Fix Auto USA has opened several new locations in Springfield, Ore., and Watsonville, Salinas, San Clemente and Sun Valley, Calif. The addition of these five new facilities brings the total Fix Auto USA count to 54 locations.
Fix Auto Springfield, formerly A Street Automotive & Collision, is the eighth Fix Auto center in the state of Oregon and the 17th in the Northwest franchise group. Owners Cris Kuhnhausen and John Kimpton, attuned to market trends, noted changes in the industry that they believed they could benefit from if they aligned with a larger group. In the Fix Auto franchise model they found the best of both worlds: the opportunity to reposition their business into the MSO segment while maintaining control of the business they had spent more than 25 years building.
“Fix Auto allows independent collision shops to keep their community-based, family-owned appeal and approach while providing the kind of tools that allow us to serve our customers better,” said Kimpton. “Fix Auto offers independents the ability to reposition themselves in a growing segment of the market, which we see is winning business in an increasingly competitive environment. There is strength in scale. We have found that Fix Auto provides us this ability.”
WAB Collision Center, locally owned and operated by Mike Garland and family, opened for business in Watsonville in 1981, adding a second location in Salinas in 2012. Recently aligned with Fix Auto as Fix Auto Watsonville and Fix Auto Salinas, the two shops are the fourth and fifth centers to open in Northern California under the Fix Auto brand, making it a new frontier for the organization.
“Aligning with Fix Auto allows us to stay competitive while providing the highest service levels possible to our customers,” said Garland. “This makes us attractive to consumers and insurers alike and helps us stand out in an already crowded market. Best of all, we can realize the benefits of being backed by a large, progressive organization while continuing to offer the same great service from the same friendly and local faces.”
Fix Auto Sun Valley, formerly known as J&L Body & Paint Shop, was recently added in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Siblings and co-owners Daniel and Sandy Panduro grew up in the business learning the ropes from their father, who opened the business in 1983.
“Becoming part of Fix Auto gives us an opportunity to join a strong team that supports us, without sacrificing the family atmosphere that we have worked so hard to establish and maintain in our community,” said Daniel. “Fix Auto is a family in its own right, one that holds its members accountable for performance while offering support that benefits us all. Aligning with Fix Auto gives my sister and me the ability to maintain ownership of our business and enhance our long-term competitive position.”
Fix Auto San Clemente is the second franchise operation owned by partners Richard Fish and Bill Lawrence, and the fourth center owned by Fish.
“Fix Auto’s methodology provides a template for how a successful franchise should operate, which removes much of the guesswork that goes into getting a new operation up-and-running,” said Fish. “Each of our franchises has its own flavor and its own set of unique challenges, but having a clearly defined, proven methodology in place for operational excellence certainly makes things easier.”
“The inclusion of high-quality operators like Cris, John, Mike, Richard, Bill and the Panduro Family not only drives our growth in terms of concentrated scale, but contributes to our position as a leading MLO,” said Armin Price, vice president of network development and marketing for Fix Auto USA. “At the end of the day, it is each franchise’s distinctively progressive approach that distinguishes us from the competition, and our latest additions are no exception.”
“Oregon and California are exciting markets with an abundance of forward-thinking shops,” added Paul Gange, president and COO of Fix Auto USA. “These are the types of facilities that align with our brand profile and add strength to our franchise organization. Our five latest franchisees are no exceptions to this rule. We welcome them on board, and look forward to continuing the expansion of our footprint across the USA.”
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