The Boesels now own two of the 11 Carstar locations in Colorado, Alpine Carstar Auto Body in Aurora, and their newest location, Jordon Road Carstar Collision in Centennial, which they opened in July, Gary Boesel said.

"One of the reasons we were able to open another store is because of Carstar," he said.  "Our original location was operating so efficiently that we saw an opportunity to duplicate it.  It enabled me to take my business to the next level and position myself for future growth while developing a solid exit plan.

"I saw the need to operate my business more efficiently" when he and his wife owned a single shop in 1992, Boesel said.  "I knew of some of the resources available if we were to join Carstar.  From a management and administrative standpoint, they had a proven system that is refined and even more efficient today," he said.

"It's so difficult for an independent shop to do it alone now," said Boesel, who has more than 30 years of collision experience.  "Not having the opportunity to network with a larger group restricts parts-purchasing ability and growth opportunities.  Carstar is about operating your business efficiently so you can make good business decisions.  Various systems can be plugged into the business as needed.

"The systems approach is key to Carstar," he said, pointing out that it centers on several areas, including parts purchasing, training, networking, and insurance relationships.

Through those systems, the Boesels said they were able to maximize the efficiency of their original 13,000-sqaure-foot Aurora facility to produce an excess of $3 million in annual sales.  That earned Alpine Carstar Auto Body recognition as the Carstar 2005 shop of the year, Gary Boesel said, meeting benchmarks in performance, high customer satisfaction index (CSI) scores, and sales.

With momentum on their side, three years ago the Boesels said they began looking for a second location and eventually decided to purchase an existing 16,200-square-foot shop in Centennial.

"We were interested in this market area," Gary Boesel said of Centennial.  "We felt it was a growing market, one that could sustain a high-quality collision repair facility."

As with any business with multiple locations, the economies of scale begin to work to an owner's advantage, Boesel said.  After only five months of business in two locations, he said the scales are beginning to tip in his favor.

"There's an opportunity for load leveling," Boesel said.  "It could mean sharing work or employees between locations.  There's more leverage in approaching vendors for discounts through volume purchasing."

FinishMaster is one of their paint and material suppliers, Boesel said, adding that he purchases his BASF refinish products there.  "They've given us great support."

A wide area computer network that Boesel set up enables him to manage both locations from a single computer, he said, adding that managing the shops is smooth because both use the same Carstar management systems.

At any given point in the day, Boesel said he can pull a daily progress report (DPR) and look up vehicles with work in progress, sales, closing ratios, and other financial performance indicators.  Sales figures are compared with projections for the month, he said. "I know if we need to push the pedal a little harder."

The computer network between the two shops, Boesel said, is one of the critical areas of the businesses that he couldn't do without.  He said he credits his information technology consultant, Tim Riegel, for getting the system up and running.

A high-tech feature that Boesel said he gleaned from his national quarterly Carstar networking events was installing 23-inch computer monitors facing the customer at each estimating desk.  This builds trust with the customer, he said, because they can see the same information that Estimator Doug Ward is looking at on his computer.

"Networking with other stores around the country is huge," he said.  "It allows me to make smarter, more educated business decisions."

Boesel said he wouldn't have been able to experience the success with his businesses if he didn't surround himself with quality employees.  "My people are the key to both stores," he said.  "Ultimately the success of the stores is with the employees." 

In all, he said he employs 30 people, 11 at his Jordon Road shop and 19 at his Aurora Alpine location.

At Alpine, Boesel said Wayne Houston, general manager, has been with him 25 years.  Kelly Nelson, operations manager, an employee that moved to the Jordon Road location from Alpine, has been with him more than six years, he added.

"The secret of employee retention has a lot to do with the environment," he said.  "The proven systems of Carstar give them that security."  When new employees are hired, he said he's able to train them online through Carstar University, a system that his shops subscribe to.

Boesel said he uses a Denver-based human resources company, Peliton, to assist with payroll and employee benefits, such as 401(k), 125 cafeteria plan, health insurance, life insurance, and vision care.

Another integral part of the Carstar advantage is working with Steve Rigsby of Total Marketing Solutions, who handles the marketing needs of all 11 locations in Colorado.  This situation is ideal because Rigsby's attention is focused solely on our shops, he said.

Parts Manager Scott Redus takes care of parts procurement in a separate, organized department, Boesel said.  Vendors deliver parts to a receiving area, where they're organized per job, he said, adding that they're then loaded to a single parts cart, which keeps them all in one place and out of the vehicle.

The parts carts, along the shop's main equipment, a Brewco Wolf frame measuring system, three Duz-Mor frame racks, and two AFC paint booths, were purchased with the business, Boesel said, adding that he's satisfied with his current setup, which was originally built as a collision repair facility.