Business roundup: Crash Tech expands, adult day care opens & Kenan Advantage buys company
JACKSON TWP. − Crash Tech Reconstruction Services aims to expand its reach this year into all corners of the United States.
The company founded in 2011 by Jackson Township resident Eric Brown provides crash investigation services, primarily to civil and criminal defense attorneys and insurance companies. His six-person staff can scan vehicles to create 3D models, fly drones for an aerial view of crash scenes, and download the "black box" in vehicles to gather speed, steering and braking data.
"Then we put everything together, build the court exhibits and get it all to the attorneys and then they take all that into trial, and we'll come into the courtroom and provide all the testimony then as the expert witness," Brown said.
Crash Tech has field offices in Chillicothe and Houston in addition to the administrative headquarters in Jackson Township. The company began using three Entegra Coach motorhomes, which are similar in size to Amazon delivery vans, to avoid working in-office during the pandemic.
Brown said he plans this year to add a larger vehicle, more like a tour bus, to serve Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas from a hub in northern Florida. Then he'd like to station one of the vans or mobile field offices in the Pacific Northwest.
"Once we add our fourth vehicle, I think if we quarter the United States, we'd have a pretty good region for each but I may, at that point, have to expand even more," he said.
So far, Brown has been too busy to establish a timeline for the expansion. Crash Tech's caseload this year already reached 200 ― about as many cases as the company had in all of 2023.
That demand, which Brown attributed in part to attorneys recognizing the value Crash Tech provides after increasingly favorable verdicts, is why the company is expanding. He said staff have traveled as far west as Montana and operate "pretty much all across the country now," aside from the remaining states.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of traffic deaths in 2020 increased by 7.3% from the year prior and traffic deaths rose 10.1% in 2021 to 42,939 ― the highest amount since the last peak of more than 43,000 deaths in 2005. Traffic fatalities decreased by 0.3% in 2022 and were trending downward for the first three quarters of 2023 but were still greater than pre-pandemic deaths.
Brown, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, retired after 11 years at the Canton Police Department and then focused full-time on Crash Tech. To retain his law enforcement credentials, he joined the Stark County Sheriff's Reserve Division, where he is a sergeant and part of the multi-jurisdictional crash investigation team.
He's also taught crash investigation courses for the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy.
"I feel like being on the reserves and volunteering my time to come out to crashes and train officers and everything, is just kind of a way to give back," Brown said.
He only hires law enforcement officers and is in the process of hiring another person as part of the expansion. In some cases where additional expertise is needed, he calls on partners in biomechanics, tire and medical industries.
Brown said his ultimate goal this year is to have a billion-dollar impact on the industry, "whether that's getting more money for plaintiffs or helping the insurance company keep money by actually, correctly figuring out who's actually at fault."
Accurate Nursing Services opens adult day care
Accurate Nursing Services Inc. in Jackson Township now offers adult day services for the developmentally disabled. Home care and non-medical transportation services also are available.
The business and Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Feb. 26 to celebrate the expansion of services at 4150 Belden Village St. NW, Suite 103.
Accurate Nursing Services was founded in 2011 and has provided staffing, CPR training and other medical services in Stark and the surrounding counties.
Kenan Advantage Group acquires Michigan trucking company
Kenan Advantage Group, a transportation and logistics company located in Jackson Township near the Akron-Canton Airport, has entered the dry bulk sector with the acquisition of Northern Dry Bulk Inc.
The company is based in Clare, Michigan, and specializes in the storage and transportation of plastic resins for automotive, packaging and other markets in the United States and Canada. Kenan Advantage Group announced the acquisition, details of which were not disclosed, earlier this month.
"The acquisition of Northern Dry Bulk establishes a definitive entrance into the dry bulk transportation business for our company and perfectly aligns with our strategic growth initiatives to expand into new end markets," Kenan Executive Vice President of Specialty Products John Rakoczy said in a prepared statement. "The transaction also fulfills the needs of many of our current liquid bulk customers who also manufacture and distribute dry bulk materials.”
Kenan will retain Northern Dry Bulk's professional drivers, technicians and operational support members, according to the announcement. The acquisition also includes 36 tractor trucks, 91 trailers, two terminals with two maintenance bays, warehouse space and transloading capabilities.
Tom Kunse, owner and president of Northern Dry Bulk, said the company started in 1994 with one truck and grew into the respected trucking company it is today.
"By joining forces with KAG, both of our current and future customers will benefit from our shared knowledge, geographic footprint, and assets in a marketplace positioned for significant growth opportunities,” he said in a prepared statement.
Society Brands acquires two California brands
Society Brands, a Canton-based company that acquires and supports e-commerce brands, has acquired two Orange County, California-based brands ― Clarifion and Cleanomic.
Clarifion produces compact air purification and air ionization devices. Cleanomic provides alternatives to single-use plastic items and household products.
The acquisitions bring Society Brand's portfolio of brands to 11 and annual gross revenue to $100 million. The details of the transactions were not disclosed.
Michael Sirpilla, co-founder and CEO of Society Brands, described Clarifion and Cleanomic as "strong brands with a loyal consumer following."
"Not only are the brands perfect for our portfolio, but we are adding more than 30 talented team members as a result of this transaction," he said in a prepared statement. "Together as a unified group, I’m confident we will take both brands to the next level.”
Putman Properties receives Costar Power Broker Award
Spencer Hartung and Saylor Putman of Putman Properties received one of the CoStar Group's Power Broker Awards for the Northeast Ohio region.
Representing the tenant and landlord, respectively, they had one of the top industrial leasing deals in the third quarter of 2023. CoStar, a leading provider of commercial real estate data, determines the top deals every quarter based on price and square footage, according to a news release from Putman Properties.
The CoStar award listing, which doesn't include a deal price, shows 40,610 square feet leased in Stark County.
Hartung, who has worked for Putman Properties since 2016, and Putman, who has been with the property management company since 2018, are both vice presidents and senior sales associates.
Reach Kelly at 330-580-8323 or kelly.byer@cantonrep.com.On X: @kbyerREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Crash Tech, Kenan Advantage, Accurate Nursing, Society Brands expand
