Built to Grow
The 2026 Fastest-Growing Auto Glass Retailers
by Abby Bowman
There are a few traits that all five of the 2026 Fastest Growing Retailers share.
First, they’re all led by individuals who have worked in the auto glass industry long enough to know it like the back of their hand. Second, each company has its own unique training program, payment structure and a management hierarchy that recognizes its boots-on-the-ground employees. Third, the companies’ dedication to safety and excellence led them each to join the Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC).
AGRR worked with the research department of its parent company, Key Media and Research (KMR), to select companies for recognition as the 2026 Fastest Growing Retailers. The selection criteria included year-over-year revenue growth, location growth and industry impact. While the majority of this year’s Fastest Growing Retailers offer other automotive or glass services, the selection was based on their auto glass revenue.
The number of employees at Aaron’s AutoGlass has nearly doubled over the past two years, says Aaron Gagnon. The company employs approximately 14 technicians, including Luke Banville (center) and Jake Corbin (right).
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Slow and Steady: Aaron’s AutoGlass
Like so many auto glass companies, Fairhaven, Massachusetts-based Aaron’s AutoGlass started with one man and a van. That man, founder Aaron Gagnon, slowly hired a handful of employees before acquiring another shop three years later. Today, Aaron’s AutoGlass has three locations and more than 20 employees.
“I was a bit conservative in the past, but we started turning it up about 18 months ago,” says Gagnon.
He began his own career in 2013 as a technician trainee at a local Massachusetts glass company. Gagnon says he worked his way up to store manager before deciding to head out on his own in 2018. By 2021, he had five employees in a single small office.
“That’s when we acquired another small company with a brick-and-mortar shop,” Gagnon says. “Then we had about nine people total, including six technicians and a few customer service representatives.”
That acquisition paid off quickly. The shop had averaged about $800,000 in annual revenue before he’d purchased it.
“In the first calendar year that I owned it, it made $1.5 million,” Gagnon says.
Aaron’s AutoGlass acquired a third location a few years later, but Gagnon says he ultimately merged that location into his original one. The company opened its current and third location in February 2026. Aaron’s AutoGlass now has 24 employees, including 14 technicians.
A few factors drove that expansion and the subsequent revenue growth. One of those is the company’s online presence.
“We update our website consistently, and publish information for locals in the form of blog posts,” he says. “We also do pay-per-click on Google and try to keep up with social media organically.”
Aaron’s AutoGlass also markets occasionally on Facebook and sponsors a local baseball team. Gagnon says the biggest factor in the company’s growth, though, has been repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals.
“We go above and beyond to do what’s right … even if it’s not convenient,” he says. “[If a customer has a problem], we step up to make things right. Doing that goes a long way with people.”
Gagnon says customers also trust the company because it is an Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC) member.
“I tell customers that [the Automotive Glass Replacement Safety Standard™ (AGRSS)] is the industry’s code book and our code book [to do things the right way],” he says. “It sets a good standard for everybody.”
As much as Aaron’s AutoGlass has expanded within the past year or two, Gagnon plans for more.
“We’re on pace for about $6 million in revenue this year, and I hope to open at least one location in both 2027 and 2028,” he says. “My goal is to hit $10 million in annual revenue within the next three years.”
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Making a Name: Acme Glass and Mirror
Acme Glass and Mirror recently received an unexpected bill. It wasn’t for electricity, rent or anything else an auto glass company might expect to pay. A local company sent them a $4,000 bill for damage to a vehicle that Acme had repaired five years earlier.
“Turns out, the car had developed a leak around the windshield that ruined its electronics, and they believed we were responsible for the leak,” says Chance Cooper, manager of Acme’s auto glass division. “We agreed to split the bill with the company.”
While some glass companies might refuse to pay something like that after five years, Cooper says Acme values its relationship with the customer and wanted to make things right, whether Acme was at fault or not.
“Sometimes, you just have to do something like that,” Cooper says.
