Safelite Group of Columbus is buying part of a Michigan company, adding to Safelite’s status as the largest player in the vehicle-glass business.
The Northwest Side company said yesterday that it has reached an agreement to buy the vehicle-glass-repair assets of Guardian Auto Glass LLC. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Guardian’s glass-repair business operates 60 retail locations in 12 states, with 253 employees, mostly in Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia and Florida.
The company has said it wants to focus on its core business, which is manufacturing glass. Guardian Industries, based in Auburn Hills, Mich., has about 18,000 employees and operations on five continents.
“Guardian’s well-established brand, commitment to high-quality customer service, and wide footprint made it attractive to Safelite in its goal to become the natural choice for vehicle-glass repair and replacement services in the U.S.,” Tom Feeney, Safelite’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
Safelite has about 10,000 employees nationwide and about 1,500 in central Ohio. The company has more than 600 retail locations or mobile service centers and has a presence in all 50 states.
It is the only auto-glass-repair company with a nationwide reach, competing against an array of regional companies.
“This is one of the best strategic moves the company has ever made, not only because of what Safelite acquires but because the acquisition removes from the marketplace a competitor with as many, if not more, resources than Safelite,” said Debra Levy, publisher of Auto Glass Repair & Replacement, a trade publication.
With this deal, Safelite has made seven acquisitions since October 2012. The Guardian purchase is the largest.
“Our people are joining another established brand with a history of growth and a long-term focus on the retail automotive-glass business,” said Mike Morrison, Guardian’s president.
The deal will affect Guardian’s Worthington office, which has 21 employees and handles claims management for insurers.
Of those employees, 13 will move to Safelite’s claims management office on the Northwest Side. The rest will remain at the Worthington office, where Guardian will focus exclusively on claims management for recreational-vehicle glass.
