Kingsville, Mo. -- The four owners of County Line Auto Parts have taken decades of experience working in the automotive recycling industry and converted them into a successful, modern recycling facility.
Dennis Roberts Jr. and his wife, Krystyn, purchased the facility in 2003 along with his brother Kent who left in 2005and were quickly joined in the operation by Co-owners Don Morris and Joe Roederer, who had been countermen with the pair at Greenleaf of Kansas City, Krystyn Roberts said. She said their path to owning their own recycling facility has been turbulent at times but that the business has grown significantly and has earned a reputation as a top option for local mechanical and collision repair shops, which make up 75 percent of their business.
The Roberts family has a long history in the automotive recycling industry in the Kansas City area, Dennis Roberts Jr. said. Dennis Roberts Sr. founded Little Roberts in 1976, and his sons Dennis Jr. and Kent grew into key employees, Roberts Jr. said, adding that their uncle, Randy Roberts, opened County Line Auto Parts in 1996, as well, rounding out the family operations. Following the sale of Little Roberts to Greenleaf in 1999, Roberts Jr. said he remained as general manager until 2001 when he went to work for his uncle at County Line Auto Parts. .
After purchasing the facility, the Robertses said they set out to expand the business, which has grown from 10 employees in 2003 to 33 today. Parts are housed in a 25,000-square-foot facility and on 38 acres of surrounding land, Dennis Roberts said, and another 5,000-square foot building houses a facility that reconditions headlights and taillights.
Roberts said the operation begins by purchasing quality inventory to supply the parts the industry needs -- specializing in vehicles 1995 and newer, including foreign and domestic and cars, pickups, and SUVs. He said the business will dismantle about 900 vehicles in 2007.
After a car has been purchased, Roberts said it is moved into the building and inventoried. County Line's inventory specialist, Tim Madorin, has more than 20 years of body shop experience as an estimator and assistant manager.
"We thought it was important to get someone really qualified to inventory cars," Roberts said. Madorin takes between 90 minutes and two hours to inventory each vehicle, he said, taking multiple photos, recording the VIN, mileage, and noting any damage to parts that are placed into the company's Power Link 2 inventory management system.
"This allows us to be able to check our inventory in seconds," Roederer said.
The vehicle is then placed back in the yard to await dismantling in one of the shop's three dismantling bays, Roberts said. Which parts are removed varies somewhat by vehicle, he said, but all fluids are drained, and the drivetrain is removed for indoor storage, as are all fast-moving parts. The car is then returned to the yard, he said, and additional parts can be removed on an as-needed basis.
"Other than rear ends and sub-frames, we keep all of our fast-moving parts inside," Roberts said.
"I think the biggest misconception is still the difference between junk yards and modern salvage yards," Roederer said. "If people come out and see our business, they'll see how a modern salvage yard is run."
Roberts said he estimates that County Line has about 1,000 engines in stock and about 1,000 transmissions. In addition to regularly selling engines and transmissions, he said frequently damaged parts such as bumpers, fenders, doors, headlights, and taillights are always in high demand.
In fact the demand for headlights-- the No. 1 part replaced by insurance companies--and taillights is so great that Roberts said the company established a reconditioning operation for them in November 2005. While the process is proprietary, Roberts said the lights are polished to removed scratches, damaged tabs are repaired with steel reinforcing pins, the interior of the light is cleaned, and a UV coating is applied to prevent yellowing."We have a 16-step process to remove scratches, repair damage, and resurface them," Roberts said. "You get a headlight (or taillight) that looks new for a used price and with a warranty to back it up." He said the company warrants all repairs as well as the clearcoat.
County Line has been buying cores from all over the Midwest, Roberts said, and has more than 7,500 remanufactured headlights and taillights in stock. In addition, he said the facility has about 1,700 cores and can work on the customer's unit when a core is not available. The majority of the inventory is 2000 and newer, he said, but some popular items are available for vehicles as old as 1991.
"We have a number of late-model lights that are really hard to find," Roberts said, "as well as some lights that just aren't available (elsewhere)."
The reconditioned lights are priced based on demand but average about 50 percent of the cost of buying a new light from a dealer, Roberts said. He said they ship the lights in a box with a foam packaging that conforms to the shape of the light, making it safe to send anywhere.
Roberts said County Line's seven delivery drivers make possible daily deliveries to most major cities within 100 miles and that the company ships to other areas. He said many deliveries are made the same day as the order, while most others arrive the next day.
"We pride ourselves on being able to deliver the part faster than our competitors," Roederer said.
The facility is also part of QRP Midwest, a group of recyclers that includes 26 other facilities, Roberts said. He said that allows them to access the inventory of the other yards. Stretching from Kansas to Chicago, he said the group allows County Line to access parts from eleven yards that are just one shipping day away and fifteen more that are just two shipping days away.
"If we don't have it, we can generally say with confidence that we can get it," Krystyn Roberts said.
Dennis Roberts said it is all part of doing whatever it takes to satisfy the customer. While having the parts they need is key to that, he said the business' staff is just as important. "Surrounding ourselves with good employees is what makes our business," he said.
"It's a unique situation with four owners, but it's working well because we all bring different strengths," Morris said.
"I think that customers like it because when they call in for a part, they are often dealing directly with one of the owners," Roberts said.
"It also means that we go the extra mile to be sure our customers are being taken care of, including calling them back to let them know if we have it or not and following up afterwards to see that they're satisfied."
"You don't get big and keep growing unless you're doing something right," Roberts said.
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