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Caliber Collision Moves Headquarters to Texas, Acquires 911 Collision Centers in AZ, NV Big changes are in store this month for one of the country’s biggest multiple shop operators (MSOs): Caliber Collision Centers. Caliber Collision will be relocating the company’s corporate headquarters from Irvine, California to Lewisville, Texas—a suburb in the northern area of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. “Our relocation to Texas allows us to consolidate management spread across a number of locations in California and Texas,” said Steve Grimshaw, President and CEO of Caliber Collision Centers.
Caliber plans to move into their leased 16,397 square foot space at 401 E. Corporate Drive in Lewisville, Texas in mid-November. Caliber will move because of Dallas-Fort Worth’s affordable metropolitan area, central location, business-friendly Steve Grimshaw environment and large, diversified workforce—all of which will support the company’s growth throughout the United States, See Caliber, Page 20
Brock Bulbuck, The Boyd Group
Steve Grimshaw, Caliber Collision
Cathy Bonner, Service King
Rollie Benjamin, ABRA Auto Body and Glass
CEOs of Four of the Largest MSOs in the Industry hold first-time MSO Symposium at NACE/CARS See MSO Insights, Page 28
VOL. 29 ISSUE 11 NOVEMBER 2011
Northwest Louisiana Collision Repair Association Discusses Glass and Adhesives Safety Issues The Northwest Louisiana Collision Repair Association (NWLCRA) held their monthly members meeting on October 4 at 6:30 pm. October’s monthly meeting was held at Louisiana Glass and Mirror’s new location in Bossier City, LA. Mark Monroe, an instructor at Bossier Parish Technical School opened the meeting with a prayer. Bill Burnside, NWLCRA Secretary-Treasurer brought the meeting to order by reading the anti-trust statement. Bill also reminded the group to start planning for the NWLCRA Christmas Party on Dec. 3. The Walker Street
Band will be the Christmas entertainment again this year. NWLCRA will also sponsor the “Toys for Tots” charity. Everyone is encouraged to bring a new, unopened, unwrapped toy for either a boy or girl to the Christmas party to be donated to the US Marines that help with the “Toys for Tots” program. Funds and advertisements were discussed, and the group has one more advertisement space available on their website. Anyone interested in advertising with the NWLCRA just needs to click on the “Advertise with Us”
by Chip Foose
featured or unveiled specialty vehicles at SEMA. For three years in a row we built cars live in front of the SEMA audience for TLC’s TV Show Overhaulin’. We were proud in 2005 when Foose Design featured total of 32 Foose Vehicles at SEMA, a record for any designer/fabricator and more than any of the OEM’s that year. So, needless to say, we have history at SEMA. For SEMA 2011 Foose design will be featuring three vehicles. We are currently working feverishly like all of the other shops to make the deadline. This year we will be proudly displaying the following Foose De-
See NWLCRA, Page 10
Chip Foose on Bringing it to SEMA The SEMA show (Specialty Equipment Marketing Association) has always been a big part of Foose Design. I have personally been attending for well over 25 years. Some of our guys at Foose Design first attended more than 25 years ago. One of them even Chip Foose went to the very first SEMA show when it was under the bleachers at Dodger Stadium! For the past ten years Foose Design has
See Foose Brings It, Page 36
The 2011 SEMA show will occupy the Las Vegas Convention Center from October 31 to November 4 and attendance numbers continue to climb as the show draws closer. The show boasts over 2,000 exhibiting companies already registered for booths, more than 500 of which are exhibiting for the first time. The ever-popular Paint, Body and Equipment section will also return this year, showcasing companies who offer products, services and equipment suited for the collision repair professional. See page 40 for I-CAR and SCRS RDE Schedule.
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