Before you head out for your summer road trip, Mr. Transmission/Milex Complete Auto Care recommends making sure your tires are ready to hit the pavement.   Prior to packing your bags and stocking up on road trip snacks, it’s important to make sure your tires are ready for the trip. The condition of your tires will impact your car's performance and safety. The experts at Mr. Transmission/Milex Complete Auto Care compiled a checklist you can use to get your tires ready to travel.   All-Weather Tires. If you put snow tires on to provide traction during the winter months, replace them with all-season tires that will handle well during a summer downpour.   Tire Pressure. Check the PSI on your tires. As the temperature goes up, the PSI in your tires increase. For every 10-degree rise in temperature, the tire pressure goes up by one PSI. Over-inflated tires can cause blowouts or overheat.   Tread. Do a vi ... read more

Longtime Moran Family of Brands franchise owner George Kok received the 2021 Franchisee of the Year honor for the impact he is making on the Mr. Transmission brand.   George Kok began his tenure with Moran in 1981, when he started working at the Mr. Transmission in Louisville, Kentucky. He worked as a center manager and in the operations department before purchasing the store in February 1983. Kok expanded his business 15 years ago when he opened a co-branded Mr. Transmission/Milex store in nearby Clarksville, Indiana. The two locations are approximately 15 miles away from each other, which makes the back-office operations of managing two businesses easier for Kok. This 2021 Franchisee of the Year award for Mr. Transmission marks the first time Kok received this top honor.   While his first location had always done simple repair work, adding the co-branded location allowed them to establish themselves as a great presence in the community as a one-stop shop for customers ... read more

Mr. Transmission, a 94-unit chain of auto repair specialists, earned a spot on the Franchise Times’ annual ranking of the 400 largest franchise systems in the United States by global systemwide sales.   The Franchise Times Top 400 is one of the most comprehensive rankings of franchise systems in the United States. A team of seven researchers and reporters spent five months collecting, verifying, and analyzing the numbers to generate the Franchise Times Top 400 ranking of the 400 largest U.S. franchise systems. The research team pores over voluntary reports and publicly available data, including the franchises’ most recent franchise disclosure documents and Securities and Exchange Commission filings to determine the lineup.   "We are very proud of the recognition Mr. Transmission received in the franchising community," said Peter Baldine, President of Moran Family of Brands, the franchisor of ... read more

Argentinian native Armando Tavani took a leap of faith to achieve his dream of business ownership when he opened his co-branded Milex Complete Auto Care/Mr. Transmission franchise in South Florida in May. Opening a business is never easy, but tackling a new endeavor during a pandemic and as an immigrant proved to be challenging. During his early career in Buenos Aires, Tavani dreamed of opening a business in the United States. Prior to coming to this country, Tavani spent 10 years working in real estate, where he bought, sold, and rented properties. His real estate tenure solidified his resolve to pursue business ownership in America. He believed operating a business in Buenos Aires and facing the possibility of losing all of his money was far too risky. Tavani achieved his dream when he opened his Milex/Mr. Transmission location in Margate, Florida on May 3. The new auto repair shop is located in a refurbished facility. The 3,000 squ ... read more

Learning How to Run a Successful Business from From Father to Son This Father’s Day presents a great opportunity to showcase two of the most successful franchise owners in the Mr. Transmission system and tell the story of how wisdom and understanding is passed down from father to son. Scott Hester has owned the Mr. Transmission store in Decatur, Georgia since 2006.  His father, Lowell, is the franchise owner of the same brand in nearby Sandy Springs. The business connections between the two were formed through caring communication, patient lessons and sage advice. Like his father, Scott selected by his peers as the Mr. Transmission Franchisee of the Year in 2019; Lowell won the same honor twice before. But Lowell didn’t just give his son a franchise. Scott bought one on his own—after absorbing h ... read more

Moran Franchisee of the Year: Scott Hester Scott Hester was recently named as one of Moran Family of Brands’ Franchisees of the Year, as selected by his peers from the system.  He has owned the Mr. Transmission in Decatur, Georgia, since 2006. If a Hester from Georgia winning the Mr. Transmission Franchisee of the Year sounds familiar, that would be correct.  Scott’s father, Lowell, owns the Mr. Transmission in nearby Sandy Springs and has won one the award twice. If there is a franchise gene, Lowell apparently passed it onto Scott. In any case, for those franchise owners wondering if they might want to sell or pass on their franchise to their offspring, that’s one way to go. But if you aren’t in the mindset of retiring any time soon, you still might be able to use your franchise to help your kids build their own future. For those people, Scott’s story m ... read more

John Olson is often traveling. Sometimes that means he is behind the wheel of a customer’s car, trying to diagnose a problem. But frequently, he is doing actual traveling with his wife, Becky, on vacation. Olson – who owns two Multistate Transmission shops, one in Ft. Worth and the other in Haltom City, Texas – has been on quite a few excursions the last several years, as their businesses continue to grow. So maybe it’s no surprise and Olson won the annual Franchisee of the Year Award from Moran Family of Brands in the transmission division, which is voted on by his fellow franchise owners throughout the system. So what’s he doing right? We talked to him and came away with several interesting nuggets of information that will hopefully be helpful to his peers. So what’s the secret to your success? “We’ve done better with our marketing,&rdquo ... read more

If you’ve thought many times about starting a business but quickly dismissed the idea, there are probably some logical reasons holding you back.  Fear of failure, having the proper guidance and being able to market and sell your product or service could all be reasons why you hesitate in starting your own business. One possible solution to overcoming many of these fears is by looking into franchising. That is, running a business that is part of a regional or nationwide company. As you presumably know, McDonald’s is a franchise. So is Subway, Ace Hardware and Circle K. In fact, there are over 3,000 types of franchise brands in a wide range of industries. When you own a franchise, you’re the business owner – but it’s a little similar to being a condominium owner. In that situation, you own the property and have a lot of leewa ... read more

With the new year, many business owners begin comparing year-to-year sales figures, and some independent auto repair shops don’t necessarily like what they’re seeing. Are your sales stagnant? Or worse yet, did your sales drop? Maybe you’re having trouble keeping reliable help. If you already own an auto shop and performance hasn’t been meeting your expectations, we urge you to consider the Moran Family of Brands. The Moran Family of Brands is more than just an auto repair franchise; it’s a one-stop shop that can provide you with opportunities to expand and grow your business while offering trusted “one-stop” service for your community’s car care needs. In fact, we are one of the leading franchisors in the automotive aftermarket industry. So, if sales have been stagnant or if you’re looking for a way to expand your business, cons ... read more