We're coming to you this week with another throwback episode from the vault---a story of crazy fast growth within a body shop. This episode’s guest is Casey Lund, owner of Collision Leaders (formerly known as Warrensburg Collision), an MSO out of Missouri. Casey’s background is fascinating and the growth within the Collision Leaders organization is unbelievable, going from one location to eight in just about one year. Casey and his team received a ton of recognition for that growth at SEMA 2023, which was fun to see. We’ll talk about that scalability, how Casey has built a culture and foundation that has allowed that type of growth, and much more.
Episode Overview
During this episode, Casey and host Cole Strandberg delve into the scalability of Collision Leaders, how Casey built a strong culture and foundation that allowed for such rapid expansion, the importance of strong leadership and so much more.
As the conversation starts, Casey walks us through his fascinating background. From sweeping the floor in a body shop to managing his own shops, Casey has experienced it all. He walks us through his unique journey, including studying international business abroad, working in major gifts fundraising and even pursuing his pilot's license.
But the real meat of this episode is all about the growth and success of Collision Leaders. From overcoming the challenges of the collision industry to rebranding and expanding their business, Casey shares it all. We learn how they tackled infrastructure, supply chain management, and the importance of preserving their strong company culture.
"We were going to start embracing lean principles. We were going to start running things like a business and change and improvement was going to be the constant moving forward," Casey said. "Either we were going to burn this place down or we were going to be something that we were proud of, living up to our potential and something truly different in our industry. And that's what we did."
It's truly inspiring to hear how Collision Leaders multiplied their business 10 times over their goal and achieved remarkable revenue growth. They focused on adapting, problem-solving and empowering their employees to make continuous improvements. Their commitment to their culture and leadership has been the driving force behind their success.
"We knew that we wanted to get better. We made a drastic focus on improvement," Casey said.
As the show comes to a close, Cole asks Casey if he is bullish or bearish on the collision industry currently, and Casey’s answer is fully bearish: “I think there has never been a better time to be involved in the collision repair industry. And proof of that is all the outside entities and the private equity and the consolidation that wouldn't be happening if this wasn't great opportunities in our industry.”
Key Takeaways
1. New vehicles are going to continue to demand new tooling and technology that collision shops will need in order to perform proper repairs.
2. OEM Certifications are going to become more important to keep collision centers up to date on new technologies.
3. It is critical that collision centers stay up to date with the latest OEM service information, regardless of what vehicle brand it is. Following strict OEM Procedures will continue to be more important as we progress into a larger EV culture.
Listen to the Episode
Topics Discussed
Casey's background and journey in the collision industry
The tremendous growth of Collision Leaders from one to eight locations in one year
Scalability, culture and foundation-building for rapid expansion
Challenges and obstacles faced during growth, including culture preservation
Strategies for building a strong and unified team
The importance of leadership and allowing others to step up and grow
Taking a systems approach and implementing lean principles
The future of the collision industry and the opportunities it holds
Entities Mentioned
Autobody News
Collision Leaders
Warrensburg Collision
University of Central Missouri
SEMA
Connect
Connect with Casey Lund and the Collision Leaders organization at collisionleaders.com, or shoot Casey an email at casey@collisionleaders.com
Follow Cole Strandberg on LinkedIn
Follow Autobody News on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram
