Columbus, Ohio — DRC Systems announced Friday, Jan. 22., that Keeler Motor Car Company is the first company to sign a licensing agreement that provides DRC systems’ full turnkey operating model in the United States.
The licensing agreement is expected to accelerate the relaunch and future expansion of Keeler Collision in Latham, New York.
“DCR Systems has been an industry leader in changing the way collision repair has been done for decades, and this is the first time we are licensing our world-class and proprietary operating model,” said Michael Giarrizzo, president and CEO of DCR Systems, based in Ohio. “Business owners will now have the opportunity to take advantage of a truly integrated process that includes extensive training and support while running their own facilities.”
The DRC Systems team is currently helping in the design and layout of Keeler’s new facility.
“We’re very excited to work with Keeler Motor Car Company,” said Cheryl Boswell, CFO of DCR Systems. “Everybody on their team is very forward-thinking, process-centered, and detail-oriented. They are an inspiring group, and I think they are going to do great things in terms of working with us with the DCR model.”
Keeler Motor Car Company was established in 1967 by Alexander Keeler with a Mercedes-Benz dealership. Keeler currently operates five franchises on a 55-acre campus in Latham: Honda, BMW, MINI, Mercedes-Benz, and Mercedes-Benz Commerical Vans.
With the DRC licensing agreement, Keeler’s goal is to grow its collision arm into ore significant portion of its business.
“As a leading-edge automotive retailer, our ultimate goal is to revolutionalize how collision repairers operate in the United States,” said Hord. “Their success is our success and being able to take their years of experience and apply it to bring value to our market is very exciting.”
Founded in 2004, DRC Systems utilizes a collision repair model operated by DRC team members and co-branded with the auto dealer. The company operates nine production cells in four states–Ohio, New York, North Carolina, and Massachusetts.
Under the area development license, a franchise-like agreement, licensees will receive full access to the proprietary DCR process and intellectual property. This includes guidelines for facility layout and design; staffing and compensation plans; exclusive equipment and vendor lists; and a proprietary claims portal. Also, they will have access to the DCR app with all of the processes and people development materials.
Keeler Collision’s managing partners, Ben Bowman, and Chris Verdi said the team learned about DRC Systems about four years ago during an AkzoNobel North American Performance Group meeting where they addressed lean processes and toured the DCR Systems facility in Mentor, Ohio.
“The minute we saw how the DCR Systems’ production system flow worked and build-down process, it just clicked,” said Verdi.
Since then, the Keeler Motor Car Company has been working toward creating a DRC-like company.
“Eventually, joining forces and partnering with an area development agreement just made too much sense not to do. With the growing complexity of vehicles, the need for higher quality OEM-driven repairs is even greater,” said Bowman. “Through our success and growth, our goal is that more people will look toward this model and start to adopt it on a more widespread level.”
One of the unique features of the DRC Systems’ model, is the process of how to repair a customer’s vehicle and ensure it is flowing through the shop in the proper sequence while having quality verification built into the process, according to Bowman.
“As a result, technicians can fly across the country or go into a shop across town they can walk in and start working immediately because of all the tools, visuals, and processes are in place,” she continued.
