Brothers and co-owners Dan and Rich Schwartz combined their first names to form DANRICH Collision in 1980 in Homer Glen, IL. Since then, the body shop has changed to CARSTAR DANRICH, acquired a second location, earned a Tesla certification and had more family members join the team. Dan’s son Clarke is the general manager, while his nephew Danny is a painter.
“My brother and I are the third generation in the auto repair business,” said Dan. “My father was a technician, my grandfather was a technician and with my son and nephew working here, that makes four generations.
“Compared to the big MSOs, we’re still a small family operation and we treat our customers like family,” he said. “My brother and I still work on the floor, will repair cars when our team needs an extra hand, and my brother handles the parts department right now, too.”
CARSTAR DANRICH
Homer Glen, IL
708-301-1250
www.carstar.com/locations/il/ homer-glen-15340
Company At A Glance...
Type: Collision Repair
Facility Employees: 11
In Business Since: 1980
Number of Locations: Two
Combined Production Space: 18,000 square feet
During the pandemic, Dan and Rich bought a second location in Des Plaines, IL, that they’re currently remodeling.
“It now serves as Tesla parts storage,” said Dan.
CARSTAR DANRICH holds a Tesla manufacturer certification and is in the process of becoming BMW and Volkswagen certified.
Switching to Car-O-Liner® equipment over a year ago has helped CARSTAR DANRICH in earning OE certifications.
“Car-O-Liner® is approved by many of the OEMs we want to be certified by,” Dan explained.
“I remember when they wanted the Tesla certification, and now whenever I go in there, they are loaded with Tesla repairs,” recalled Chris Cooling, who works for Wakeman Equipment, a proud distributor of Car-O-Liner® that enjoys helping body shops such as CARSTAR DANRICH grow their business and earn OEM approvals. “There’s always one sitting on the Car-O-Liner® bench. So, I think the equipment has driven new business.”
Dan added that Car-O-Liner’s® sales and support team was also a significant factor in choosing the vendor.
“The company stands behind their equipment,” Dan said. “If you have an issue with anything, they come in and are there for you.”
Dan recalled that when he purchased the Car-O-Liner® Quick42™, there was a shortage of clamps due to the pandemic.
“They worked well with me, and as soon as the salesman got one of the clamps in, he brought it out to us,” he said.
Dan added the sales team has been “easy to work with.”
“They’ve made purchasing Car-O-Liner® equipment seamless,” he said. “Chris comes here and sets everything up and spends two days training the employees.”
Dan added that when CARSTAR DANRICH hires a new employee, he calls Car-O-Liner® to make an appointment and a rep is there promptly to train the technician on their equipment.
In addition to the frame rack and measuring system, CARSTAR DANRICH also purchased the EVO™ Universal Anchoring and Holding System components from Car-O-Liner® .
“Let’s say a vehicle doesn’t have pinch welds for clamping vehicles the traditional way,” said Cooling. “They now have all the equipment needed to properly anchor the vehicle and fixture parts in place to repair the vehicle per OEM procedures.”
CARSTAR DANRICH also purchased a CTR™9 Resistance Spot Welder. The CTR™9 is a fully-automated resistance welder designed to replicate factory OEM welds, explained Cooling. “This welder will measure the thickness and density of the metal and automatically establish the required settings to generate a proper weld nugget; the welder does all the work for you.”
Cooling said newer model vehicles contain several types of complex metals such as high strength and ultra-high strength steels.
“So, with the equipment they purchased, they can feel confident that no matter what metals they are working with, the vehicle will be repaired to OEM specifications,” Cooling said.
Cooling is introducing a new product to CARSTAR DANRICH, the CDR™1 Dent Repair Workstation.
“It’s an all-encompassing dent station for steel, aluminum, glue pulling and more,” Cooling said. “So, I provided them with the equipment for a month, as we continue to work together to learn all the applications for the product.”
Cooling concluded, “They’re a good family-owned business and I respect their hard work.
“I enjoy working with these kinds of clients,” he added. Dan said his customers also appreciate the culture, environment and repair quality generated by their family-owned and operated body shop.
Car-O-Liner® North America
800-521-9696
info@car-o-liner.com
www.car-o-liner.com
LinkedIn: @car-o-liner-hq
To read more auto body shop profiles in the October 2023 Shop and Product Showcase, click here.
