Salisbury-N.C.-based Cloninger Automotive Group signed an area development licensing agreement with DCR Systems LLC, providing access to DCR's full turnkey operating model.

“We appreciate Cloninger’s belief and trust in the DCR process and applaud their courage to adapt and transition from a traditional operation to lean-focused operation,” said DCR Systems President and CEO Michael Giarrizzo. “They have invested in a beautiful facility and a new way of doing things, and we are thrilled to partner with them on this venture.”

“We are so pleased to work with the Cloninger team,” said Cheryl Boswell, DCR Systems’ corporate CFO and managing partner. “Their culture of taking care of their customers and repairing vehicles the right way matches DCR’s culture. It is not easy to make change, but the Cloninger team has embraced DCR’s process and the results are showing.”

Cloninger Automotive is owned by Larry Cloninger and includes a collision repair facility in Salisbury and four dealerships: Cloninger Toyota in Salisbury, Ford dealerships in Salisbury, Hickory and Morganton, N.C., and Florence Toyota in Florence, S.C. The 38-year-old company has 400 employees, 23 of whom work in the body shop.

The collision repair facility operated on the dealership property in Salisbury since 1996. To help meet Ford’s and Toyota’s manufacturing requirements, the company decided to relocate it to a 21,000-square-foot facility about a quarter mile away.

They visited several top-performing body shop models, including Mike Johnson's Hickory Toyota certified collision center, which is about 50 miles away and is operated by DCR Systems.

“Their collision center operates in an approximately 12,000-square-foot space and they were doing more business than we were doing in our 18,000-square-foot space,” said Tyson. “It was obvious that they were doing something from an efficiency standpoint that we were not.”

After deciding to move forward with the licensing model, DCR Systems helped implement DCR’s process in the Cloninger facility. The process includes establishing tools to track and monitor daily production and meet set targets.

“They were very hands-on with the way we laid out our shop, what tools we needed to buy and where we needed to place everything,” Tyson said.

Previously, technicians brought their tools to work. Now, Cloninger supplies what is necessary to do the job, which has helped with efficiency.

“They are very much in tune with understanding the challenges setting up processes—even the way we pay our staff—and have been able to help us through these changes,” said Tyson. “I'm confident that I wouldn't have been able to make the changes to their pay structure without the help of Michael Giarrizzo and DCR Systems."

Initially, Tyson was concerned because some employees left the company due to the change in pay structure.

In hindsight, he found that the change resulted in building a team of employees.

“The DCR Systems’ model is all about the team concept,” he said.

For example, if disassembly is backed up, a painter might come in to assist; if paint is backed up, a body man might help buff; and if the detail department is busy, the parts manager will wash the car.

Part of the DCR Systems’ process involves the staff working together to identify the damage up front and create a repair plan.

Communication is key. This includes letting guests know the expected repair time, encouraging them to communicate with their insurance company and providing a timeframe for delivery.

After implementing the DCR Systems’ model, Tyson said, “Everybody is so happy.”

In addition to DCR Systems sending its team to the shop for support, Cloninger employees receive cross-training from DCR Systems.

Since the changes, Tyson has found that production has increased with fewer people. “We averaged producing 68 cars and increased to 102 over the first 90 days,” shared Tyson, who said they are continuing to increase efficiencies.