About Service King

1976

Eddie Lennox opens the very first Service King Collision Repair Center in Dallas, Texas at 2515 Hardwick St. Lennox opens his new business in a three-bay tin building, after receiving a $10,000 loan granted to him by his neighbor Charles Morgan. Morgan later became the inspiration behind Service King’s most prestigious internal award, ‘The Morgan Award’.

1980

Service King becomes one of the first collision repair centers to offer free loaner vehicles to customers during the repair process. The program leads to Service King becoming one of the first organizations to work side-by-side with auto insurance carriers to transform the customer experience.

1983

Eddie Lennox introduces an updated and official Service King logo – one that would evolve into a classic look for the company for nearly three decades.

Service King introduces computers to its operations for the first time replacing the three-part fax forms standard in the industry at the time.

1986

Service King expands, opening its third location at 4036 W. Interstate 30 in Mesquite, Texas – a location that is still open today. Service King also begins establishing itself as a collision repair provider of choice among local dealerships.

1988

Jeff McFadden begins his career at Service King’s Carrollton location as a Service Advisor. He would go on to be named President of Service King in 2012, and currently holds the distinction of being the company’s longest tenured executive.  Service King operates four locations at the time.

Service King invests heavily in renovating and upgrading its four locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The company also invests in outdoor, radio, and television advertising, a rare play for body shops at the time.

1990

Service King introduces computers to its operations for the first time replacing the three-part fax forms standard in the industry at the time.

1995

Chris Abraham begins his career with Service King as a Service Advisor at the North Plano location. He would be named CEO of the company in 2012. Service King operates six locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area

1996

Service King purchases its first home office in Dallas, Texas providing the platform for administrative growth.

Eddie Lennox introduces Service King’s shareholder program, available to all management level teammates. The program infuses a culture of loyalty into the management team that is still evident today. Currently, more than 350 teammates are members of the Service King shareholder program.

1998

Service King introduces the Service King Internship Development program designed to train and develop the next generation of collision repair professionals. Many of Service King’s current senior leaders completed the program, which today annually graduates more than 100 teammates.

1999

Service King relocates its corporate office to Richardson, Texas at 808 S. Central Expressway. It would serve as the company’s home office for 15 years, and still operates as the company’s customer care and regional support center today.

2008

Service King opens its first collision repair center outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in Houston, Texas. The market would expand to 12 locations and $70 million in revenue within three years under the guidance of Chris Abraham.

2010

Service King appoints Cathy Bonner as president to oversee and manage the organization’s rapid growth throughout the state of Texas.

2011

Service King acquires Alamo Body and Paint and its eight San Antonio locations in March, positioning the company as the largest independently and teammate-owned collision repair organization in the U.S. with 42 locations across the state of Texas. The expansion into the market was led by Brent McKinney, who would later be elevated to the company’s Executive Vice President role.

Eddie Lennox appoints Cathy Bonner to the role of CEO as he transitions to Chairman of the Board.

2012

Service King opens its first locations outside the state of Texas through a partnership with Auto Body World in Phoenix, Ariz. The first of what would become widespread growth across the U.S.

As one of the largest independent operator of collision repair centers in the U.S., global asset manager The Carlyle Group closes on its acquisition of majority ownership of Service King Collision Repair Centers. Founder Eddie Lennox retains significant stake in the business as Cathy Bonner transitions to Chairman of the Board, Chris Abraham is appointed to CEO and Jeff McFadden to President. At the time, Service King operates 47 locations.

2013

Service King expands through acquiring locations in Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Nevada, surpassing the 100-location milestone in the process. Service King grows to three regions across the U.S.

2014

Service King acquires Sterling Auto Body Centers and its 62 collision repair centers across 16 states in the U.S. The deal marked the largest acquisition in collision repair industry history establishing the national footprint and future strategy for growth. Service King grows to five regions across the country and 175 locations.

After Service King triples its revenue over a two-year period, premier global investment and advisory firm Blackstone purchases majority ownership of the company. The Carlyle Group remains a minority investor as do Service King internal shareholders. Eddie Lennox retains a seat on the Board of Directors.

Service King surpasses the 200-location milestone through a partnership with Kirmac Collision Centers and its U.S. locations in Seattle, Wash. The acquisition also expanded Service King into its 21st state.

After 15 years at 808. S Central Expressway, Service King relocates its home office to 2600 N. Central Expressway. The new home office is less than five miles north of the previous headquarters. The previous Richardson, Texas headquarters still serves as Service King’s Central Region Support Center and Customer Call Center.

2015

Service King surpasses $1 billion in annual run-rate for the first time in company history and ends the year with more than 275 locations in 23 states across the U.S.

2021

Today, Service King remains the collision repair operator of choice across the U.S., with 335 locations in 24 states and the District of Columbia, and plans to continue growing.