Acme offers a variety of glass services, but Chance Cooper says the company is best known for its auto glass repair and replacement, on both the commercial and residential side.
“There are some other companies in the area that do mostly flat glass, but we’re the biggest company in our market that does residential, commercial and auto glass,” Cooper says. “We’re known for our auto glass.”
At least part of Acme’s notoriety comes from their marketing, which includes a catchy jingle created by an independent marketing and media company Cooper’s father hired about 15 years ago. The jingle is just as effective now as it was then, he says.
“We run a lot of TV and radio commercials, and all of them have that same jingle,” he says. “Customers come into the shop singing it.”
Acme Glass and Mirror is a true family business. From left to right: Coby and Chance Cooper, their father, John Cooper, and their older brother, Chad Cooper.
Cooper says Acme’s customer service turns those customers into repeat customers. Those repeat customers, plus insurance partners, car dealerships and local businesses like the one that sent the $4,000 bill, keep the company growing. KMR’s research department calculated that Acme’s auto glass revenue increased by more than 25% year over year in 2025.
Cooper’s mindset extends back to his father, who founded the company in 1984. The company’s first building was an old bowling alley just off the highway in Monroe, Louisiana. The company built a second location in Ruston in the early 90’s and built a new location for the Monroe shop a few years later.
Acme then built a location in West Monroe and eventually acquired a small shop in Bastrop, Louisiana. That brings Acme to the present day: a total of four shops spread across northern Louisiana and around 50 employees, serving automotive, commercial and residential customers.
“About 18 of those employees are auto glass technicians,” Cooper says.
Cooper’s father is still actively involved with the company, but two of his sons run the day-to-day operations. Cooper is in charge of auto glass, and his twin brother, Coby, heads the commercial and residential side.
Acme fortified customer confidence by becoming an Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC) member more than 20 years ago, Cooper explains.
“It lets us say, ‘hey, we’re not perfect, but we’re committed to doing things the right way [by following the AGRSS Standard], and we stand behind what we do,” he says.
Cooper says that Acme also set itself up for future growth by becoming one of the first glass companies in the area to offer recalibration.
“We weren’t sure whether we would do it at first, but then we realized that if we don’t do it, we’ll be left behind,” he says. “I’ve gone through three or four systems now as we try to stay on top of the latest and greatest with calibrations.”
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Explosive Growth: Caliber Auto Glass
Caliber Auto Glass was serving 22 markets approximately 2.5 years ago. Now, according to Troy Mason, the Lewisville, Texas-based company serves 75 markets. Mason joined the Caliber brand at the end of 2023 as a senior vice president (SVP) to spearhead its auto glass division.
Caliber entered the auto glass industry in 2019 after acquiring a company that did both collision repair and auto glass work. Caliber began integrating that business, Mason says, but the COVID-19 pandemic hit before the company could start transitioning the auto glass division.
“Caliber Auto Glass sort of sat on a shelf in the closet for a few years while the company ensured the collision division was stable,” says Mason.
Work began on the glass side of the company after the COVID pandemic lessened, but Mason says they had trouble finding leadership that knew that part of the industry well enough to guide it. Caliber eventually found that leader in Mason, who had years of experience leading large auto glass companies and had received the prestigious Carl F. Tompkins award for excellence in 2019 from the Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC).
“The first thing I did was restructure Caliber Auto Glass so it operated more like a glass company,” he says.
Then he focused on organic growth. The existing collision centers made a good place to start that growth, Mason says. He began hiring glass technicians to service those centers and he established relationships with insurers and third-party administrators in each market. Caliber Auto Glass also began doing business with large fleet customers, and Mason also ensured that Caliber became an AGSC member. He was elected to AGSC’s board of directors in 2024.
Because Caliber Auto Glass is an AGSC member, all of its technicians are AGSC certified. Pictured here are Austin Craddolph (left) and Madyson Gauthier (right).
After about a year and a half of organic growth, Mason said the company began working on acquisitions. That’s not Mason’s preferred word for those business dealings, though.
