Programs

Romulus, as well as its plans to invest $250 million and create 450 more jobsacross three of its Michigan facilities over the past year alone.

The Michigan Central Innovation District is also a key partner in a new study with MDOT, OFME, Michigan Aeronautics Commission, the Province of Ontario and others to explore the feasibility of creating commercial drone testing corridors.

And the district recently partnered with Electreon, Next Energy and Jacobs Engineering Group to win MDOT and OFME’s request for proposal to make Michigan the first state in the U.S. to implement a public wireless EV charging system. The project will include dynamic and stationary wireless EV charging along a one-mile corridor, which will be hosted by and live within the district.

“I, like many, had relatives that first entered Michigan through Detroit and Michigan Central Train Station. They were looking for a better life and a more inclusive community. By activating Michigan Central Innovation District, we are honoring the inspiring history of this place, which so many Michiganders share,” said Trevor Pawl, chief mobility officer for the State of Michigan. “And by investing in new mobility solutions and entrepreneurial resources within this district, we are creating a global platform that can drive high-tech job creation and community empowerment.”

Source: MEDC

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By partnering with leading industry organizations, the ASE Education Foundation continues to provide innovative programs that help increase the number and diversity of service professionals entering the industry.

“We want to thank all of our industry partners who step up year in and year out to provide much appreciated support for the ASE Education Foundation,” said Mike Coley, president, ASE Education Foundation. “Our partners are the backbone of the foundation and continue to provide us with their expertise and needed resources to implement our programs. They will be instrumental as we expand our new Adopt-A-School program, implement new registered apprenticeships and increase diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the coming year.”

New partners ALLDATA, Auto Care Alliance, Automotive Lift Institute, Collision Repair Education Foundation, Goodheart Willcox, Hertz, ExxonMobil, Noregon and Permatex will join the following list of returning partners who support the ASE Education Foundation: ACDelco, Acura, ASA, ATech Training, Audi, BMW, Bridgestone, CarMax, CARQUEST, CCAR, CDK Global, CDX, Cengage, Electude, Federated/ Pronto, FedEx, Ford, Garage Gurus, Gates, General Motors, HDA Truck Pride, Honda, Isuzu Truck, Lexus, Mack Truck, Mercedes-Benz, Motor Age, NADA, NAPA, Navistar, Nissan, NTB, PepsiCo, Porsche, Ryder, S/P2, SkillsUSA, Snap-on, Stellantis, Subaru, TA Petro, TechForce Foundation, Tire Kingdom, Toyota, UPS, Volvo Truck, Volkswagen and WD-40.

“We are proud to join forces with these fine organizations and leverage their vast experience in order to recruit, nurture and inspire the next generation of service professionals,” said Coley.

To learn more about supporting the ASE Education Foundation and its mission to improve the quality of automobile, collision repair/refinish and medium/heavy truck training programs, visit www.ASEeducation Foundation.org/partners.

Source: ASE

and opening new shops. Responding to the constant demands of its insurance “partners” for performance across multiple markets, Caliber now operates in more than 40 states and in 80 of the top 100 Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the U.S.

Gerber/Boyd Group really stepped up to the plate with two significant transactions: the acquisition of Oklahoma-based Collision Works and South Carolina-based John Harris Body Shop for a total of 51 shops out of the 97 additional shops they acquired or developed in the U.S. during the year.

Gerber also acquired a large, four-shop MSO in Wisconsin and a plethora of single shops and smaller MSOs, ending the year with an estimated 684 shops in the U.S.

Service King continued to shrink its footprint but only modestly, ending the year with seven fewer shops for a total of 336. While much has been written and speculated about Service King’s financial situation, they celebrated the new year by opening a brownfield in Illinois. 2022 should bring more clarity to their situation.

The new kids on the block grew into robust adults. The next two largest consolidators accelerated their acquisitions at an incredible pace. Chicago-based Crash Champions grew by more than 300% during the year to a total of 175 shops after beginning the year at 53.

