American Towing and Recovery Institute onThe Go
American Towing and Recovery Institute onThe Go
Merging for Excellence: The Cardinal Legacy and ATRI Story
The towing industry landscape is changing dramatically, and we're at the forefront of this transformation. In this revealing conversation, we announce the groundbreaking merger between Cardinal Legacy Towing Group and the American Towing Recovery Institute (ATRI), creating a powerful new force in towing education and operations.
Kurtis Barks, the visionary behind Cardinal Legacy Group, shares his journey from automotive repair to building a network of 13 consolidated towing companies across multiple states. What makes this merger revolutionary isn't just its scale – it's the human-centered approach driving it. Barth explains how their consolidation model delivers 18-21% pay increases, comprehensive benefits packages, and career advancement opportunities previously unavailable to many towing professionals.
The conversation takes us deep into the philosophy that "it's not about the bottom line – it's about making the bottom line better by having successful people and safe jobs." We explore how this merger addresses critical industry challenges from skyrocketing insurance costs to proper training and safety protocols. Most compelling is Bark's commitment to elevating tow operators to their rightful status as essential first responders, worthy of the same respect and protection as police and firefighters.
Perhaps most exciting is the announcement of a permanent 10-acre training facility being established west of St. Louis. This comprehensive center will offer everything from beginner training for industry newcomers to advanced recovery techniques, water extractions, and safety protocols – potentially transforming how the industry develops its workforce.
Whether you're a towing company owner considering your future, an operator looking for better working conditions, or simply interested in how innovative business models can transform traditional industries, this episode offers valuable insights into the future of towing and recovery. Join us to discover how consolidation, done right, can create better outcomes for everyone in the towing ecosystem.
you're on the train to success with april and wes wilburn. I'm dj harrington, the co-host, better known as the toe doctor. We're all on our way to the town of proper towing and recovery, along with our producer, chuck camp, in the studio. Don't go to the town of woulda, coulda, shoulda. You coulda had done this. You should have done that. Listen every week to thought-provoking wisdom from great guests. So if you have Spotify, itunes, pandora, stitcher, iheartmedia or the number one podcast, or maybe Amazon or wherever you get your podcasts, turn in on Wednesday and be turned on all week long. If you are a state association and want your announcements or upcoming state association news announcements or upcoming state association news or maybe a co-show that's coming up, let us know. Our podcast studio phone number is 706-409-5603. I'm proud to be part of a great team at the american dorm recovery institute. Let's make 2025 our best year ever. I will turn it to April Loomis.
Speaker 3:DJ. We appreciate the warm welcome as always and appreciate all your efforts for the podcast Today's. A very special podcast episode today Because of the announcement that we're going to make We've kind of made it already, but this is the official announcement April.
Speaker 4:I'm going to ask you to go ahead and make it for us, please we are very exciting here at Towing News now to announce that Cornell Legacy Towing Group and the American Towing Recovery Institute have merged together to create an industry leader in training towing companies. The Cornell Legacy Group and ATRI have announced a merger we actually did this in Florida and it's been a work in progress and the Carna Legacy Group and ATRI have announced a merger. We actually did this in Florida and it's been a work in progress and everything's poured together. We are partnering with JT Reaser of A&A Towing, who has taken significantly in the classroom and hands-on along with Wes and the ATRI training team for the past two years and lead the charge with Wes Wilburn continuing to lend his expertise to guide the next generation.
Speaker 3:The combined entity will remain the American Towing and Recovery Training Division and will be headquartered in St Louis, where there will also bea permanent training facility established. The ATRI training division will leverage the strength of both companies, expand training in the towing industry, including fire and rescue, accelerated and innovative techniques, and offer a larger market span for the towing industry across the globe. With that being said, I'm super excited about this. This Cardinal Legacy Towing Group is very forward-thinking. I'm excited that we have the leader of the group here with us today for an interview to introduce himself to the industry. I guess present himself to some and introduce himself to others. Curtis Barth, would you give a brief introduction of yourself to our listeners, please?
