Toronto, Ontario — Oct. 9, 2019 — CARSTAR is proud of Driven Brands’ recent acquisition of 55 ABRA locations, even though they will be under separate management.
“Bringing these locations onboard has really been a blessing,” said Michael Macaluso, the president of CARSTAR North America.
Under the new management structure, Macaluso will oversee both CARSTAR and ABRA, which will come together form the new Collision Vertical subsidiary of Driven Brands.
The announcement was made during the banner’s first teleconference since the acquisition of the ABRA locations, but was actually intended to celebrate the brand’s acquisition of its 700th facility: CARSTAR Montrose in California.
The call included Macaluso; Arlo Johnson, the general manager CARSTAR’s US locations; Dave Foster, vice president of development; as well as Daniel Panduro, Sandy Panduro and Brian Frame–all CARSTAR owners.
Macaluso addressed the celebration with a nod that the company is looking into the future beyond it.
“We’re already looking forward to the next milestone–800, 900, 1,000 and beyond,” Macaluso said. He estimates CARSTAR reaching that 1,000-location goal by 2021 or sooner.
