In 2013, Jim Mudgett Jr. and his two sons had one collision shop and a goal: Ten locations in 10 years.
Thirteen years later they have nine, and they own the real estate under seven of them. A tenth is in the works.
"Our goals took a little longer, but we made some pretty big goals and we're going to achieve them," said Jim.
Jim has been in business since 1980, changing the name in 2013 to Maryland Collision Center. The company now employs about 180 people across nine locations. Jimmy Mudgett runs operations for all nine, and his brother Shane Mudgett runs accounting and HR.
Every Location Runs the Same Paint Department Setup
Every location runs the same paint setup, so a painter from one shop can cover another without learning a new system.The paint teams are set up the same way at every location, and what varies is scale. Jimmy said the biggest shop has three booths, three full-time painters, and a helper. The smallest has one booth, one painter, and does probably a fifth of what the biggest does. In between sit medium shops with a painter or two and a helper.
The work mix is deliberately diverse. The shops hold multiple OEM certifications, including Honda, Acura, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, and the Chrysler brands, feeding dealership work from 20 or more locations. The shops carry DRP relationships as well.
The Supplier Grew Alongside the Business
The paint relationship predates the growth. About 30 years ago, when the family had one shop, a small distributor, and another brand of paint, they started talking with people using Axalta products and eventually made the switch.
"As we grew, Axalta grew with us. They actually kind of helped us to grow," Jim said. "As we added stores through the years, they were there with more and more support."
At each of the nine locations, they use the Cromax Pro waterborne paint line along with ColorNet for paint management and Irus Scan for color matching and mixing. And as the Mudgetts continue to expand, Axalta is there to help every time.
"We build a new shop and they come in, I don't even have to tell them what to do. They come in and they set us up," Jim said. "They give us the backups that we need so we never run out of anything."
Painters Can Move Between Stores Without Retraining
Standardizing on one line across nine shops lets the company move painters between locations and keeps color support consistent.The payoff shows up when a shop is down a painter and needs to borrow help from another location.
"That was our goal from the beginning, to make sure that every shop used the same products, so that if someone was on vacation or someone quit, we could just plug and play," Jimmy said.
When Maryland Collision Center promotes or hires a painter, Axalta comes in to lead in-person training. When a newer painter needed more in-depth training, Jimmy said Axalta representatives worked with him for a week, arriving when the shop opened and staying with him in the booth on spray-out cards. That painter was later sent to an Axalta campus for further on-site training.
"I really think we could call them and say, hey, can you do whatever we need? Come here for a week, come here for two weeks. And they would say yes," Jimmy said.
Axalta comes on site to help color issues as well. "They'll send a person right away. They'll work for a couple hours. They'll help to spray out cards. They'll go in the booth with the painter," Jimmy said.
"One of the toughest parts of the whole industry is color match, in my opinion," Jim said. "And the support that Axalta gives us, it gives us a lot of help for the number one problem in the industry."
A Partner That Goes Above and Beyond
The support Jimmy values most sits outside the booth. The shop’s Axalta representative calls frequently, runs reports, and compares multiple variables across all nine locations. These metrics feed directly into a quarterly meeting with the three owners and the regional managers, where the team reviews product usage and cost at each shop to catch overuse or waste as early as possible.
Axalta also invites them to 20 groups with professionals from across the country to take part in training that goes beyond the refinish process. A few weeks ago, receptionists from all nine locations came in for a session on phone handling and getting the job in the door.
"I don't see how anyone can compare to what Axalta offers in the shop and in the office," Jimmy said. "They care and they're here when we need them."
His father has more comparisons to draw on.
"I have dealt with other companies, but none of them have stood up to Axalta's expertise, training, and care," Jim said. “And I've been around the block."