Speaker 5:Yeah, absolutely Good day and hope everyone's having a great day out there and all the listeners. It's awesome to be a part of something so great and so amazing, and it comes from great people like you listening to this podcast that promote it and make things happen. So, first off, thank you to everyone for your time and we all have busy schedules and it takes a lot to slow down, focus and be a part of something great, but when you do uh, you can make something amazing, and that's kind of what started with uh with my companies just over two decades ago, um, back in 2000, uh, getting started it uh was difficult starting to make a difference in the industry. It was something that was a pipe dream and now it's something that's reality. So I'm really looking forward to making a difference in the industry. It was something that was a pipe dream and now it's something that's reality. So I'm really looking forward to making a difference in the industry and making it safer and better for everyone involved and also for my kids and their kids.
Speaker 3:That's great that you have that vision. Tell us how you originally got into the automotive repair industry.
Speaker 5:Well, I started back in high school, started working for sears automotive which, uh, dates me a little bit because they're no longer around. But uh, it was just a sales type job and I realized I could probably do this stuff on my own. So I went into business for myself. It was unsuccessful, um, so I had to restart, and restarted again in 2001 with the help of my father, and we kind of went out of full steam. We hit the automotive collision and automotive repair side for about a decade and then got into towing about 2012, 2013 and never looked back.
Speaker 3:Boy, that's a fact. When you got involved with towing, you got very serious with the St Louis, Missouri market.
Speaker 5:Yeah, we really wanted to make a difference. You know it was just. There's a lot of tow companies out there that are small, that need to be able to be heard, and I feel like that we could possibly make that happen by growing and giving them the right training and doing the right structure and discipline. Everything takes training and discipline to be successful and I think that we can provide that and I'm looking forward to it for many years.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. The things that attracted me to this opportunity was the fact that you're going to keep the ATRI training available to people, whether they're part of your network or not. You're what they call a consolidator. They're part of your network or not. You're what they call a consolidator and you consolidate many companies in that st louis market and beyond that. Let's talk about that a little bit.
Speaker 5:You have a to b towing and then a to b towing bullet services a and a towing uh cardinal crash crash city, uh bald eagle lasers, which are which the bald eagle Cardinal Crash City, Bald Eagle Lasers.
Speaker 3:The Bald Eagle and Lasers are steps into different markets, correct?
Speaker 5:They are. So Bald Eagle is in the South Florida market, in Naples, and then Lasers is one of our first of many acquisitions in the Kansas City market. We are actively pursuing that market very heavily, and we are still pursuing the St Louis market. With 13 companies together as one, we believe that we could make a collective difference, and that's what we're working to do.
Speaker 3:And it shows from the results you already achieved. One of the things that it appears to me is you're really concerned about different employees at different levels in the operation. Talk about that a little bit and what things that, by working together, you're doing to make folks' lives better.
Speaker 5:The biggest thing is we bonus every level of the company. So it doesn't matter if you're sweeping floors, cleaning urinals, or you're flipping heavy-duty trucks over tractors and trailers or you're hauling equipment. Whatever you're doing in the industry and you work for us, we're gonna bonus you based off success, based off of how you did it right and it's. This is not all about the bottom line in our industry. It's about making the bottom line better by having successful people and safe jobs. And safety is key and we've got to make a difference in this industry. The move over movement is huge and we've just got to push it.
Speaker 5:Our guys are first responders, just like the policeman environment, and I support them.
Speaker 5:I serve on the board of backstoppers and the board of guns and hoses and a number of smaller boards that all they do is protect first responders and there's no reason why we can't do that for our local tow drivers.
Speaker 5:Um, even across the midwest it's being a big push and um, something that we're really proud of. Just just alone, the backstoppers takes care of 96 families, everything from the smallest bills to all the, the education and the medical bills and the housing. All that is paid for for eternity for folks that die in the line of duty, but we want to do more. We want to do more for the folks that are in the line of duty, that are struggling to make the bills, make the mends, eat ends meet, sorry. So it's really important that, whatever we do, we push training and safety and and by doing that and collectively taking a small company and merging with a big company, we're not a big corporation but we're a collaboration of great people and this consolidation has worked very successfully in many different industries and it's definitely taking hold in the towing industry.
Speaker 3:Personally, I see it as the future of the industry and I've made that very clear to many people that have asked me about that. One of the things is efficiency of scales Night dispatching, buying tires and insurance together. Aren't there many opportunities to save money and be more efficient?
