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CRYSTAL LAKE – Tim Erwin and his father-in-law, Ed Wristen, opened MAACO about four and a half years ago as they recognized the car industry was shifting toward a market more apt to fix up what they have than buy new.
Fast forward to today, and the two are a month removed from the opening of a complementary business – AAMCO – for roughly the same reason.
"Again, we feel it's a good industry to get into now," Erwin said. "Nobody has a lot of money floating around, so they want to make their cars last longer."
Erwin said though the two businesses are separate, they will play off each other. MAACO is a collision repair and car painting shop while AAMCO specializes in transmission repair but, within the last decade, has expanded its services to total car care.
Just as Erwin and Wristen had reasoned with MAACO, the two believed AAMCO was a franchise opportunity positioned to be successful.
"We owned the building," Erwin said of the space AAMCO now exists in, which is attached to MAACO. "We had a tenant here who was in the automotive repair industry, so the building was already set up for that. ... We wanted to fill the space and we thought it was important to find a repair company that had a draw to it other than just your average repairs."
AAMCO's focus on transmission repair drew the two business owners in.
About eight years ago, the company launched a national expansion of services that includes the abilities to perform tune-ups, replace brakes, service the exhaust and change oil.
Erwin said they now can refer to next door many of the customers who come to MAACO with collision damage that goes beyond the body of the car.
"We can now handle a lot more in-house," he said.
Nationally, AAMCO business sales have grown by 26 percent during the last year. In response, the company is looking to add more franchises to its current tally of 900 locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
"For us, the economy gives us the perfect storm," said Jack Bachinsky, AAMCO's vice president of marketing. "Vehicles are getting older which means more vehicles are out of warranty which means more vehicles are needing repair as they age."
Bachinsky added that he believes the company is currently under-serving the market – a problem expansion into markets like Crystal Lake will help cure. AAMCO is looking to expand into more Chicago locations like Crystal Lake, where there are no other AAMCO centers in the area to compete.
The company has a development goal in place to add 12 to 15 service centers in the Chicago area in the next year.
Bachinsky said the company is "recession resistant," and isn't worried that a significant rebound in the economy would have a negative impact on AAMCO. As more new cars are sold, he said, dealers tighten up warranties and make work at service centers necessary earlier in a car's life.
"All the economic factors are there for us to have a major boom," Bachinsky said.
AAMCO:
What: Total car care center specializing in transmission repair.
Where: 7218 S Virginia Rd, Crystal Lake
More info: Call 815-348-9237 or visit www.crystallakeaamco.com
MAACO:
What: A collision repair and car painting center.
Where: 7218 Virginia Road, Crystal Lake
More info: Call 815-477-0100 or visit www.crystallakemaaco.com