By CRM staff
Toronto, Ontario – January 28, 2019 — CARSTAR North America celebrated 30 years of business within the collision repair industry on Wednesday.
“This landmark anniversary means the world to our organization and we know that we would not have been able to make it to this moment without the support of our tremendous network, customers, and communities we serve,” says Michael Macaluso, president, CARSTAR. “Offering tokens of appreciation throughout the year is our way to say thank you and as we accelerate our growth in 2019, we look forward to celebrating many more milestones with all of you.”
Founded in 1989 by Lirel Holt, on the belief that a network of high-quality collision repair facilities would benefit consumers.
“We were the first CARSTAR store, joining the network on October 1, 1989,” says Gerald Wicklund, owner of CARSTAR Wicklund’s Collision Center. “Our location in Liberty, Missouri is now a three-generation CARSTAR. To this day, I would highly recommend that a person join CARSTAR purely for the fact that you can do things that you could not do by yourself, from hosting golf tournaments to procurement support, while still being a local owner and operator.”
In 1994, CARSTAR expanded to Canada with master franchisee Sam Mercanti. This was only the start of what would turn out to be a rapid expansion across the nation.
“Sam Mercanti advised us that it would be in our best interest to join CARSTAR, which is where our journey began,” said Paul Saputo, owner of CARSTAR Ancaster East and West. “As one of the first Canadian franchise partners, we were encouraged to operate as the best collision repair facility we could be. Here we are decades later, accelerating our drive to exceed expectations and really the sky is the limit for us and CARSTAR as an entire network.”
The banner has celebrated many milestones over the years including, repairing a total of more than six million vehicles, employing more than 8,000 people across North America, and opening location number 600 in 2018.
“Having been with CARSTAR since the beginning of its Canadian history, we have been able to witness the team make strategic decisions alongside industry advancements to help us achieve these milestone accomplishments,” says Domenic Lucarelli, owner of CARSTAR Stoney Creek. “Our favourite part about CARSTAR though has been the lasting friendships we have created. Relationships that once centered on business have now evolved into friendships with our insurance partners, vendors, customers, and other owners. It is exciting to see the next generation, like our two sons Joseph and Domenic Jr., follow in these footsteps and succeed with CARSTAR, just like we have.”
