Oct. 10, 2019—In a teleconference on Wednesday that largely celebrated the launch of their 700th North American body shop, CARSTAR executives expressed a desire to further expand in the state of California. 

CARSTAR recently reached the 700th-location milestone when it opened CARSTAR Montrose, in Montrose, Calif. That opening left CARSTAR, which was  founded 30 years ago, with more than 8,000 employees among its locations in 34 states and 10 Canadian provinces.

Michael Macaluso, who oversees CARSTAR as the president of Driven Brands' collision vertical, reiterated that CARSTAR has a goal of reaching 1,000 shops by late 2021, with the majority of those additional facilities likely to be in the U.S. And, while CARSTAR currently has 52 locations in the state of California, the company's officials envision potentially eventually having as many as 100 locations in that southwestern state. 

"The growth has been absolutely remarkable for our system," Macaluso said on Wednesday. 

An owner of CARSTAR Montrose, Daniel Panduro, explained that he and his ownership team largely decided to partner with CARSTAR due to the company's insurance and OEM relationships. 

Meanwhile, Dave Foster, the vice president of development for CARSTAR, said the company made a conscious effort recently to increase its presence in California. And, he noted that the company strives to continue growing its footprint in that area of the U.S. 

CARSTAR's "momentum is massive," Foster said, "and we're putting our foot on the accelerator. Growing the right way is important, with the right partners."