Joining a franchise can sometimes mean signing on with a substandard vendor. Fortunately, that was not at all the case at ProColor Collision Montclair in Montclair, CA. Owner Carlos Flores has never been more satisfied with his paint system, thanks to the product and support he has gotten from Axalta after becoming part of ProColor.
“I’m very happy with the product and the manufacturer,” said Flores.
ProColor Collision Montclair
Montclair, CA
909-621-1052
procolor.com/en-us/shop/ montclair/
Company At A Glance...
Type: Collision Repair
Facility Employees: Nine
In Business Since: 2013
Number of Locations: One
Production Space: 9,000 square feet
Flores said his path to becoming an auto body shop owner was different from many others.
“I’ve met a lot who are owner-operators,” Flores said. “They know the trade. They have been body men or painters, or in the insurance industry. I’ve done none of that.”
Rather, Flores got a business degree and an accounting certification, and worked as an accountant until the Great Recession hit in 2008. He joined his mother in her restaurant business for a few years, and then, in 2011, he and a friend opened their first body shop in Los Angeles, Evergreen Auto Body Specialists.
Flores’ friend was the one who had the industry experience, while Flores brought the bookkeeping and administrative knowledge. The business partnership didn’t work out in the long run, but in the two years Flores worked with his friend, he learned a lot---enough to open his own shop.
In 2013, he did just that, opening what was originally known as Montclair Auto Collision.
“That’s how I came to own my own business without picking up a piece of sandpaper or anything of the sort,” Flores said with a laugh.
In 2021, an Axalta representative visited Flores’ shop. Flores mentioned he’d been considering joining a franchise, and the Axalta rep recommended he consider ProColor Collision, which was just beginning to branch out into California.
Flores liked what ProColor had to offer and spent the rest of the year checking off all the tasks necessary to join---among them changing the name to ProColor Collision Montclair, earning I-CAR Gold certification and picking a new paint vendor, as the shop’s original vendor was not one contracted with ProColor.
After observing a product demonstration at Axalta’s training center in Pomona, CA, Flores chose to partner with Axalta. His shop has been using the Cromax EZ waterborne system since it officially started doing business as part of the ProColor Collision franchise in February 2022.
Abby Andrews