COLUMBIA, Mo. -

Including a special tribute to a pair of auction employees who died tragically, Missouri Auto Auction recently conducted the grand opening of a new reconditioning center at its operation in Columbia, Mo.

Missouri AA held two special events to celebrate the expansion: a private party for the auction staff and a grand opening celebration for its customers during the first week of August.

“The new recon center is a tremendous addition to Missouri Auto Auction, which sets the bar for customer service in our region,” declared Kevin Brown, auction owner and general manager.

“We’re able to triple the volume in our shop right off the bat, making a clear statement to our customers that we are committed to providing them with superior service in all areas of the auction process,” Brown continued.

The Missouri AA general manager went on to highlight the new recon center encompasses 10,600 square feet, which includes three lanes for vehicle reconditioning, in addition to shop space for light mechanical and PDR.

By contrast, the auction had previously handled the bulk of the recon in a shop consisting of just 1,500 square feet. Employees had to move units into the auction arena for the finish work.

Ultimately, Brown pointed out the new center has the capacity to more than quadruple the number of vehicles previously handled by the recon shop.

“We are thrilled to provide every tool and resource required to provide the best in recon services at Missouri Auto Auction,” Brown stated.

“With improvements in efficiency and advances in quality, we can offer our dealer customers as well as our commercial consignors a valuable auction service that enhances the salability of their vehicles,” he added.

The auction opened the new recon center with a private party and barbecue for auction employees on Aug. 2.

During the employee event, Brown announced that two of the recon lanes would be named in honor of two auction employees who recently were killed while transporting a vehicle to the auction by a driver who allegedly was drunk.

In memory of Gilbert Love and Ed Taggart, two of the recon lanes will be named “Love Lane” and “Taggart Avenue.”

The auction followed up on Aug. 4 with a formal grand opening celebration for its customers.

Missouri AA entertained its guests with food, drinks and music by the Kansas City Street Band and conducted tours of the new facility.

Owned by Brown and Gregg and Dagmar Boswell, Missouri AA is one of the largest dealer auctions in mid-Missouri.

Established in 2000, Brown highlighted the auction has undergone tremendous growth and expansion in its first decade, more than tripling its size from its early 100-plus vehicle sales. The auction holds a consignment sale every Friday at 9:30 a.m. with monthly heavy equipment sales for government, businesses and dealers.

Missouri AA also operates within the Auction Pipeline technology system, which can deliver live online auction lane bidding, market reports of auction sales results and available inventory from affiliates nationwide.