Meet Adam and George Ioakim of Hogan and Van Auto Body in Medford

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam and George Ioakim.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Adam and George. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My brother and I are Co-owners of Hogan & Van. It was originally owned by our father and mother. Our father worked for the original owner, Mr. Frank Van, who started the company with Mr. Frank Hogan in 1938. Our father started working for Mr. Van in the 70s and eventually bought Hogan & Van from him in the early 80s. My father and mother worked tirelessly to grow the business and make it into the premier auto body shop north of Boston that it is today. During that time my brother and I worked at the shop in High School learning the trade as shop assistants – sweeping floors, cleaning cars and helping the techs anyway we could. My father wanted both of us to get an education so after High School we both attended Bentley College in Waltham to get a solid business background. George majored in accounting and I majored in Marketing with a minor in Computer Information systems. We gathered as much knowledge and ammo as we could to run a small business. After college we tried to diversify ourselves a little more. George worked at Putnam Investments and CareMatrix honing is accounting skills and I took sales positions at Bank of America and TechTarget to polish my skill set. After experiencing the corporate world and bolstering our resumes we both came into the family business full-time. George in 1999 and myself shortly behind him in 2005. Since then we have taken everything we’ve learned from our parents and focused our goals on continuing the company’s success. They taught us to always put the customer first and provide a safe and proper repair for a fair price. We continually strive to meet those goals and advance our business further. We officially purchased the business from our parents in 2011 and are taking the company reputation up another notch. We recently became one of a few shops in the state that are Collision Repair Certified to keep up with the ever changing vehicle technology and repair standards. These Certifications will continue to allow us to always provide the collision care and service our customer expect and deserve long into the future.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
One of the biggest challenges we face is dealing with the insurance carriers. They spend a lot of money advertising to make you think they have the customers’ best interest in mind but, that is most often not the case. Their goals don’t always align with our goals of performing a safe and proper repair. They tend to focus on cutting whatever corners they can to save themselves a dollar rather than pay to repair the car correctly. This is extremely frustrating because auto policies are indemnity policies which in most cases require the insurer to reimburse the policy holder for the actual cost of repairs and make them completely whole for their loss. Even though the policy states this and the customer is covered for the actual cost of repairs they still try to force repairers to cut corners, sacrifice quality or short pay the customer for a proper repair. They do not have hours of intense hands-on training, years of experience repairing collision damage, OEM certifications and the necessary equipment to complete the repairs properly. They are also not update to date on the latest technologies making their way into all mainstream vehicles. This makes our job extremely difficult, challenging and an unnecessary uphill battle just to meet the industry standard, which we always try to exceed. Repairing our customers cars safely and properly is our top priority and we never waiver from that. We face this challenge by becoming the consumer’s advocate in the process and educating their insurer the best we can to reach our ultimate goal – a safe, proper and warrantied repair that will last the life of the vehicle.

There is also currently a technician shortage in our industry so we have begun to solve that problem by working with the local vocational schools and starting an apprentice program to grow our new talent from within. It is still a challenge though as no young kids seem to want to enter the industry like in the past.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Hogan & Van Auto Body – what should we know?
We are a complete auto body and collision care center. We focus on accident repair, any vehicle body damage, water leak solutions, paintless dent removal, refinishing and color matching, frame straightening and detailing. Setting us apart is our extraordinary customer service and customer first focus, our tag line is “Customer Driven” for a reason -the moment you chose our facility, your safety, your vehicle and its integrity become our top priority. Our OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) Certifications set us apart from the rest of the local shops. Our commitment to training and repairing the vehicle the way the manufacturer intended has driven us to acquire these certifications to best serve our customers. We are one of only 7 shops in the whole state that is Volkswagen Certified and we are certified by most other manufacturers as well. We have a vast knowledge of local insurance/appraiser laws & regulations which allows us to be the industry leader in consumer education & advocacy, we have a highly skilled staff, OEM certifications, I-Car trained technicians and we are “customer driven” from beginning to end. We are a “green” shop using environmentally friendly water-borne paint and any recycling systems available to us. Our office staff is customer focused and puts their needs above all.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Our Dad, is definitely our biggest mentor and our Mom has always been a great guide to us. They have both always been there to help, teach, and guide us. We wouldn’t be here without them today and we appreciate every sacrifice they have ever made for us. My Dad taught us everything we know about the industry and repairing cars and my Mom taught us about running the business and bookkeeping side. My Dad still consults for us today and is available to impart his vast experience and knowledge on us when needed. I am also VP president of the MA state auto body association, AASP. When I first got involved a lot of people took me under their wing including Rick Starbard and Peter Abdelmaseh to show me the ropes. We also have a great office and technical staff around us. Deirdre and Roy are great supports in our office and help us achieve all our company goals. Our wives have been our greatest supporters taking care of our growing families allowing us to work countless hours to make sure our business is always ahead of the curve.

Contact Info:

• Address: 190 Mystic Ave
  Medford, MA 02155
• Website: www.hoganandvan.com
• Phone: 781-396-8282
• Email: adam@hoganandvan.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoganAndVan/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hogan-and-van-auto-body-medford
• Other: http://HoganAndVanReviews.com

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