Auto Tech shops undergoing switch to Meineke

The seven local Auto Tech shops are being converted to the Meineke brand, doubling the national auto repair franchiser’s footprint in Southern Nevada.

The Auto Tech logo — a cartoon mechanic carrying a wrench — is coming down and the yellow and black Meineke signs are going up in the next few weeks.

On the face of it, the deal appears to be just another example of a big national fish swallowing a local minnow.

But that’s not how Auto Tech founder Mike Murphy sees it. The trim but graying executive sees the move as both a branding strategy that adds value to his holdings as a new franchisee and a move toward an exit strategy as he nears age 60.

Over coffee at a Starbucks, Murphy ticked off the reasons he was receptive when Meineke came calling:

■ Other auto repair shops had sprung up with similar names, creating confusion in the marketplace;

■ The Great Recession had crippled his plans for regional growth;

■ And reduced staffing had pushed him into handling more operational details, a role for which he has little enthusiasm.

Murphy, a serial entrepreneur with Chicago roots, came to Las Vegas in 2002 determined to conquer something new. He and a partner had developed MK Systems, which describes itself as a sales engineering business handling a wide range of heating, air conditioning and blower equipment, in Elk Grove, Ill.

That hunt for something new led him into auto repair, which he said was ripe for his “responsible capitalism” model.

As he bought up failing repair shops, he instituted a series of unorthodox approaches. While others used contract mechanics paid by the jobs, Auto Tech hired ASE certified mechanics as full-time employees and provided extensive training opportunities. He held those employees to high standards, including making sure they were current with any child support payments.

He promised “friendly, honest, competent service” and customers responded. Auto Tech carries an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau although Angie’s List was less impressed, giving Auto Tech a B rating.

Matt Evans, acquisitions director for Meineke in Charlotte, N.C., called the Auto Tech transaction a “conversion” rather than an acquisition.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Evans explained that Meineke is part of Driven Brands, the result of a 2007 combination of the Meineke and MAACO auto painting brands. Driven Brands found itself light on Western outlets so it added the Econo Lube brand. It has co-branded those shops with Meineke and expanded the service capabilities to fit the Meineke profile.

He said expanding Meineke’s footprint in Southern Nevada is part of an aggressive push to double the number of shops nationwide in the next five years. He put the number of Meineke shops today at more than 900 in the U.S. with another 50 in Canada.

Today, privately held Driven Brands is the nation’s largest auto repair franchise holding company.

Murphy stressed that he’s still operating the seven shops and all service guarantees and coupons will be honored. He described Meineke as a like-minded customer-first operation that is a good fit for Auto Tech, its employees and its customers.

Danny Rivera, Driven Brands’ executive vice president for Meineke, said the corporate goal is to educate consumers and turn the auto repair industry’s negative perception on its head. That means delivering service that’s “better than the industry” and putting customers first.

He said franchisees benefit from extensive operational and systems support that ranges from national purchasing power for parts to a standardized point of sale system.

With 14 Meineke shops in Southern Nevada, Evans said the market is “not tapped out.” The company’s data suggests that one shop per 50,000 population is about right, suggesting another doubling is possible.

That kind of growth opportunity resonates with Murphy, who said he still has an appetite for growing his empire beyond the seven franchises. He sees significant value in tapping into Meineke’s support systems that run the gamut from advertising and operations to training and industry-specific software.

That’s important to Murphy, who said he’s tired of being the first call when a shop’s software crashes. He’s looking forward to the day when those calls go to the Meineke help desk.

He’s also thinking ahead to the day when he’s ready to walk away. The Meineke brand will make that exit strategy easier — and more profitable — he said.