Leading F&I provider Safe-Guard Products International has jumped into the service side of automotive retail with its recent acquisition of fixed operations facility development firm Dealer Solutions and Design.
This is Safe-Guard’s first acquisition. The company said integrating DSD’s services will greatly grow its ability to work beyond the and allow Safe-Guard to help dealership groups with process and infrastructure improvements.
“DSD has nearly two decades of success transforming dealerships into modern models of function and design,” said Safe-Guard CEO Randy Barkowitz. “With this acquisition, we will be able to offer our customers a positive customer experience from the initial point of sale all the way through the service experience. The combination creates unique capabilities for our retailer partners to maximize their customer and service opportunities.”
DSD has worked with dealerships on more than 1,000 facility projects since its founding in 2005.
“We have worked hard for nearly two decades to make sure we provide what our dealers need to achieve the highest level of success as they expand and modernize their service offerings,” DSD CEO Michael Bolden said in a statement. “As one of the leaders in the automotive industry, Safe-Guard embodies that same ideal and will expand our model to a significantly larger customer base. We share many of the same partners and I look forward to the opportunities this combined offering will bring.”
This is the second recent acquisition of a service-related company by an F&I provider. In June, StoneEagle bought service department startup Pencilwrench.