Speaker 5:Yes, especially with the cost of insurance going through the roof. I mean, you've got competitors, insurance companies I don't want to mention their names that are charging tens of thousands of dollars for one truck. You know when you can go in and you can do these consolidated efforts where you become part of a captive. You can then create the insurance you need. We can be insured properly and be able to afford it. The idea that insurance is putting small companies out of business is horrible and we've got to fight that, and we combat that. And by offering benefits to our team members life insurance, health insurance, dental vision, 401ks, matches at six percent, things that are unheard of in some southern states we are going to make a huge impact in this industry and people are going to respect the tow driver for the way that they deserve to be respected you know, that's always been my uh goal was to get the tow driver on the street the respect they deserve.
Speaker 3:One of the things that you touch on there is and a lot of times, the one and two truck operation and the small family operation really hasn't created a business that's good for the family. What they've created is a job, and not a very good one that causes sleep deprivation and whatnot, as they try to do it all themselves, and I think that's one of the great things about what you folks are doing and bringing people together. We've got to take a quick break, but after the break can we talk about some of the joint efforts like that as well?
Speaker 5:Absolutely. I appreciate the time.
Speaker 3:Thank you, We'll be right back listeners.
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Speaker 4:Welcome back to Towing News Now with our great guest, kurt Barks. With the Cardinal Legacy Group. We just announced at the top of the show that we merged together. We're one team now and we're happy to be on this team. In the last segment, kurt, you talked about a group called Backstoppers and I think that you said this entity supports 76 families. I would love to hear some more about that.
Speaker 5:Sure, absolutely so. The best thing about Backstoppers is it's a group that was designed. It's been around for 50 plus years and it's designed for helping our first responders' families. So if you were killed in the line of duty, backstoppers steps in in the St Louis area and takes care of all of the families's bills housing bills, medical bills, schooling for eternity.
Speaker 4:That's amazing.
Speaker 5:Yeah, so if you're, if you die in the line of duty, your spouse is taken care of and your kids forever.
Speaker 4:And how is this supported? What and how is this supported? What undertakings do you do to support this?
Speaker 5:So, obviously, a lot of charity events. We do a lot of charity golf tournaments. We have one that just happened last week, Monday. We have a lot of events that are going on throughout the year. It just takes a huge community effort to push. I serve on the board of what they call Guns and Hoses community effort to push. I serve on the board of what they call Guns and Hoses and we donate $1 million and have donated $1 million every Thanksgiving for the past four years and we'll continue to do so for many years to come. Just off of the events that we put on, and it's tremendous to see the support St Louis is so behind it. It's something that's incredible for the future of law enforcement and first responders and it's something I want to do for the towing industry and it's one of the reasons why we're doing what we're doing with the safety. It's our first step into making a backstopper as a unit for the drivers that protect us also.
Speaker 3:Wow, that's awesome, that really is awesome.
Speaker 5:It's just to tell you, we team up with a team called Responder Rescue and that takes care of the hero network the folks that maybe have PTSD from dealing with burn and fire victims and crashes and things like that and that is so important also, and those are the kind of things that I would love to be a part of. And you know, pat Burns, the founder important also, and and those are the kind of things that I would love to be a part of. And you know, pat burns, the founder of respond to rescue, is a dear friend of mine.
Speaker 4:I go for them on a regular basis just to catch up and we raise money and we raise awareness and we're going to make a difference and that kind of just goes to show you what I was going to say that most people leave their job, they clock out, they go home and then they have their home life. But sometimes you can't leave their job. They clock out, they go home and then they have their home life. But sometimes you can't leave your job. If you've done something like that, if you've dealt with a burn victim or say you're a police officer and it's a homicide, you don't just get to go home from that. That comes home with you.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and what people don't remember is when you're a police officer, you could go from a three-car crash that our tow truck drivers are there. We're dealing with pulling bodies out and different things, extractions to where the next thing is a domestic violence call.
Speaker 4:Yes, which is which is one of the most dangerous situations a police officer can get into?
Speaker 5:Yeah, and then you go from there to a parking ticket. So all that happens in one hour.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 5:And imagine taking your emotions and your cortisol levels are flying and you've got this going and that going and you're supposed to be the mediator. You know, being in law enforcement or first responder. You got to deal with the people in their worst, worst times and that's a lot sometimes and people just don't remember that and they just don't give people grace they don't you gotta get people grace sometimes you're're correct.
Speaker 3:That's awesome with your community involvement there at St Louis, but your organization is way bigger than St Louis. Now You've gone west to Kansas and south to South Florida. Tell us a little bit about those operations.
