President’s Award-winning business continues to set the standard for collision repair.

Winning the coveted Fix Network President’s Award, demonstrates a consistent commitment to excellence. For Johnny D’Ambrosio and his team at Fix Auto St. Catharines, Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake receiving this award two times in a row not only represents a culmination of hard work and dedication, but also a reflection on the impact the business has in the communities in which it operates.

Novel approach

The story goes all the way back to 1976, when Lino D’Ambrosio, Johnny’s grandfather, first established a business at the current site, 276 Merritt Street in St. Catharines, Ontario. “My grandfather came to Canada from Italy in the 1950s,” D’Ambrosio explains. “He was a mechanic by trade and had a vision of starting his own business—one that offered both mechanical and collision and paint services.” At that time, the approach was unique, since most auto care related businesses tended to focus either on mechanical repairs or collision repairs, but not both.

The name chosen, reflected this novel approach. “My grandfather named the business United Motor Collision, meaning that it united both mechanical and collision repairs.” After initially establishing UMC with a business partner, the relationship fell through and Johnny’s father, John Sr., ended up getting involved with Lino once he returned home from university. Ultimately, the two men became partners in the business.

As for Johnny himself, he knew from an early age that he wanted to be involved in the family business. “I was always around it growing up, and I loved cars, and so it just seemed a natural fit,” D’Ambrosio says.

Although he was encouraged to head off to university and ended up taking business courses at Brock in St. Catharines, he knew his heart lay in the business. “I did well in school but always knew I wanted to be at the shop,” he explains.

Growth and expansion

In 2007 he finally joined full-time and from there, never looked back. The St. Catharines location has grown since it was first established as United Motor Collision. “It was expanded in 1992 and today we have 14,000 square feet, with about 10,000 of that dedicated to the shop area itself,” D’Ambrosio explains.

Since he joined the business, D’Ambrosio has seen a lot of change both within the family organization and also in the external operating environment. It was one of the reasons why he and his father decided to join Fix Network. “We had originally been approached around 15 years ago, but it didn’t really make sense for us at that time,” he says. Fast forward to 2014 and the landscape was starting to change significantly.

“We started hearing more and more from the insurers we worked with through our DRP programs, that if we weren’t part of a network, they would no longer engage with us as an individual collision centre. It was a big eye-opener for us,” says D’Ambrosio. At that time, the Fix Auto franchise was still available in the St. Catharines area. “For us it really was a good opportunity. We saw that being part of a network like Fix would help us not only survive but enable us to grow and expand the business.”

D’Ambrosio says that a major change since joining Fix Network in 2015 has been the growth in repair volume. “We saw increases of 25-30%. It was very, very significant for us,” he explains.

Smooth transition

Another advantage that D’Ambrosio found was that the progressive nature of the family business helped ensure that when United Motor Collision became Fix Auto St. Catharines, a lot of systems and processes had already been implemented which helped facilitate a smooth transition into being part of the network.

“I really have to credit Venessa Di Vito and the team at Axalta, our refinish partner at that time,” relates D’Ambrosio. “They worked diligently with us to implement a whole host of processes that helped us streamline our business and increase efficiency.” The result was that when D’Ambrosio’s St. Catharines facility became part of the Fix Network, it was able to readily handle sizeable increases in repair volumes—setting the stage for future success and expansion.

Another advantage in being part of a larger network was not only access to a proprietary dashboard, tools, processes, and the economies of scale that come with being part of a larger entity, but also the ability to learn from other operators. “When you grow up in a small business, often, you’re preoccupied with the day-to-day running of things, and you don’t have the opportunity to step outside that environment and see how others operate. That was a big change for us and really opened my eyes into different ways of doing things.”

Today, Fix Auto St. Catharines has become known as a progressive operator, implementing new ideas and practices that have helped elevate the business to the top tier of collision repairers.

High quality emphasis

“One thing we’ve really focused on is delivering high-quality repairs and a high-quality working environment,” says D’Ambrosio. “We’ve been consistently focused on improvement and finding ways to solve problems.” He notes that a major part in being successful at that is having a strong operational foundation. “We have a strong repair process for customer vehicles,” D’Ambrosio explains. “From the initial intake to the actual repair, to output, it’s been a key part of what we do.” It’s also enabled the business to readily adapt to changes in the industry such as becoming OEM certified and having the right knowledge and equipment to handle different types of vehicles, including multi-material cars and trucks, as well as hybrids and EVs. “OEM certification is the future, so it’s essential we stay on top of this and are invested in safe and proper repairs.”

Additionally, D’Ambrosio attributes that the team the business has in place, has been pivotal to success, as well as being recognized as a Fix Network President’s Award winner twice in a row. “We really emphasize a strong work/life balance. That’s really important for us, to recognize our people have families and interests outside of work.” He says it’s a major reason why at an early stage, the business implemented processes that recognize that both physical and mental health are important, as is paid time off. And it’s been reflected in consistently high levels of customer service. “Our staff really go the extra mile,” says D’Ambrosio, “and it’s so incredible when we see our peers, the network and the industry recognize this through things like the President’s Award.”

Additional locations

This successful approach to business has also enabled Fix Auto St. Catharines to expand and acquire other locations, including Fix Auto Welland in 2021 and Fix Auto Niagara-on-the-Lake in 2023. “This expansion has really been a milestone for our business and for me personally,” D’Ambrosio explains. “Being able to purchase my first shop and being fully invested in that personally and financially, was a big step. It really helped me appreciate the business my grandfather and dad had built.” The Welland facility also has a family connection. “It was owned and operated by a gentleman who was originally my grandfather’s first body technician at United Motor Collision back in 1976!” D’Ambrosio explains. “Welland is a growing community and acquiring the shop represented a great chance for us to be part of that and expand our footprint.” The Welland location boasts 9,000 square feet and has 15 employees. In 2023, D’Ambrosio was able to further expand, by acquiring another location in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

“We saw this acquisition as gaining access to an untapped market,” D’Ambrosio explains. “It was a good shop, in a great location and we could see where we could further improve things. Although smaller in footprint than the other locations (3,000 square feet), it nonetheless, has proved to be a great addition to the business.

“It’s really incredible to think about how far we’ve come since my grandfather first opened for business nearly 50 years ago,” D’Ambrosio states. “We’ve been recognized at the highest level for our efforts and now are closing in on 10 million in annual sales between the three locations. “I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved, and it will be incredible to celebrate our 50^th anniversary in 2026. I’d just like to say a huge thank you to everyone that has made this possible, from my grandfather and father to our amazing team, to Fix Network and our incredible stakeholder partners and of course our customers!”