The two stages of the move involved taking shop design, equipment installation, and service in-house and getting serious about the collision repair segment by becoming a master distributor for Chief Automotive Technologies in Colorado and Wyoming, Cardoza said.  Chief adds to the depth of AES's line card, which also includes master distributor status for Pro-Cut on-the-car brake lathes and Challenger Lifts and other brands such has Hoffmann alignment equipment, he said.

Cardoza said that in January 2007, he added the service division and eight months later relocated his warehouse from I-70 and Peoria Street in Aurora to 6547 S. Racine Circle in Centennial near I-25, which makes travel to Colorado Springs and Fort Collins more convenient and is closer to key customers.

"In the past, we could never be responsible for service once we made the sale," Cardoza said.  "Now we can do it all in-house.  It's so much smoother for the customer."

Cardoza said his diverse customer base now includes repair shops, franchise dealerships, heavy-duty fleets, municipalities, and collision repair facilities.  "We have completely different competitors in every segment that we're in," he said.

"We dabbled in collision before, but now we're in the position to better service collision," he said.  "A lot of dealerships have body shops.  We were doing business with them anyway."

AES has partnered with Gus Roldan, owner of Roldan's Collision Equipment in Fort Collins, to solicit business from collision repair facilities, Cardoza said.  "He's our collision specialist," he said, adding that Roldan also trains customers on new equipment.

"We have some very large lines, but if we lost any of them, it wouldn't hurt us," Cardoza said.  "We're not under the thumb of our vendors anymore."

In choosing which manufacturers to represent, Cardoza said he examines the philosophy of the company and prefers to do business with ones that are progressive.

Chief Automotive is keenly aware of the different types of exotic metals and high-strength steels automakers are now using to make vehicles safer and more fuel efficient, Cardoza said, which is quickly changing how repairs are performed.  Having equipment that can handle the new repair procedures and access to OEM repair information is more critical than ever, he said.

"While advanced steels offer many advantages over their mild-steel ancestors, they can't be repaired using the same old processes," Chief sales literature says.  "Doing so may actually do more harm than good and will likely affect the way that the vehicle reacts if involved in another collision."

All Chief measuring systems come equipped with AllData vehicle information, Cardoza said, serving up information on where high-strength steel is located in a vehicle.  That affects where a technician can pull, heat, and cut a vehicle, he pointed out.

Those exotic metals and high-strength steels are no longer limited to luxury brands, Cardoza said, adding that the 2007 Honda Civic contains a large amount of high-strength steel around the passenger compartment.  The new Civic's steel composition is vastly different than the 2005 version, he said.

"Vehicle technology is changing all the time," Cardoza said.  "Shops need repair information.  If they don't have it, they'll be out of business.  If a tech welds in the wrong spot, it can take out a vehicle's computer.

"Chief is coming out with different types of equipment to handle different needs," he said, pointing to the new Fusion as an example.  It is a unique piece of equipment that can be used for pulling frames, holding parts for section repairs, and frame measuring, he said.

The Fusion also uses a feature called the "Shop-Hopper," a center section that detaches from the main deck that is attached to a vehicle, Cardoza said, enabling a tech to safely move a vehicle off the rack and insert another, eliminating the need for multiple racks.

Just as Cardoza partners with innovative manufacturers in the collision repair segment, he said he does the same with mechanical repair-oriented equipment manufacturers.

"With the variety of equipment, we're doing a lot more lube and exhaust," he said. For exhaust systems, he said he relies on Lakewood-based manufacturer Ascent Systems, which has an innovative exhaust vacuum system in which suction is used to retract the hose to the shop's ceiling when an in-hose damper is closed, he said.   That allows a safer working environment, he added.

Being a master distributor has its advantages, Cardoza said, pointing out that a sale can be made through one of several area distributors.  Brand exclusivity also offers AES a competitive edge, he said.

For four years, Cardoza said, AES has been a member of the Florida-based Automotive Distribution Group (ADG), a co-op of 30 distributors nationwide who have banned together to share business ideas and collectively market a private-label brand of ADG lifts, fluid exchangers, tire changers, balancers, and brake lathes.

"It's given us the ability to open our eyes and see how other distributors are doing business," he  said.