“I tell my team to think of them more like mergers,” he says. “Because we are merging, even if the other company is in one market or one state. Every employee at those companies is important to me … they’re extremely talented, and we have so much to learn from them. We want to keep taking care of their customers.”
Caliber trains both collision and auto glass technicians from scratch through an apprenticeship program, Mason says. One facet of that program is dedicated to veterans.
“We call it ‘Changing Lanes,'” he says. “We have one facility on each coast. As service members transition out of the military, the military will pay and house them for 13 months while they go through our apprenticeship program. We guarantee them a job once they graduate.”
Mason says each of Caliber’s brands, including auto glass, participates in the program.
“Once they graduate and leave the service, the military sends them back to wherever they came from,” he says. “So, if someone from Boise, Idaho, graduates from the facility in Raleigh, North Carolina, he or she will become a Caliber technician in Idaho.”
That aligns well with Mason’s plans for continued organic and acquisition growth across markets nationwide.
“As fun as it’s been the last couple of years with the fantastic growth we’ve had, I think the next two to four years are going to be explosive,” he added.
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Putting People First: Lloyd’s Glass
Lloyd’s Glass has a bit of a unique staffing problem, says owner Barry Lintner. While many companies have a technician shortage, Lloyd’s has a waitlist of skilled technicians who want to work there.
The company was founded as Auto Glass Inc. in 1996, Lintner says, and it operated in central Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. The Pensacola, Florida, location didn’t open until 2000. It is now Lloyd’s headquarters.
“I joined the company as director of business development two years later,” Lintner says, though he began his auto glass career nearly 30 years prior.
“I walked into a glass shop on April 8, 1971, and started making $2 an hour learning to install windshields,” Lintner says.
After putting himself through college, Lintner went on to found and then sell a series of glass companies. He headed to the Florida Panhandle, determined to put down long-term roots at Lloyd’s.
Barry Lintner says there’s “no hierarchy” at Lloyd’s. Everyone, including technicians like Randy Thomas (top left) and Jorge Gamarra (top right), CSRs like Tieara Sanders (bottom left) and company leadership are treated the same.
“My objective was to earn an ownership share at the company,” he says.
Lintner did just that, becoming a partner in 2004 and sole owner in 2015.
“Since then, I transferred some of the ownership to my son, who runs the day-to-day operations now,” he says.
Lintner’s dedication to putting down roots rather than pursuing pure revenue growth shapes his goals for the company.
“Given the current complexities of the industry, I’m not interested in the size of the company’s footprint,” he says. “I’m more interested in the quality of the service we provide.”
Lloyd’s doesn’t compete with national companies or even some regional companies in terms of scale, and that doesn’t matter to Lintner at all.
“Those companies can’t compete with the level of trust that we’ve built by doing high-level work and giving the customer the personal attention and treatment they want,” he says.
Lintner points to more than 2,000 five-star reviews as proof that Lloyd’s meets those standards. Lloyd’s is also a member of the Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC), which helps to solidify its commitment to quality and safety.
Lintner has helped cultivate the skills and dedication his employees need to provide this level of service through an egalitarian management philosophy.
“There’s no hierarchy in our company,” he says. “Everyone’s job has an equal level of importance, including mine. I’m not above or below anybody, and neither is anyone else.”
Technicians apply that same philosophy to the 30 to 50 cars that roll through the shop every day.
“Every one of them gets the same treatment, whether it’s a beat-up old pick-up truck or a brand-new Maserati,” Lintner says.
Lintner expects the highest quality work from all his technicians, and he treats them accordingly.
“The really good technicians in the industry want to be recognized and adequately compensated for their skillset,” he says. “But they also have to be held accountable to the very highest level of training and attention to detail on each installation. [The Lloyd’s technicians’] payment plan reflects both quantity and quality, but primarily quality.”
The customer service representatives (CSRs) are held to the same philosophy of excellence, says CSR manager Haley Keirn.
