Service King Collision Repair Centers Announces Expansion With Austin Acquisition
Service King to acquire the 5 Stores of B & B Body and Paint.
AUSTIN, TX – September 15, 2011 – Service King Collision Repair Centers, a Texas-based operator of high-quality collision repair facilities in the Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston and San Antonio markets, has agreed to purchase B & B Body and Paint, a leading provider of collision repair services in Austin, San Marcos and Leander, Texas. B & B currently operates five large scale, high volume collision centers.The transaction is expected to be completed by October 28, 2011. The addition of B &B Body and Paint positions Service King as the largest independently and teammate owned collision repair organization in the U.S. With 47 Texas locations throughout Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston, Service King can now serve 70% of the $1.5 billion total collision market in Texas.
In 1976 Eddie Lennox, Chairman and CEO of Service King, bought a small tin shack in west Dallas, complete with a hand painted sign that read, "Service King." One of his earliest teammates was a young man still in high school, Craig Van Cleve. "I took notice of Craig's tremendous entrepreneurial spirit and in 1979 I sold him his first shop in downtown Dallas," said Eddie Lennox. In 1981 Craig's brother Kyle joined and helped Craig's Collision Centers grow to six locations in the DFW metroplex. In 2002, Craig and, Kyle Van Cleve, acquired B & B locations in Austin and have grown it to include locations in Round Rock, Leander and a new South I-35 location.
Eddie Lennox stated, "My son Jeremy Lennox was 1 year old when I started Service King, now he is the Vice President that will lead the Austin market and as this circle between us and Craig is complete."
"The acquisition of B & B Body and Paint allows us to start serving the people of South Austin, North Austin, San Marcos, Round Rock and Leander, Texas," said Service King's Vice President of the Austin market, Jeremy Lennox. "We look forward to adding B & B's talented teammates and skilled technicians to our base of over 1,200 Service King Teammates throughout Texas," added Lennox
"We are very excited about B & B Body and Paint joining the Service King Team," stated Craig Van Cleve, B & B Body and Paint's owner. "For the past thirty two years,our success has been driven by our unrelenting focus on complete satisfaction and respect for our customers and teammates," added Van Cleve. "Service King will continue on with these same core values."
Cathy Bonner, President of Service King stated, "At the five B & B locations we will offer Service King's renowned level of friendly and professional customer service. The quality of work by highly skilled and expertly trained body technicians and painters will carry a lifetime guarantee. In DFW and Houston, Service King is known as one of the "best places to work" and we plan to bring our same level of health, retirement, and career benefits to all new teammates in Austin."
"The reason Service King is the largest employee-owned collision repair center in the United States is because the people in this company care about their customers and the trauma they go through after a collision. At Service King we don't just fix wrecked cars; we help make people's lives easier. And we do it with a team that puts their hands and their hearts completely into their work always taking pride in the service we give and the company that we own."
