Moody's Collision Center is an ABRN 2012 Top Shop

Jan. 1, 2020
Moody's Collision Centers transformed itself into a powerhouse by turning employees into owners.

If the Top Shops contest offered a separate award category for most congenial shop, Moody's Collision Centers could make a strong case for taking the prize. That's not saying the other shops in the contest aren't run by nice, thoughtful people – they all are!

IMAGES / MOODY'S COLLISION CENTERS

The Gorham, Maine, -based business stands out because its transformation in just eight years from a modest standalone shop to a powerhouse multi-shop operator is due largely to a business plan sparked by its owner's altruism and fueled by a design.

Moody's was founded in 1977 by a 17-year-old Shawn Moody who took out a $6,000 loan to purchase a one-quarter acre lot and construct a small three-bay shop. The property abutted a 35-acre junkyard that 11 years later was targeted for closure by the city as a blight.

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Sensing an opportunity where others saw a budding environmental disaster, Moody purchased the yard, cleaned it up and transformed it into one of the leading auto recyclers in the country. So successful was the salvage business that in 1998 both Ford and LKQ put in offers to buy it, with LKQ eventually walking away with the prize.

Moody came away from the transaction with something arguably better – the means and motivation to turn his collision business into something special. Repairs became his sole focus, and because he was no longer in the parts business, he could grow his business since he no longer had to worry about competing with other shops that also were his customers.

The shop's Employee Stock Ownership Program has helped turn these workers into business owners with all the benefits and responsibilities.

Within a few short years, Moody added a second location. Five more followed, making Moody's the largest independent collision repairer in New England, according to its owner.

Moody points to a lot of factors for the quick growth of his business. He runs a lean operation and invests heavily in I-CAR training. He utilizes state-based grants to enroll career-track employees in a college-accredited curriculum that focuses on leadership, communication and improving worker chemistry and collaboration.

While other shops invest equally in education, Moody's employees arguably are provided with more motivation to their training to work. They have a far greater stake in the success of the business thanks to a benefits program that has made them part owners.

Beginning in 2003, Moody began offering his workers the opportunity to take part in an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP). Moody conceived the idea after looking at a number of pension and benefit plans. He wanted to go a step further than those options based on his experience with selling his salvage yard.

"I felt bad because as the yard owner I really profited from the sale, but a lot of good people who worked there for years didn't," he explains. "I wanted my shop workers to have a piece of the business."

Today, Moody's employees own 34 percent of the business and have watched the value of their stock shares grow an average of 18 percent annually.

Paint prep worker Shawn Emery tapes a customer's vehicle. Using waterborne paints and other green technologies, Moody's has reduced its carbon footprint by 50 percent.

"The employees know that's a better return than they'll see on Wall Street," says Moody.

He credits the ESOP with creating an environment in which employees are more motivated than ever to both lead and collaborate. Significantly, the program addresses generational labor issues that traditionally have inhibited shop productivity.

"The older workers here want to help the younger people because they know that once they retire it will be up to the younger workers to keep the business successful so their retirement is protected," he explains. "We're able to combine the wisdom and experience of our 50-something employees with the enthusiasm of our young workers."

Moody's also provides its employees with the economic tools to make its employee-owners more effective businesspeople with regular meetings where the shop opens its books and discusses its financial condition. During quarterly profit-sharing meetings at each location the shop reviews key performance indicators (KPIs) such as sales, EBITDA, CSI, cycle time, receivables and shop efficiency with every employee. At follow-up shop meetings employees express their concerns, offer suggestions and provide other feedback.

With Moody's ownership program, technicians Ben Moody and Brian Kelley help provide retirement benefits for older employees while they build their own careers.

"This understanding of how our business works is very important to our employees. They expect to know it," Moody says.

The importance of these numbers, and the power employees have to influence them, is driven even further home by a business practice that provides techs with a monthly efficiency and utilization report and a "dash board report" that tracks KPIs for estimators.

The constant focus on the business hasn't distracted Moody's from caring for its community. Moody's was recognized by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection as an "Environmental Leader" and has reduced its carbon footprint by 50 percent.

Employee Steve Murphy helps with the shop's in-house towing operations.

The shop's Co-Workers for a Cause group has organized donations for Special Olympics, Maine Children's Cancer program, local firefighters and drug prevention programs. Last year, Moody's donated more than $100,000 to 150 different organizations throughout Maine, and today it's working to ensure local students have school supplies.

None of that should be a surprise. Sharing the wealth has made Moody's a Top Shop.

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