair business. With consolidation rates yet to slow in the U.S., many facilities within the network cite the support of the CARSTAR brand in addition to guidance and resources as the main reason they joined, according to the company.