Classic Collision Inc. of Atlanta, Ga., has acquired Palm Collision Center in the South Florida region. This acquisition solidifies Classic Collision’s presence in South Florida, after the purchase of Carolina Auto Body in December 2019, now giving Classic eight South Florida locations.
Palm Collision Center has served the Broward Florida area since October 1983, originally running under the name Palm Pontiac Body Shop as a franchised, new car dealership. The dealership was owned and operated by the Kelley Family and was first located on Federal Highway in Ft. Lauderdale. Palm Pontiac became Palm Collision Center in July 2001 and, as the collision portion of the business became more prevalent, Shane O’Connor, former Palm Pontiac service team member, joined the Palm Collision team as a managing partner. O’Connor will remain in his role as general manager over the newly branded Classic Collision of North Lauderdale location.
“After 17 years as an independent body shop serving South Florida, it’s exciting to join an expanding company, Classic Collision, which shares the same values of great customer service, quality repairs and genuinely valuing every team member,” said O’Connor.
Added Classic Collision CEO Toan Nguyen, “We are elated to join forces with Kevin Kelley and Shane O’Connor to transition Palm Collision Center over to the Classic Collision brand. Their business values and strong insurance relationships are aligned with the Classic Collision model.”
The addition of the Palm Collision Center to the Classic Collision family will increase their footprint to 35 shops in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina and add 14 new employees to the Classic team. With similar values, the two companies look forward to merging the Classic and Palm families and continuing to provide industry-leading service to their customers. Both companies have invested into their businesses and employees by maintaining I-CAR Gold status to guarantee safe and accurate repairs for their customers.
Classic Collision is continuing to execute its plan to expand nationally, even with the challenges that the collision industry is facing during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Despite the challenging market conditions, we are not slowing down our growth – we are accelerating it and plan on continuing to grow our business through acquisition,” said Nguyen. “Our best-in-class integration model and highly efficient operating playbook enables us to perform at a high level during a crisis. Continuing to acquire high-quality businesses makes sense for our teammates, stakeholders, landlords, the communities we serve, our insurance partners and the long-term health of the economy.”
