Maaco, America’s body shop and the leader in the $38 billion automotive paint and collision industry, recognizes franchise owners who exemplify operational excellence each year with the coveted Maaco Cup award. This past year, Kevin Taylor, owner of Maaco Houston, Texas, was the outstanding franchisee to receive this prestigious award.
Taylor’s facility is an I-CAR Gold certified and I-CAR Platinum certified center. He also is in an elite class of centers within the Maaco family and one of the first to earn the Maaco Diamond certification, which is the highest level of certification within the Maaco network. Taylor has a total staff of 27, with six managers and 21 technicians.
Before becoming a Maaco owner, Taylor received his MBA from Texas Tech in 2005, and worked in the capital finance market. At one time he thought he was Wall Street-bound.
“I was a high producer during my time in the financial world, but I knew the corporate life was not for me,” said Taylor, owner Maaco Houston. “I did not like wearing a suit and going to an office building every day.
“After my father retired from the military after 30 years of service, he purchased a Maaco franchise. My mom ran all the office operations, payroll and human resources. After graduating from business school, I began helping them out on the weekends,” continued Taylor. “Their operations were small and somewhat struggling, but I saw potential in the industry and thought that I could branch into untapped markets and create a business that I could differentiate from the rest.”
Taylor took a bigger role in his father’s business and in two years doubled their sales, reaching the million-dollar milestone. He then opened his own Maaco in 2009 and immediately set out to differentiate himself from his competition. He upgraded to a more modern, state-of-the-art facility, and invested in new equipment, training and certification. He also began building a solid team, training them in his way of doing business.
“I recruited people from different service industries that had a continuous improvement mindset, and I trained them in all the aspects of gaining and keeping a customer,” said Taylor. “We focus on producing high-quality repairs, delivered on time, that are profitable for us, and a value for our customer.”
After 16 years in business, Taylor’s vision of what he wanted to be, and building processes, the team and the culture to get there, has earned him the prestigious Maaco Cup Award.
“It has taken a lot of work to get where we are, but it has been rewarding,” said Taylor. “When the pandemic hit, we were very proactive in adapting to the changing market needs. With many shops closing, I felt like there was an opportunity to capitalize and grow, While others were hesitant, I knew if we focused on the things we could control and ignored all the fear and negativity we could be better than ever. As a result, we have continued to grow, and we are now more efficient than ever. It was an obstacle, but we approached that as an opportunity to show more value to our customers.”
Being awarded the Maaco Cup means that a Maaco franchisee has achieved a level of excellence in performance among a network of more than 400 locations nationwide, and Taylor is humbled by the honor.
“There are amazing owners within the Maaco family and most of us go to work every day trying to be better than we were the day before,” said Taylor. One of the philosophies my team and I embrace is that we don’t worry about things we can’t control and focus on the things that we can, and that has served us well.”
For more information about becoming a Maaco owner, visit Maaco.com.
