New Glasgow, Nova Scotia -- CARSTAR Centennial New Glasgow celebrated the opening of a new, 8,400 square foot facility during a community event held on October 22.
The grand re-opening ceremony drew at least 100 people for "shop tours, a ribbon cutting ceremony, food, cupcakes and lots of shop talk,” according to production coordinator Amanda Upham.
“We had a demonstration of a new calibration machine from Autel performed by Rob Kember, vice-president of the Centennial Auto Group.”
The New Glasgow facility replaces the group’s former site, which had been in use since 2007. The new building includes nine bays — repair bays, a detail bay, one calibration bay and two bays for frame pulling — along with a drive-through paint booth.
Now we have so much space,” Upham said. “It’s amazing and located right near Stellarton. You can see it from the highway.”
“It has a really cool waiting room,” she added. “A big improvement over our old one.”
CARSTAR New Glasgow employs seven people, including three technicians as well as an estimator, detailer and painter. “We’re a small staff but we work hard and have a very good team,” she said.
The new facility, which actually opened in August, has allowed the team to increase its overall productivity Before the move, the team aimed to process about 225 vehicles each month. During its first month in operation, the business processed 242 vehicles -- a 7.5 percent rise.
The shop partners with insurance companies across the region and uses Axalta products. It also maintains active social media channels featuring body and paint work, raffles and thanks to sponsors.
Centennial Auto Group operates 12 collision locations, 11 of them CARSTAR facilities. Founded by brothers Ira and Ezra Kember, the group has grown steadily from its early operations in Prince Edward Island to sites across the Maritimes.
The family-run network was named Canadian Franchisee of the Year by CARSTAR in 2022, recognized for its performance, community engagement and commitment to process standards.
