Ricky Ragle opened Canton Paint & Body in 1993 after “getting tired” of his one-hour work commute from Dallas, TX, recalled his son, Corley Ragle. “My mom was also traveling back and forth, working for the City of Sunnyvale, and started realizing, ‘We can make some money at this, Dad is really good at this,’” Corley Ragle said. “So, she gave her notice at that job and came over to the body shop and worked with Dad.”
Canton Paint & Body
Canton, TX
903-567-2500
Facebook: @CantonPaintandBody
Company At A Glance...
Type: Collision Repair
Facility Employees: 21
In Business Since: 1993
Number of Locations: One
Production Space: 40,000 square feet
Ragle said the two worked side by side, building the business together. About 18 years ago, Ragle joined his mom, Sue Ragle, to run the body shop in Canton shortly after his dad retired in the early 2000s.
However, this past year, Ragle became the sole owner of Canton Paint & Body following back-to-back tragedies. During the pandemic, he lost his father to COVID, and in March 2023, his mother lost her battle with Stage 4 breast cancer.
“God threw a lot at us all at once,” he said.
Ragle added it has been difficult finding someone with his mother’s work ethic, as she “could do 20 people’s jobs.”
To adjust to this significant loss, personally and business-wise, Ragle made major shifts at his collision repair center.
“We wanted to invest money back into the shop, and we had already expanded our main building to 30,000 square feet,” he explained. “Plus, we had acquired several buildings next door so our customers can access Enterprise rental cars onsite and for additional workspace.”
In total, the body shop now has 40,000 square feet of workspace.
“We never imagined that we’d get this big for a small town,” said Ragle.
Ragle said they got tired of subletting jobs that required ADAS technology and alignment equipment. They were risking quality with offsite mechanics who wouldn’t take ownership of their work. So, he reached out to a trusted local mechanic, who had owned an auto repair shop 20 years before retiring, and told him his dilemma. Ragle said his friend referred him to Hunter Engineering, saying the company was “the best.”
Abby Andrews