Next Generation of Industry Roll-ups To Be Featured at Conference
11 November 1998
REMINDER/Next Generation of Industry Roll-ups To Be Featured at National Conference; Founder of 1-800-AutoTow to Give Case Study of Towing Industry Consolidation
NEW YORK--Nov. 11, 1998--Industry roll-ups have been a recent trend on Wall Street. Investors know that combining dozens or even hundreds of businesses in the same industry creates a lucrative financial opportunity and the potential for revolutionizing a whole industry.
1-800-AutoTow(tm) (OTC BB: AUTW), a company that is consolidating America's towing industry into a national brand, will be among the featured case studies at International Business Communications' third Industry Roll-Ups, a national conference Nov. 12-13 at the Radisson Empire Hotel in New York City. Also known as consolidation, a number of industries have been successful with roll-ups, including car dealerships, pharmacies, waste removal, office products, funeral and ambulance services. According to Venture Economics Information Services, roll-up industries posted a 63.5 percent return to investors from September 1996-1997.
1-800-AutoTow(tm) founder Vince Gelormine will tell conference attendees about the highly fragmented vehicle towing industry. The industry is believed to consist of more than 36,000 towing companies nationwide with a combined annual revenue of $12-$15 billion, but is fraught with inefficiencies.
1-800-AutoTow(tm) is acquiring well-run towing companies in metropolitan areas across the country, and will consolidate their operations into a single branded identity. Gelormine's speech entitled "Topping Vanilla" will explain how the company's approach goes way beyond the plain vanilla consolidation concept of merely centralizing administration and gaining economies of scale.
"Our build-up strategy--much different than past `roll-up' concepts--is to build a solid infrastructure before going on an acquisition spree, and our keen focus is on integration, before rather than after acquiring dozens of companies," said Gelormine. "Many roll-ups flounder when they stop buying companies because their growth is limited, but our approach allows 1-800-AutoTow(tm) to grow significantly, even if at some point we stop acquiring businesses."
1-800-AutoTow's transition into a national brand will include professional driver training, standardized fleets, automated 24-hour dispatching using GPS (global positioning satellite) technology, a dedicated sales force for local and national marketing, and benefits packages designed to attract and retain quality employees. Towing operators whose companies are acquired by 1-800-AutoTow(tm) are offered cash, stock and opportunities to stay on with the company. Customers include motor clubs, car dealerships, police departments, individual car and truck owners, financial institutions, and commercial fleets for vehicle towing, transport, accident recovery and storage.
Before founding 1-800-AutoTow(tm), Gelormine served as vice president of business development at HotOffice Technologies Inc., the world's first virtual office service for the internet, which recently received a significant equity investment from chip maker, Intel . Gelormine has a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Florida Atlantic University. He is an accomplished international speaker, and has written two books, The Internet Marketing Black Book and Guerrilla Web Strategies.
Founded in 1997, 1-800-AutoTow(tm) Inc. is based in Boynton Beach, Fla. The company's management team is comprised of a diverse and experienced group of entrepreneurs, senior operating executives and towing veterans. More information is available on the internet at www.1800autotow.com.