Anyone who has ever moved out of state or needed to transport a vehicle over a long distance, knows first-hand, how difficult, expensive and confusing the whole process can quickly become. In Los Angeles, this car shipping process is made much easier with experienced, nationwide car shipping companies like JP Auto Transport; which guide you through the vehicle shipping process and provide the best nationwide vehicle shipping services available.
Founded in 2001 in Los Angeles CA, JP Auto Transport is a nationwide car shipping company with a large fleet of company owned car carrier trailers and an industry leading network of partner car shipping companies in the United States. Today, we sat down with owner of JP Auto Transport, Kevin Parada, to discuss the “ins and outs” of the competitive vehicle shipping industry.
JP Auto Transport (www.jpautotransport.co)
Q: So from my understanding this is a family business, right? How did this company get started?
A: This company was started in January 2001, post 9/11 terrorist attack. My father was a doorman at a busy hotel in downtown Los Angeles and my mother worked for LA Times, at the time. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, my father who worked at a busy tourist hotel was laid off due to sudden stop of tourist traffic and at the same time, my mother was laid off due to LA Times consolidating their work force.
My father always wanted to work for himself so he went out, bought a tow truck and became self-employed, starting what was known as JP Towing, at the time. My mother, my brothers and I all helped my father work and transport vehicles for much of the early stages in this business. We were all involved and worked many hours with my father as he tried to sustain the business. The business started out with one tow truck and since then, has grown to a fleet of car carriers and a large network or partner car shipping companies.
Q: How has the family business changed since the early days? How have you changed it since taking over?
A: This business is always evolving and becoming larger every day. We started out as a company which only serviced local dealerships but we have grown to become an industry leader in vehicle shipping services and we now accommodate customers across the country and are able to help coordinate vehicle shipping needs for corporate and private clients all over the United States.
Q: What are all the services you offer and what is your most popular service?
A: We offer local and nationwide car shipping services. Whether you’re a car dealership that buys cars in bulk and needs them delivered to your business OR you’re a customer whose moving out of state and needs their personally owned vehicle shipped, we can help. We have a company owned fleet of car carrier trailers & flatbed tow trucks, and we also utilize a strong network of partner car shipping companies across the United States. Big or small jobs, JP Auto Transport is happy to help with all vehicle shipping needs you may have.
Q: Do you ever plan on expanding to other parts of the country?
A: Currently, we ship cars across the entire United States so we’re keeping very busy with volume throughout the country. Soon we’ll look to expand into other parts of North America, such as Canada and Mexico; if everything goes smoothly, our vision is to be able to service countries across the world. Our vision is to make vehicle shipping as quick and as inexpensive as possible for all customers.
Q: What’s been the most difficult part of running the business and how have you gotten past those difficulties?
A: To be completely honest, I don’t ever see anything in this industry as a ‘difficulty’ but always more as an “opportunity”. The transportation and logistics industry doesn’t typically have the younger generation interested in it, so my opportunity lies in being young and having lots of time to be able to make an impact and have an influence on the processes and future of the industry. Streamlined processes, creative ideas, modern technology and implementation of new systems are all major opportunities for someone as young as me. I’m 30 years old and I’ve been part of the auto transport industry since I’ve been 14 years old. I have the ambition, knowledge and desire to become a major player in this industry and that’s what I’m working towards now. Never any difficulties, only opportunities.
Q: A lot of transportation services are looking into self driving vehicles. Do you believe that can transform your industry as well? Would you ever consider it?
A: Something that my mentors have taught me is that a business must always evolve with technology and its customers in order to survive and thrive. If self-driving vehicles begin to have an impact on our industry, that’s clearly something I’ll have to explore. At the moment though, I like to focus on the present and I like to build on what can have an effect on my company NOW. It’s very important to look into the future and prepare for what might come next but it’s equally important to seize the moment NOW and try to have an influence on what you’re able to control TODAY.
Q: What is the long-term vision you have for this business?
A: The long-term vision I have for this company is to become a world-wide solution for vehicle shipping services. I’m working to become the largest car shipping company in California, then the United States and eventually the world. The ultimate goal is to take this company public at some point.
Contact:
Kevin Parada
JP Auto Transport
Kevin@jpautotransport.co
Main: (888) 590-0931
Local: (909) 313-2147
www.jpautotransport.co