“We have a lot of repeat customers because we work so hard on our customer service,” Keirn says. “I tell my team to treat customers like they would their mom or dad.”
Working as a team is one of the keys to that success, she adds.
“We’re all friends here,” she says. “I like to say the CSRs are a quirky group. We spend most of the day laughing with each other when we’re not helping customers.”
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Leveling the Playing Field: Ultimate Auto Glass and Electronics
Recalibration has been the big buzzword in the auto glass industry for the past five to 10 years, but Ultimate Auto Glass took adding that service a step further than most. It added a whole other side to its business, becoming Ultimate Auto Glass and Electronics, headquartered in Atlanta.
Buzz Killingsworth founded the company, a subsidiary of Classic Collision, in 2019. Ultimate Auto Glass started with a handful of shops in Atlanta, not far from where Killingsworth began his own career.
“I started in 1997, delivering glass for Glass Depot during the day and attending college full-time in the evenings,” he says. “By the time I worked my way up to founding Ultimate, I had seen all the different kinds of jobs in the industry and worked many of them myself.”
Killingsworth used that experience to launch Ultimate in 2019. He had already built relationships with customers and other industry stakeholders. When the time came to start his own business, many of those people continued supporting him in his new venture.
“A lot of our early growth came from those customers and other friends of mine in the industry who trusted me and wanted to make sure we continued to service them as a customer,” he says.
Ultimate began with five locations that offered just glass, Killingsworth says. The company looked to Classic Collision for a kickstart in those early days.
“Classic Collision is kind of like our big brother, if you will, that supported our growth,” he says. “We could build out our locations behind theirs, and our availability to customers mirrors the Classic Collision business model.”
Ultimate followed in Classic’s footsteps as it expanded into Florida, Killingsworth says, and began growing its own right, too.
“After Florida, we opened a market in Tennessee,” he says. “Then we were in Southern California by 2020.”
That growth progressed, and six years later, Killingsworth says Ultimate serves markets in at least nine states and as far north as Alaska. Ultimate also added the “and Electronics” portion of its name in 2020.
“Our electronics division is built to service all advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) needs post-collision repair,” he says, explaining that that includes features that utilize windshield-mounted cameras.
Ultimate uses both aftermarket and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) calibration equipment, Killingsworth says, because several manufacturers work directly with its parent company. That dealership relationship has also fueled Ultimate’s growth, according to Killingsworth.
Top: the Georgia Ultimate Auto Glass and Electronics team held a special celebration after the company opened its 200th store.
Right: From left to right, are Tom Benesh (glass general manager for the Georgia market), Buzz Killingsworth (director of field operations) and Ivis Perozo (account executive for the South Florida market).
“There’s a lot of turnover in the dealership environment,” he says. “If you win over a few people at a dealership, they’ll recommend you to their service advisor. They’ll also recommend you to a new dealership if they switch jobs. [All of those things] plant a seed.”
Ultimate relies on that word-of-mouth growth with individual retail customers, too.
“As long as you take good care of your customers, you’ll grow just through word-of-mouth,” he says. “You can shrink just as quickly if you’re not doing a very good job.”
Killingsworth established a unique payment structure at Ultimate to motivate everyone at the company to provide excellent service.
“Our compensation program puts everyone together,” he says. “When times are good, the earning potential is almost unlimited. When they’re bad, we all feel a bit of that pain together.”
Killingsworth also says that he and the leadership team aren’t the most important part of the business.
“The customers don’t see us; they see our technicians,” he says. “The technicians are the heart of our business, and the company needs them to be happy to come to work.”
Ultimate became an Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC) member to help ensure quality and prioritize customer safety.
“We’re dealing with vehicle structural components that could mean the difference in a customer walking away from an accident or not,” Killingsworth says. “We believe there should be oversight on what we, and other glass companies, are doing, and that oversight needs to come from a third party … we welcome our shop audits. It’s the only way our industry [can be held accountable].”
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