Being a locally owned company with a 45-year track record is impressive.Turning that company into the go-to heavy-duty collision repair and refurbishment company across North America and beyond is even more so. That is just what Kenton Schultz did. While the former GM of BRC Grande Prairie was earning his MBA from Queens University remotely during COVID, he stumbled onto something that would change his professional trajectory.
“As part of my MBA studies, we did a simulated modelling exercise franchising the single BRC location I was managing into a multi-store group. Working with my class, I looked at this exercise as an opportunity to have all these talented minds come together to come up with this cool plan,” says Schultz, president of BRC Group. “Once it was all done, we looked at it and we said: ‘this might actually be possible.’
Schultz saw the potential and turned that possibility into reality. He bought the business in 2021 and merged the BRC locations into one consolidated Group, with the head office in Calgary acting as the operational hub overseeing Big Rig Collision locations in Grande Prairie and Las Vegas. It then grew quickly with the addition of 43 North Parts Distributors in Grande Prairie supplying quality recycled, used and aftermarket parts, and Big Rig Manufacturing in Las Vegas building double-decker buses. The team has continued to evolve through acquisition and organic growth, and by the end of 2024 it will have experienced six-times growth since the transition.
That astronomical growth stems from quality workmanship, strong and collaborative teams, and efficient and effective systems and procedures that can be applied to other facilities moving forward.
“It’s a credit to the team because they develop and execute the procedures and tweak them as needed. It’s a constant work in progress and has been key to success,” says Doug Nanne, regional manager of BRC Calgary. “The people doing the work are ultimately responsible for our success. Without our team, we’d have no customers to deal with.”
Success is driven by this 150-person workforce that’s dedicated to maintaining high quality and service levels, and with such diverse skillsets and specialization, it takes each of them working together to get jobs done. Schultz wants this incredible team to continue to evolve and improve in order to better serve clients so he covers apprenticeship program tuition to encourage professional development at the company. A new program through AIT also allows employees to apply their on-the-job work experience hours to becoming Red Seal Technicians.
“We see the technical training as personal growth that is better for them and their family and it helps us because now we have more qualified staff that will help us produce a better product for our customers. It’s a win-win,” says Schultz.
To further facilitate excellence, BRC Group has become a flat organization that encourages collaboration on all levels. And Schultz walks the talk. His cell number is on every whiteboard, inviting employees to reach out with concerns, questions or suggestions at any time. Employees are valued not just for their professional contributions but also as people with lives off the clock, and management checks in with everyone regularly to provide support wherever it is needed. And this appreciation and positive culture has led to low turnover across the organization.
There is reciprocity; BRC employees enjoy flexible schedules that accommodate outside responsibilities and in return employees happily answer the call for all hands on deck when deadlines loom. After all, it’s a reactionary business and no one knows when an accident will happen or what will come through the door from one day to the next. But no matter the issue, when a client needs service or repair, BRC gets the asset back on the road as quickly as possible.
“It costs our customers a lot of money when their vehicles are down so we have to really step up in that regard. Because of our reputation, customers will pass a lot of other shops on the way to get here but this is where they want their vehicles fixed,” says Schultz.
The company’s reputation for top quality workmanship has spread internationally, and it’s common for clients from far afield to ship their transit buses, heavy trucks, motor coaches, trailers, recreational vehicles and tractors to BRC for repair and service. The team’s skills extend beyond collision repair, frame straightening and restoration; BRC also refurbishes and retrofits clients’ fleets to extend their life, provides state-of-the- art refinishing, sandblasting, paint and graphics and performs specialized salvage vehicle inspections for medium and heavy-duty trucks.
Schultz and his team are proud to serve these current markets and clients, but they have big plans over the next few years.
“We’ve had a pretty good run so far and the development of our business is now lending itself to further expansion,” says Schultz. “We’re focusing on Western Canada and the southwestern United States; we have a lot of irons in the fire.”
If the past three years are any indication, those future irons will translate to big growth at Big Rig Collision Group.
6061 90 Avenue SE Calgary, AB, T2C 4Z6
Phone: 403-243-7400
Toll Free: 888-848-8686
www.brcgroup.ca
