Auto Magic, Jiffy Lube under new ownership

"I figured that at 74 1/2 and after washing about 12 million cars, it was about time for me to get out," said Barclay, owner of Springfield's Auto Magic car washes and local franchisee for Jiffy Lube.

Barclay Enterprises sold Oct. 29 to Orman LLC, owned by Steve Orman and Barry Krall. Orman, a former Springfieldian who has now returned to the area, is president and CEO. Krall, chairman of the board and chief financial officer, remains in the Chicago area and plans to commute.

The transaction included the corporate offices at 1940 S. Stewart St.; Auto Magic car wash locations at 1240 E. Battlefield, 2323 E. Sunshine and 4115 S. Campbell; and Jiffy Lube franchise stores at 1248 E. Battlefield, 850 E. Kearney, 2323 E. Sunshine and 4115 S. Campbell.

Orman and Barclay would not disclose the purchase price of Barclay Enterprises, but Barclay said that 2003 revenues were in excess of $10 million. There are about 250 employees at the Springfield Auto Magic and Jiffy Lube locations and the corporate offices.

Barclay Enterprises

Barclay launched his business in April 1962, with his first car wash at 800 S. Glenstone, now the site of a Firestone tire store. By the mid-1990s, Barclay Enterprises consisted of 15 locations four Jiffy Lubes and three Auto Magic car washes in Springfield and six Jiffy Lubes and two Auto Magic car washes in Little Rock, Ark.

Barclay said his son, Butch, who lives in Little Rock, was not interested in taking over the Springeld operation. He purchased four of the Little Rock Jiffy Lubes in 2003.

"In one way it was bittersweet, but as long as I had to sell it to an outsider I felt more comfortable with Steve in that he knows our service culture and would be more apt to keep the service culture that we've had for 44 years, except in a few periods of bad management that we've had and my customers put up with, luckily," Bill Barclay said.

His success, Barclay said, was due in part to key employees, many of whom started washing cars and worked their way through the ranks. "I've gotten the credit and these people have been running the company," he said.

Customer service and good relationships with employees have been important to Barclay.

"You've got to take care of your employees. The way that you take care of your employees is the way they're going to treat the customers. A lot of people don't realize that. They think they can kick their employees around and then they're going to go out and smile and be nice to the customers," Barclay said.

Plans for his retirement have not yet been solidified. "I've been so busy in the negotiation and sale, I haven't really got it planned out," Barclay said, adding that reading, traveling and fitness activities will be high on his to-do list.

Springfield ties

The deal returns Orman to a familiar organization. He worked for Barclay Enterprises for more than 10 years.

"I was here through most of its growing phase," Orman said. "Out of my 18 years in the business, over 50 percent of it has been in this market in the Springfield area."

Orman started working for Barclay in 1986, washing cars at Auto Magic on East Battlefield. In January 1987, he was offered a new opportunity within Barclay Enterprises.

"I went into management at Jiffy Lube and for the next 10 years, helped Bill and his son, Butch, build the Springfield organization," he said.

Orman also helped set up Barclay Enterprises' Jiffy Lube stores in the Little Rock area.

In April 1998, Orman left Barclay Enterprises and got more experience, including working as national director of operations for the Quick Lube division of Boston-based Wash Depot.

Krall, a former district manager for Jiffy Lube International who had become a franchisee, learned Orman was no longer with Barclay, and contacted him about going into business together. "He just hunted me down in Boston and called me up and we became partners," Orman said.

Krall and Orman also own four Jiffy Lube stores in northern Iowa, which are run by Orman's brother, Chris Orman.

Orman, whose wife, Leslie Glenn Orman, is from Springfield, always wanted to return to the area. In 2000, Orman told Krall he would like to purchase Barclay Enterprises.

"I approached Barclay in September of 2002 and told him what I had in mind and what I wanted to do," Orman said. "We kind of went back and forth for the next two years until we finally closed Oct. 29, 2004.

"I think it took the first year for me to convince Bill that I could get it done. He was very gracious and very polite and was somewhat entertaining me, but I don't think he took me seriously. It was finally about a year ago, Thanksgiving or Christmas of 2003, when he realized I was serious and realized we could put this together and get the deal done. We went at it full-bore about March of this year," Orman said.

No broker was involved in the transaction.

For now, few changes will take place at Auto Magic and Jiffy Lube. "We're going to keep all of the things that were great and right going, and try to bring in some of our own operational expertise to make everybody's enjoyment just a bit more," Orman said. "We're both a little younger, we have a little more energy and we will be regulars on all of our properties."

Orman said he and Krall anticipate future expansion of their company, but plan to devote the next 18 to 24 months to getting acclimated at Auto Magic and Jiffy Lube before branching out.