With more than 1,700 stores across 41 states, Caliber Collision is by far the largest MSO in the U.S. collision repair industry. Todd Dillender has been with Caliber since 1998, when the shop he was working for became just its ninth location, and has since risen through the ranks to become its COO.
Dillender was the guest on the final episode of the “MSO Chronicles” series on The Collision Vision podcast, driven by Autobody News and hosted by Cole Strandberg. He talked about the organization’s success and the lessons that can be learned by operators looking to grow on any scale.
From Floor Sweeper to COO
Dillender got his start in the collision repair industry in 1992 in the aforementioned independent shop in Southern California, sweeping floors and washing cars, and progressing from there. After the acquisition, Dillender stayed at that location until 2006, when he moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. There, he ran a couple of Caliber Collision stores before moving up into a regional manager and then vice president role. He was promoted to his current position as chief operating officer in 2023.
During his tenure with Caliber, Dillender has seen it flourish to its current footprint, bolstered partly by its merger with ABRA in 2019.
“It's been a fun ride,” Dillender said. “I just really love the team that we work with.”
Dillender said his experience at the shop level gave him a direct understanding of what the people working in Caliber’s stores deal with on a daily basis. He said he’s had a good day if he was able to do something to make technicians’ jobs easier.
“[Caliber has] been a been a huge support for me in this first year, allowing me to do some unique things for the for the center level teammates,” Dillender said.
When Dillender was the general manager at the Southern California shop where he started, he said he had a habit of putting off completing tasks he said he would take care of, until a technician addressed it.
“He cared enough to sit down and have a chat with me and said, look, Todd, if there's one thing you've got to figure out as a leader, in any business, you've got to do what you say you're going to do and you’ve got to do it when you say you're going to do it,” Dillender said. “I was in my mid-20s at the time and it just hit home.”
Dillender said that was a “pivotal moment” that made him grateful for people like that technician who have helped him grow as a leader.
Caliber Collision’s Growth
The turning point in Caliber Collision’s growth trajectory was in 2009, when Steve Grimshaw joined the company as CEO, Dillender said. At the time, Caliber had 68 stores and was growing mainly through acquisitions and some brownfields.
Grimshaw, who is now chair of Caliber's Board of Directors, identified Caliber’s purpose, which is still the company’s slogan today: “Restoring the Rhythm of Your Life.” Dillender said when he first heard it, he thought, “there’s another poster on the wall,” but it proved to be the catalyst for a dramatic shift.
“It just exploded. It was like lightning in a bottle,” Dillender said.
The company focused on growth to be able to create that next step up for its employees.
“If it's a general manager and you want to make sure they have an opportunity to be a regional manager, you've got to add some stores,” Dillender said. “When that was the focus versus a bunch of buildings, it just completely changed the game for us. And you can see the result.”
Company culture is also important, Dillender said, but it’s driven by the teammates at the store level. “I can talk about our culture and what we want it to be and what we believe it is. But at the end of the day, it's those four walls in the communities of each of these centers. That's where our culture exists, and it's up to those teammates. So my role is to support them.”
For example, Caliber Collision’s annual Restoring You Food Drive, which this summer provided 5 million meals to children nationwide, started at two of its stores in Colorado. “That wasn't a top-down ‘we're going to support this food drive and everybody has to do these things,’” Dillender said.
Growing From Within
To maintain repair quality consistency across its stores, Caliber launched a “quality technical coach” program, taking about 50 techs out of its stores to “put a second set of eyes across the country on the quality of repairs, especially on those most complex repairs that we do in the shops,” Dillender said. The program is also a resource for store-level employees to reach out to for information or support.
In 2022, Caliber established its Technician Apprenticeship Program (TAP), which pairs aspiring techs with experienced ones who serve as a mentor as the apprentice completes 13 I-CAR competencies over an average of 10 months to a year.
Dillender said the program wasn’t created until Caliber’s technicians said they would be on board. “They love doing this. They love the idea of being able to pass down this trade that at one point somebody taught them,” he said.
The apprentices also get to complete the competencies at their own pace. The goal is to make sure when they graduate, they can stand on their own.
Caliber has already graduated 1,600 new technicians, with another 2,000 currently training. Caliber recruits them from high school and tech school partners, as well as through its Changing Lanes program that helps military members transition to a job in civilian life.
Considering projections say the industry will need more than 100,000 new technicians over the next several years, Dillender said TAP is “still scratching the surface,” but it’s helping Caliber address that potential shortfall.
It’s also benefited the mentors. “You have technicians who have been doing this for 30-plus years, getting a new spark that you wouldn't have guessed they had in them,” Dillender said.
New Technology
Caliber has dedicated a lot of time to training its store employees to work safely with EVs, and has designated certain shops as “hubs,” where techs get more specific training through I-CAR and the OEMs to perform more complex repairs.
In an effort to increase its shops’ sustainability and improve the health of its employees, Caliber installed a vacuum system for hazardous waste disposal at each of its stores. It has also switched all of its shops to LED lighting to be more energy efficient.
Leadership
As Caliber Collision acquired more shops and smaller MSOs, it also brought on “some very powerful industry leadership,” Dillender said. “These are men and women that knew the business, knew the industry, but also knew the value in developing leaders. And that was really where it started.”
Strong leaders are true to who they are, good listeners who take advice and coaching to heart, and are more focused on their employees than themselves.
“As long as I'm focused on supporting and making the team better, the rest takes care of itself,” Dillender said.
The Future of Collision Repair
Vehicle complexity will continue to increase, and the materials used to build them will continue to evolve, necessitating continued training to be able to serve customers -- not just for the technicians working on the cars, but also for the front office. “It's about leveraging technology,” Dillender said.
Caliber’s service advisors are already using an AI-powered tool to find the repair information they need quicker. Dillender didn’t want to give away any more than that, but said, “We've got a pretty cool tool. You'd have to come work with us to get the answer to it. But I can tell you it's a game changer.”
Looking at the next five to 10 years for Caliber Collision specifically, Dillender said its newer business segments, including auto glass and fleet services, will continue to ramp up.
“We’re going to be repairing cars and restoring customers. But the channels and the way that we do that, I do see changing,” he said.
Advice for Independent Owners Looking to Grow
Strandberg asked Dillender what advice he would give to independent shop owners looking to grow and to innovate on a much smaller scale.
“You have to be disciplined and focusing on your people,” Dillender said. “Yes, that's leaders, that's the office. But you have to take that time and that same energy with your technicians. These men and women, they're in the back of the shop, fixing these cars and they drive the business. Without them, none of us are here.”
That means making sure the technicians have the right training, tools and equipment, which will only get more expensive as vehicle technology continues to evolve.
Key Takeaways
1. Focus on and invest in your people.
2. Ensure technicians have the support they need to safely work on vehicles while completing quality repairs.
3. Future-proof your operation. Be ready to train and invest in the right tools and equipment.
Abby Andrews