BASF Refinish has announced the appointment of its newest ColorSource member, Crest Industries (CRS), as a BASF single line distributor in the St. Louis, Mo., market.
CRS has been supplying the collision repair industry for the past 50 years by providing customized solutions for nuts, bolts, abrasives, body fillers, seam sealer and a variety of specialty products. The company will now be able to offer its customers the complete line of BASF Refinish coatings that include Glasurit, R-M and Limco product lines.
“The team at Crest is excited to be an authorized BASF distributor,” said Mike Garlik, president of CRS. “This is an exciting time for the CRS team to be partnering with BASF and celebrating our 50th anniversary in 2021.”
Rich Garlik was one of the original founders of Crest Products located in Wyandotte, Mich., in the early 60s. Later in 1971, Garlik partnered with his high school friend, Jim Syrett, and together they created the Crest Industries midwest territory that covers multiple states. Syrett’s strong finance background complements Garlik’s sales and marketing knowledge and experience. Their partnership has spanned 30 years, expanding their business to four locations before passing it on to the next generation.
The current leadership has been in the hands of the second generation for 20 years, led by Mike Garlik, president, Bruce Streiff, CFO, Joe Garlik, vice president of sales, and Jim Syrett, operations manager.
“The BASF team is extremely excited about the opportunity to partner with CRS as it launches its automotive refinish division,” said Tim Brown, western region zone manager for BASF Refinish.
CRS is still a family-owned business, spanning three generations with a current offering of over 30,000 individual items/part numbers. Together they service over 3,000 customers with a dedicated staff of over 100 employees who support their customer-first mindset. They supply the following industries: automotive, collision repair centers, industrial, manufacturing, fleet, marine, aviation, PPE janitorial supply, hydraulic hose and fitting, hardware and fasteners.
“The launch of our BASF Automotive Refinish division combined with our quality employees and years of experience in the distributor business will provide us with a competitive advantage in the collision repair market,” said Mike Garlik. “The CRS business model is based on the core principal of a customer-first attitude that continues to drive our innovation, passion and success.”