Speaker 5:Yeah, so the goal is to expand across Midwest and then go south. The direction of south. We'll talk about that. Bald Eagle is a great addition Smaller company, only had six trucks. Now we're at 11 trucks. We remodeled the office, remodeled the staff by giving them things that they didn't have before, such as benefits and health benefits and dental and vision and life insurance. They didn't have life insurance, so we went in and bought them all that. We gave them all the tool belt they need to be successful in life and that's what I love about what we can do. So we're doing that at Bald Eagle. We are looking for more acquisitions in South Florida as we grow, but in the meantime we've grown to Kansas City and by taking on the Lazers Group was a sister company to Boland Services, very phenomenal company, both phenomenal people that were in charge and they're dear friends of mine and they said look, kurt, we can't do what you're doing. Please take our company to the next level. And we did and we are.
Speaker 4:You said in the last segment also that it's not about the bottom line, it's about safety, which I agree with with that, but you have considered the bottom line for any of these companies that you've taken over? You've increased the bottom line of almost every employee that is under that umbrella, and that is something to think about also yeah, you think about what people are making before, what they're making now with us, and they make about 18% more.
Speaker 5:So they all got 18 to 21 percent pay increases by us coming on board.
Speaker 4:And if you consider the insurance and what, maybe they may have had insurance before but it might not have covered everything. But now it's better insurance that's not less less out-of-pocket money too, oh.
Speaker 5:It's a ton of money savings for the house, you know, offering the HSAs and the FSASAs and just the options that small companies can't do. That. Us being 300 plus team members, we get great buying power, great buying rates, so we don't have to charge more, we don't have to take advantage of people to win, because we just simply own it. We do the right thing from the beginning and it gives us all these open windows and new doors that can be opened up just to show people how great we can be by doing what they normally did. So it's really cool.
Speaker 5:It's just imagine doing your job every day and all of a sudden, somebody walks in and goes don't change a thing, but here's a nice pay increase. And, by the way, you're doing a thing, but here's a nice pay increase and, by the way, you're doing a phenomenal job. Here's people that work underneath you now, and here's people that work with you. And here's a sister company that, if you get stuck in a ditch and you don't know who to call, you can call them for help, you call them for advice and you can get pulled out of that situation by your own team members instead of a competitor, which in our industry, a lot of times, competitors do help each other, but more than likely they won't, so we bridge that gap.
Speaker 5:We get rid of that gap of communication.
Speaker 3:Which I want to say that one of the things that attracted me to Cardinal Legacy Towing Group was their camaraderie and willing to work with other companies. An example is the training that I was doing before we we merged. They've been hosts. You guys have been hosting, done an excellent job, welcoming in the towing community, you know, giving me a place to produce a great class. So that's one of the things I liked, how you guys have always been willing to work with other tow companies and we love it and it shows. It's just not words.
Speaker 3:One other comment I want to say about Cardinal, if I could, is it's giving me other opportunities as well. I'm going to stay involved with training with JT and some other instructors we're bringing on board, but I'm also going to be involved in acquisitions and helping with that and that's an opportunity of growth for me. So I'm extremely thankful and I think it's an example of you folks got a lot going on and there's a lot of places people can work within your system. I know for me it's super exciting at this age in my life to be involved in something new like this, so I'm just thankful to be on board with this opportunity.
Speaker 5:Well, and I think what you'll see, wes, is, the opportunity has always been there, you just just didn't have the right group of people together to make it happen. So now that we've got that great group of people, it's business as usual. But we got to do it together, you know, and so it's not harder, it's just smarter. So when we work smarter and not harder, we become more efficient, more collaborative as a team. And then consolidation acquisitions they make sense and we can go in and we we're looking for those companies that maybe don't have the, the next step set up. They don't have the passing the torch to a child because maybe they don't have a family, um, so now we can carry their legacy on because we keep all the names, keep them solid in place, and we just make them better, yeah, and you got a proven track record of that.
Speaker 3:You absolutely do. I know the group of talent you've tracked in St Louis is awesome. I want to give a moment to talk about JT Reisner for a second. He's been involved in your organization very heavily but also been excellent with the training. I'm very excited he's going to help take things over as we work towards this goal of a permanent training facility.
