Sibling-run auto body repair shop melds customer service with environmentally friendly standards
The words “sophistication” and “compassion” don’t exactly conjure up thoughts of the neighborhood auto repair shop, but that’s precisely the image LJI Collision Center owners Lauren Angie and Jill Strauss have been able to convey over five successful years in business.
“For starters, sisters Angie and Strauss, in partnership with their father-cum-business advisor Michael Giarrizzo Sr., utilize environmentally friendly technology for a superior repair experience. Customer care is further enhanced with rental cars on site and vehicle pick-up and delivery. A final “feminine touch,” as the siblings call it, is a reception area/art gallery featuring original art from local and national artists.
LJI Collision brings environmentally-friendly automotive repair technology to Cleveland Heights
For automotive repair industry veteran Mike Giarrizzo, the opening of LJI Collision Centers’ second location on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights is something of a homecoming. LJI Collision, which opened a brand new state-of-the-art collision center on Chagrin Boulevard in Beachwood just four years ago, has brought the same environmentally-friendly waterborne coating system to its new location, which is actually its original home.
“This is where it all started back in 1959,” says Giarrizzo, whose daughters Lauren Angie and Jill Strauss own and operate both locations. “The family business was here until 1999, when we rolled it up into Sterling Auto Body. But that business closed down in 2005, and the building just sat here.
“As the business on Chagrin grew, the girls said they wanted to re-invent and re-create where it all started,” adds Giarrizzo, who now acts as a business advisor to both locations. “We also knew that this was a busy location and that we already had a great reputation within the community.”
Auto body repair shops cash in on salt shortage
WOODMERE — Cars came limping into the LJI Collision Center on Chagrin Road two at a time Wednesday.
“They just keep coming in, the weather and the salt shortage have made it rough for drivers,” says owner Jill Strauss. “This winter has been much worse. Cars are just sliding across the roads and need to get towed in. We are working late nights and weekends to catch up.”….Read More>>
LJI Featured On Cover of Fender Bender Magazine
Six Steps To Growth
The owners of two rapidly growing repair centers share the philosophies and strategies that helped them build their businesses.
Launching an entirely new independent repair center under a new brand and building it into a $3 million-a-year shop is no easy task in today’s competitive market.
It would take many shop operators years to achieve that kind of production from a 10,000-square-foot shop. But sisters Lauren Angie and Jill Strauss, a couple of collision repair veterans who opened LJI Collision Center in Orange Village, Ohio, are projected to earn $3 million in annual revenue after just six months in business.
As the daughters of collision center expert Michael Giarrizzo Sr.
—founder of JSI Collision Centers, which became Sterling Autobody Centers in 1999—Strauss and Angie come from a family with six decades of experience in the trade. Their brother, Michael Giarrizzo Jr., founded DCR Systems, which offers outsourced turnkey repair centers focused on efficient production. So it’s no surprise that Angie and Strauss are now blazing their own trail in the industry…..Read More>>
LJI Collision plays a key role in developing the next generation paint system
Published: Saturday, December 15, 2012, 5:00 AM
By Terry Troy, Plain Dealer
Launching an entirely new independent repair center under a new brand and building it into a $3 million-a-year shop is no easy task in today’s competitive market.
Entrepreneurs Lauren Angie and Jill Strauss, founders of LJI Collision Center in Beachwood, has been instrumental in the development of the new Blowtherm spray booth.
“We decided very early on in our planning that we would seek out the most eco-friendly and energy-saving equipment available,” said Mike Giarizzo, advisor for the business. “We are very proud of what we have been able to accomplish here with this new system.”…..Read More>>
When generations collide: Lauren Angie, Jill Strauss and Mike Giarrizzo Sr. of LJI Collision Center
