Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael McAndrew.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Michael. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Central Alps started in 2013 because we love, Lifted Trucks and cool Jeeps. We started out by buying those Trucks and Jeeps, and outsourcing them to other shops and having them lifted and built, and then getting them back and selling them wholesale and to dealers. During this time our vehicles were selling almost instantly. Although this had no issues, for the time being, we wanted to speed up our turn around times and reduce cost, something other shops would not be able to do.
So, in 2014, we started bringing all our work in-house, which meant we were installing the lifts and customizing vehicles here in the shop. This was a great step, but we were not very smart about how we were getting our parts and who we were getting them from. We changed this in 2015 by setting up wholesale accounts with distributors (of tires, lifts, bumpers, etc.) and began to receive our parts at a discounted rate. But near the end of 2015, we actually began producing our own parts, specifically for Jeeps, such as bumpers, rails, flares, and more!
In 2016, we went after the manufacturing side even more than we had before. And then in 2017, we started focusing more on gaining dealers and branching out from building only our vehicles and started building others. And that brings us to today. We are expanding towards more and more retail customers and beginning to really focus on brand awareness.
Has it been a smooth road?
In early 2013, there were almost no struggles. People in the DFW area had not seen truly well-built vehicles. We were doing something unique and impressive, and our vehicles were selling immediately at the auctions we were taking them to. In 2014, more and more people started lifting vehicles and it became popular, so we had to step up our game. We stopped outsourcing our builds and started to bring them in-house. Then, in 2015 as builds were being seen, even more, we started getting better prices from distributors and started setting up wholesale accounts and growing the company even more.
And in 2016, to combat other companies doing the same thing, we started building and producing our own parts to stand out from the competition. And through 2017 and 2018, we started going after dealers and retail customers because we love to share our mission and our products with a growing base of customers, and doing this gives us a platform to communicate what we are truly about.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Central Alps story. Tell us more about the business.
Central Alps is an off-road conversion company. We specialize in lifting trucks and jeeps. Long story short, if there is an aftermarket part for your vehicle, we can add it. What excites us is seeing customers face light up! Yes, it sounds cheesy, but really, when a customer comes to you and they know exactly what they want, or they have no idea of what they want and you completely blow their expectations out of the water, that’s what we are most proud of on a daily basis.
What sets us apart is how we treat people, whether it is a dealer or a retail customer we want the vehicle to look the best it can possibly look, even if that’s gently telling them a wheel option might not look the best. Two other ways in which we stand out is we give retail customers loaner cars, so they aren’t stranded without transportation.
Lastly, we stand out from the competition because of our turn around time. Most shops are not well managed, they lack an organized schedule, and they want the customer’s vehicle before they purchase the parts so the customer cant back out of a deal. Central Alps is different because we are disappointed if we have a customer’s vehicle for more than 72 hours.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Back in the 90’s, van conversions were very popular. But, it died as most trends do. Lifted vehicles are a different trend; they have always been popular. We can not say for sure what the industry will do, but we would predict that the market for lifted vehicles in the DFW area will stay at the same high level it is currently at, and the rest of the country will continue to grow.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2820 W Pioneer Pkwy, Dalworthington Gardens, Texas 76013
- Website: Central-Alps.com
- Phone: 833-268-2577
- Email: info@central-alps.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/central_alps/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CentralAlpsDFW/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CentralAlps
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/central-alps-arlington
- Other: centraloffroad.com
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
