Assured Performance had the opportunity to interview Crash Champions’ Director of Marketing, Natalie Zajc, and find out about the company’s plans since their recent March, 2020 merger with Pacific Elite Collision Centers in the Southern California area. This merger makes Crash Collision one of the fastest growing MSO’s in the country, with a notable presence in several large metropolitan areas— including California, Ohio, and Chicago.
Director of Marketing
Crash Champions
The acquisition of these 23 Pacific Elite Collision Centers has brought Crash Champions’ total collision center count from 16 to 39 locations across the United States. These newly acquired locations will continue the company’s mission to bring high quality repairs to every community while emphasizing the importance of OEM certified repair centers. The Crash Champions’ national corporate headquarters will remain in Crestwood, Illinois, with the headquarters for their Californian market in Downey, California.
While many of the acquired Pacific Elite Collision Centers already have some Assured Performance certifications, we asked Natalie about their additional locations. She explained, “One standard that Crash Champions plans to continue for our Los Angeles and Orange County markets is adding additional manufacturer certifications through the Assured Performance platform. As an organization, we truly see the long-term value in OE Certifications and have committed ourselves to having the most highly trained collision repair technicians nationally. Not only do our Crash Collision locations have state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, but we strive to provide our teams with the best training, technology, and tooling in the industry.” Crash Champions also plans to offer consumers fully documented repairs through the Certified Repair Option (CRO), found within Assured Performance, in the future.
This milestone for the company was facilitated through their partnership with A&M Capital, a middle market private equity fund that invested in Pacific Elite, this year, and Crash Champions in July of 2019. Both organizations were similar in corporate culture, structure, size, and overall mission.
History of the Company:
Crash Champions began in 1999 as a small collision repair facility called New Lenox Auto Body, in New Lenox, Illinois. In 2014, after a partnership buyout, Matt Ebert, President and CEO, rebranded New Lenox Auto Body to Crash Champions and the organization began to grow. Throughout the next six years, Crash Champions grew to 13 Chicagoland locations and 3 locations in Columbus, OH. Their recent merger makes it clear that the sky is the limit for the MSO!