Speaker 5:Yeah, jt is amazing. He is by far one of the best tow drivers, tow gentlemen I've ever met in my life and I learn from him on a daily basis. I'll never be the one that says I know it all. I just want to say I want to be in a room with smarter people than me and we are, and that's one of the things with this podcast. If we can get people to interact with us and call in or make notes or send messages, let's answer their questions, let's help do things that can be collaboratively great for all of us. I would encourage people if you are listening to this and you want to get involved, message us. You know, let's go, let's get to the next level. Let's make something amazing happen, and it takes great people like JT Reisner to make that happen, and he's a voice that, if you haven't met him or you haven't talked to him or heard him train, you should, because he is by far the best.
Speaker 3:He is, he absolutely is. He's the future of training in this industry in my eyes.
Speaker 4:And also I want to say about JT Reaser. To me he's excellent in his field, but he's just one of the people when he's there field, but he's just one of the people. When he's there, he, he's the leader. He's the leader, but he's also the one that's in the team, not just the one that's the head of.
Speaker 3:He ain't the superstar.
Speaker 4:He's the leader of the team, but he ain't the superstar but he still needs it and people have a tendency to want to follow along and that's just, that's a natural thing. That's not something that you can really learn how to do, it sort of something that you have, that you just kind of nurture it in yourself and he just seems to have those tendencies.
Speaker 3:So the permanent training facility. We're working on something west of St Louis.
Speaker 5:Working on a 10 acre facility to be able to do water extractions, do everything we can do in the need of towing. You know getting it set up so we need input. You know what are some instances where our tow drivers were stuck in a ditch, that they needed help, where they needed advice or something like that. What can we do to promote that in training so we can train for the right stuff, because our facility is going to be second to none and we will have the best training in the entire United States?
Speaker 3:And we're not only going to do the kind of training that we offer now, which is really more continuing education. We're going to do bona fide training where we can bring somebody in, maybe just out of the Army, maybe just out of whatever trade school, whatever, and offer them what the truck driving industry offers is comprehensive training from A to Z so they can get themselves a job either in our network or another network.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and Wes, you hit it right on the head. The jobs and the training of the skilled labor is the future. Those are the traits of the future. Those jobs have to exist for us to win as a society yes you know it doesn't.
Speaker 5:We don't need any more guys and gals behind the computer sitting at a desk. We need guys and gals out there, and I say gals so we're here to know that I have a lot of lady tow drivers and it's. It's something that you know it. This is not a man's game. This is a boys' girls' game world. Let's go to work, guys and gals. Let's all do it together. You know, call to action. Let's get everyone off our butts. Show me the talent that you got and let's put it to work.
Speaker 3:Yes, absolutely. It's a male-female environment. I've noticed at your companies and one of the things I've always appreciated is you had proper uniforms for everybody, because that can be a challenge sometimes, but everybody has a proper uniform in which they look professional and can look neat, right.
Speaker 5:So that's You've got to have that. Everything starts with your appearance. That's right. You know how you do something is how you do everything. You know if you show up on time, you show up looking the part, then you've got the talent to back it up everybody's safe.
Speaker 3:Everybody wins Absolutely.
Speaker 5:And we all get off the road safe that night or that day, and at the end of the day, that's what really matters, isn't it? Absolutely. We all want to get home to our families, get home to the ones that love us.
Speaker 3:Yes, sir, yes, sir. Well, curtis, I want to thank you for giving us some time for this interview. We definitely want to have you back. What closing comments can you share with us?
Speaker 5:Well, I think the biggest thing to close on is moving forward. What can you do to help? What can you do to be a part of things in the future? What do you want to do? Do you want to sit back and listen to this podcast and take it in and do nothing, or do you want to be a part of it? And I challenge everyone to be a part of it. I challenge everyone to get off our butts, put our talents to work. Let's put the right skill in the right places. Let's make sure we're safe. Let's make a difference in this industry. Let's make a difference in this world and dang it every single day we wake up. It's the next opportunity to win, so pull it together, let's work hard, let's work good together and let's stay safe and let's make towing great again.
Speaker 3:God bless America. I wish I could play the Star Spangled Banner right now.
Speaker 4:Or at least a little bit of Lee Greenwood in the background. Something Thank, or at least a little bit of Lee Greenwood in the background, something.
Speaker 3:Thank you, I would love that. Thank you, curtis. Excellent interview. We'll have you back soon. Okay, sounds good guys. Thank you for this opportunity. Thank you.