Crash’s appetite included the 24-shop Signature Collision MSO based out of Annapolis, MD, but covering multiple markets in the east and southeast. They acquired MSOs from the Pacific Northwest to Florida and many places in between from Montana to Nebraska, New Mexico and Ohio, acquiring dozens of single shops and MSOs.

Equaling Crash’s dramatic expansion was Classic Collision, which grew to 174 shops from a base of 54 at the year’s inception.

Classic entered Texas with a blockbuster transaction, acquiring 45 shops that previously operated under the Procare and Austin Motor MileEllis & Salazar brands. Procare was owned by private equity firm Kinderhook, which had been invested in the company for approximately five years.

The rest of the Classic story included some large MSOs, such as Central Collision with 13 shops in Oregon, Platinum Collision Center’s eight shops in Southern California, and Fender Mender’s eight shops in South Carolina. Classic also entered Alaska in dominant fashion by acquiring two MSOs, Able Body Shop and Fix Auto Alaska, for a total of nine shops in the state.

With more than 300% growth in 12 months and backed by $15 billion private equity firm, New Mountain Capital, Classic is also on its way to becoming a billion-dollar company.

Joe Hudson’s three years into its ownership under new sponsor, TSG Consumer, grew by 23 shops, which seems modest compared to Crash and Classic but still increased store count by 20%.

Up and comers went on an acquisition spree as well. Seemingly from out of nowhere, private equity-backed Collision Right, formed in 2020, added 39 shops to its base of 19. So far, Collision Right’s model has retained the local branding of its acquisitions rather than rebranding as most of its competitors do.

Another up and comer has a similar branding strategy: Quality Collision Centers added 10 locations during the year including B&S Hacienda Auto Body, a large sixshop MSO in Northern California.

Kaizen Collision, a new private equity-backed MSO based in Southern California, more than doubled its size to a total of 19 shops in California, Arizona and Colorado.

Franchisors and Affiliate Groups continued their expansion. Premier franchisor Driven Brands grew both its franchise footprint with CARSTAR, Fix Auto, Maaco and ABRA as well as its corporate portfolio. By acquiring another 10 shops in the Pacific Northwest, Driven now operates a total of 18 corporate CARSTAR and Fix Auto locations.

Even after the sale of a number of CARSTAR MSOs and single shops, the total number of franchisees continues to expand. Final numbers for 2021 are not yet available.

Affiliate networks Certified Collision Group and 1Collision continued to expand, with CCG claiming more than 707 affiliates by year end and 1Collision claiming 50 locations in the U.S.

Fix Network World acquired ProColor, a 172-unit franchise in Canada. It began signing its first franchises in the U.S. in February and by year-end claimed a total of nine locations.

Source: Focus Advisors

Continued from Cover EV Chargers

keep up with the rapidly increasing number of EVs in the U.S. Projections say by 2030, the country will have 30 million EVs on its roads, which, according to the source, would require the construction of 478 charger stalls per day for eight years in order to meet the need. The Biden administration is aiming for 500,000 stations by decade’s end.

The study also notes which states are best when it comes to the ratio of charging stalls to EVs. North Dakota, Wyoming and West Virginia are the three states where you are most likely to find an empty charging stall, while the worst are New Jersey, Hawaii and Arizona. In the last three there is a higher chance you may find all local public chargers are taken and you may have to wait or find a way to charge the EV at home.

According to a report from the U.S. Department of Energy, the ideal ratio of EVs to charging stations is 40 Level 2 charging ports and 3.4 DC fast chargers (DCFC) per 1,000 EVs. A DCFC charger usually has three ports.

Currently, there are 41 Level 2 charging ports and 5.7 DCFC charging ports per 1,000 EVs, respectively, or about 21 EVs for every charging port. There are 2,514 internal combustion engine (ICE) cars per gas station.

EVs are currently at a disadvantage compared to ICE vehicles when it comes to their average range—259 miles versus 360 miles. And the time it takes to charge an EV is longer than simply filling up a gas tank, so vehicles will be occupying more of the available charging stalls for longer. Classic BMW 440-585-9990

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