Today we’d like to introduce you to Doug Kelly.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Doug. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I began my career in Canada working for DuPont’s Automotive Coatings group and relocated to their corporate headquarters in Wilmington, DE in 1996, I eventually left for an opportunity in Silicon Valley. From there I relocated to S. Cal where I built a technology company of my own and eventually sold it to Enterprise Rent-A-Car. I knew my next business would be somewhere other than California, so my wife and I decided to look at different places to relocate. We fell in love with Dallas and decided to make it our home in early 2015. Shortly after we arrived, I was asked to turn around a struggling automotive technology company, located in Jacksonville, FL. We moved the HQ to Plano, TX and quickly outgrew our 8,500 square foot facility within the first 12 months. We relocated to a new 22,000 square foot office in Plano in the Spring of 2017 and just added another 8,000 square feet in January of this year.
Our company, asTech, specializes in the service and repair of vehicle electronics. We own a patented device that allows ASE Certified automotive technicians to remotely connect and reprogram vehicles, using OEM factory software, virtually anywhere in the world. We have successfully connected to vehicles throughout the U.S. as well as in China, Mexico, Canada, Dubai and most recently the U.K,
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Our biggest struggle was taking a working prototype and turning it into a commercially viable product. The previous owners ran out of money before they could finish fully developing the product. We had help from our engineering partners at Paragon Innovations, located in Richardson, TX. as well as one of our investors, Copart, Inc., headquartered in Dallas, which supplied numerous vehicles for regression testing. The next issue was producing a quality product. After a number of failed attempts with different vendors, we found Svtronics, located just down the street in Plano, TX. They have proven to be a tremendous partner. Our product is now engineered, tested and manufactured right here in the DFW area. This is a true American success story.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with asTech – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
asTech is the automotive industry’s leading provider of vehicle electronic services. Our dedicated team of ASE Master Technicians, located in Plano, TX and Jacksonville, FL specialize in diagnosing and servicing today’s sophisticated vehicle electronic systems, using OEM factory scan tools. We service everything from comfort items such as heated seats or infotainment systems to today’s advanced driver assist systems including back-up cameras, lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control systems. For any work that cannot be performed remotely, we have recently added mobile services throughout Texas, including DFW, Austin, San Antonio, Houston and El Paso to perform on-site repairs to professional repair organizations.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are expanding our mobile business throughout the U.S. With the addition of Northern California we now operate our mobile business in 5 states and 13 major metropolitan markets. We have also just opened our first dedicated automotive calibration center in Plano, TX. This first-of-its-kind 4,500 square foot facility is set up specifically to meet today’s OEM vehicle manufacturer recalibration requirements, which is necessary following any collision repair.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2600 Technology Dr. Suite 900
Plano, TX 75087 - Website: www.astech.com
- Phone: 1 888 486 1166
- Email: sales@astech.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/collisiondiagnosticservices
- Twitter: twitter.com/asTech_official
- Other: www.youtube.com/astech2
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