Boost for a body shop

By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
BOARDMAN -- Doug Fenstermaker can explain in great detail how technology has helped his collision repair business grow.
Computerized frame repair machines bring bent frames to within 1 millimeter of specifications. Paint booths are programmed to put on the exact amount of paint for just the right time at the perfect temperature. An advanced welding machine applies welds just like the factory.
"We can do everything they do at Lordstown. It's just not in an assembly line," said Fenstermaker, owner of King Collision in Warren.
But there is something else that has helped him expand from a small one-man shop in Warren 15 years ago to a company having two large shops and about 40 employees today.
"You have to be able to talk to people and understand the needs of people," he said.
Opened second shop
Fenstermaker, who just opened a second King Collision in Boardman, said he makes sure he hires people who can guide customers through the process of dealing with insurance companies. These customers often need special care because they can be quite shaken by a car crash, he said.
"This could be the most tragic thing that's ever happened to them," he said.
Fenstermaker's attention to technical details and customer relations persuaded the owners of Youngstown Buick Pontiac GMC to partner with King Collision in its latest venture, said Doug Sweeney, car dealership vice president.
King Collision's second store is across Market Street from the car dealership. Youngstown Buick and King Collision are co-owners, with Fenstermaker being the managing partner. He brought Mike Sicilian from the Warren store to manage the Boardman operation.
Youngstown Buick will send all of its warranty claims for body work to King Collision.
Sweeney said he and his brother David had been thinking about opening a body shop when they were approached by Thomas Harwood, a consultant who is business development manager for King Collision. Youngstown Buick closed its body shop in 1987.
Partnership made sense
Partnering with Fenstermaker made sense for the dealership because he has the experience in operating a body shop, Sweeney said.
Fenstermaker said the warranty claims give the shop a base of business to build from. About a quarter of the shop's business is expected to come from the dealership.
The Boardman shop employs eight but Fenstermaker expects it to employ 40 eventually. The 43,000-square-foot shop has three paint booths and four other bays where cars can be prepared for painting.
Fenstermaker expects the shop eventually to handle 300 cars a month and do $6 million a year in business, compared with between 200 and 225 cars a month and between $3.5 million and $4 million a year in business at the Warren shop.
Fenstermaker started his original shop on North River Road in 1987 with loans from a bank and the U.S. Small Business Administration. He previously worked in the body shops of several area car dealerships, including Youngstown Buick.
Over the years, he expanded the shop from 3,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet and employment grew to 30.
Trend in industry
Harwood said the body shop industry is consolidating because insurance companies like to recommend that their customers take cars to larger shops that the companies know do work efficiently.
At first, many people thought this would lead to national or regional companies with franchises, Harwood said. Instead, the trend has been for operators of larger body shops to open other shops in their area, he said.
Harwood said Fenstermaker needed a second location because surveys show that customers want to do business within 15 or 20 minutes from their homes. By opening in Boardman, King Collision can cover about 80 percent of the Mahoning Valley, he said.
The new building and equipment cost nearly $3 million, which was risky because the partners committed to the project while the future of the General Motors' plants in Lordstown was still uncertain.
"It was a bit of a gamble," Fenstermaker said. "But it will pay off."
shilling@vindy.com