ABRA Auto Body & Glass Celebrates 20th Anniversary

In June of 1984, Rollie Benjamin, ABRA’s President and CEO, opened ABRA’s first repair center in Fridley, MN, in an upscale, commercial development. Quickly recognized as “not your average repair center”, this new approach to the collision repair industry earned the support of both vehicle owners and their insurance companies. This near instant validation of the business format created capacity issues that led to the opening of a second repair center only eight months later, and established the model for further expansion of the ABRA Auto Body & Glass system.

Tim Adelmann, ABRA’s Executive Vice President of Client Services, joined the company in 1985 as General Manager of the second repair center, and became a partner in ABRA. Things moved quickly thereafter, and in 1987 ABRA launched a franchise program to promote accelerated growth. After two decades, ABRA now operates 68 corporate repair centers and 21 franchised centers in ten states and six major markets.

As ABRA continued its growth, it did not lose sight of its more valuable asset: its team members. According to Benjamin, “At ABRA, our initiatives generally focus around three areas of the business: staffing, technology and repair center excellence. I believe having the best people is absolutely Number One.”

Adelmann added to Benjamin’s statement, “When the day is done, ABRA isn’t about paint booths or buildings or frame equipment. Over the years our commitment to our team members has not only remained the same – but actually become stronger. We want ABRA to be the ‘employer of choice’ in the collision repair industry.”

“I’m proud to say that our 20-year success story is directly attributable to the dedication and hard work of our team of professionals,” Benjamin continued. “We are moving forward with the best team in the industry, and look forward to continued success in the next two decades.”

ABRA Auto Body & Glass is a national damaged vehicle repair company specializing in collision repair, paintless dent removal, and auto glass repair and replacement. Started with one repair center in 1984, they have grown to eighty-nine facilities in ten states. Their plans for accelerated national growth over the next several years include acquiring existing facilities and building new locations.