Collision Repair 16#1
IANN LADD AND PETER CHAVEZ
CARSTAR LC GROUP
Ian Ladd of CARSTAR LC Group is no doubt an expert on building businesses from the ground up, while maintaining a foundation of interpersonal trust intact the whole way through.
“I’ve been in the automotive business since I was 15 years old,” says Ladd. “I started doing oil changes at Canadian Tire and I was fortunate enough to have stumbled upon the collision business back in the early 90s. From there, I found a love for the industry. Primarily for me, I love dealing with people. I love growing businesses.” Since Collision Repair last caught up with Ladd, he and his business partner Peter Chavez have successfully finalized their efforts in helping one of their franchisees set off on his own in the industry.
“In the case of our two Brantford locations, our managing partner, Javier Torres, was running that store. His wife was involved and at some point, his son was also involved, so it became a family business for them. They approached us about buying the actual business for themselves, so that they could have their nest egg for the future.
“That is a very proud moment for myself and for Peter; we were able to help Javier and his family get into business. Then to watch them grow and succeed to the point where they were able to do it on their own.”
Collision Repair 16#3
NICK AND SANDY LIGUORI
CCS WOODCHESTER
The story of Sandy and Nick Liguori is one that runs parallel to the history of their hometown of Erin Mills, Ontario. As the brothers lived through the 70s and 80s and saw their little suburb of Erin Mills get swallowed up and absorbed into the city of Mississauga, the Liguoris saw the community around them start to grow and move at an even faster pace.
From when the doors Woodchester Collision first opened in 1977 to today, the population of the Erin Mills area has exploded from 70,000 to well over half a million residents—that’s quite a few more cars to fix.
In the immediate future, the Liguoris are keenly focused on attracting young talent to the trade. With the gap in his own shop widening generations over the course of his career, Sandy says shop owners and managers need to shoulder the responsibility of finding the next generation of great collision repairers.
“When I was young, it was easy to talk to your peers and get them excited about this trade. Now, it seems youth culture holds their passion in mobile devices.”
Collision Repair 16#4
LUCAS, PAUL AND KEVIN GEORGE
LEAMINGTON COLLISION
Leamington Collision is a shop like no other. Located on the sunny northern shore of Lake Erie, 45 minutes outside of Windsor – the small town of Leamington is a unique place to run a collision repair shop.
The shop was founded by Paul George in the 1960s after he emigrated from Lebanon. However, his two sons Kevin and Lucas now run the shop.
“Some places have problems passing on the business to the next generation. Not us. Dad said, ‘you’re in or you’re out,’ and that was it.”
Since the shop was last featured on the cover, they renovated their bodyshop and they were nominated for a Customer First award by the Leamington Chamber of Commerce. As for the future, finding new talent has always been a concern. “It’s going to be tough to find good body techs,” said Kevin.
Collision Repair 16#5
DOMENIC lERACI, DOMENIC PROCHILO AND PAUL PROCHILO
SIMPLICITY CAR CARE
At the helm of one of Canada’s fastestgrowing banners, the leaders of Simplicity Car Care know firsthand how fast things can change in this industry.
“We’ve seen a number of different shifts in the collision repair industry, starting from rapid consolidation, especially in Canada,” Domenic Ieraci, Simplicity Car Care president and co-founder. “We’ve seen vehicles become increasingly more complex with the enhancements in technology and different components that operate at a much more sophisticated level than years prior. Not to mention the changes on the horizon.”
Domenic says he has come to learn an important lesson along the way that has helped him, and Simplicity navigate the always-uncertain waters of the collision repair industry. “Never be complacent and always be agile: have a mindset that is open to change, because things are changing very quickly. The ones that will survive and thrive are going to be the ones who can adapt to change.”
Collision Repair 16#6
DON MORTON
DON-MOR CARSTAR
Don-Mor CARSTAR Collision and Automotive was founded by Don Morton in 1980. The original shop was located on Egerton Street in London, Ontario, but, the shop moved to its current location in 1996 at 1056 Brydges Street in London, Ontario. Morton expanded the current location in 2006 to include a mechanical shop. And for the past 15 years, Don-Mor CARSTAR Collision has been a full-service collision repair and mechanical facility as well as aluminum vehicle repair shop.
Since Don-Mor CARSTAR was last on the cover of the magazine, the shop has racked up several more OEM Certifications from Certified Collision Care.
This year the shop earned certifications for Fiat Chrysler, Ford, Genesis, Honda and Acura ProFirst, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, and Toyota vehicles.
“We are thrilled to have achieved this new certification and official industry recognition. This certification further underscores the high standards of safety we maintain for our customers,” said Morton.
“We’ve worked hard to stay ahead of the curve in the collision repair industry,” said Morton. “We take pride in our highly trained technicians who use the latest tools and equipment to deliver a top-quality repair and the best customer service.”
