After more than three decades of running Caprara's Auto Body Shop in Troy, New York, Bob Caprara doesn't have to broadcast his name all over the place.

As a matter of fact, other than a few radio spots and local church bulletins, Bob doesn't do much advertising of his shop at all. So how does his customer base increase every year? "We just do it right," says Caprara. "Our reputation speaks for itself."

He knows well how to "do it right" after running a shop for 32 years. He has come a long way during that time. From a one-man operation with four working stalls, Caprara's has grown to a thriving shop with 12 employees and 30 stalls. His shop repairs about 12 vehicles per week.

His journey began in 1956, when Caprara started out as helper in a body shop in Albany, NY. "I've always wanted to be a good autobody technician," says Caprara. In 1967, he started his own four-car shop. In the summer of 1970, he built a 5000 square-foot shop with all the modern equipment available at that time. Since that time, Caprara has expanded about every five years to add more work areas, an office, and a mechanical section.

The successful shop has also become a family affair. Caprara's son, Robert Jr., has worked in the shop for 12 years. "He is my right hand man," says Caprara.

Caprara enjoys the diversity of being president and major decision maker of a busy shop. "My job today is not just one thing. I have to spend time solving office problems, estimating, negotiating with insurers, dealing with parts problems and technician shortages, and so on," Caprara explains.

The shop is also involved in the community of Troy, where it sponsors local girls softball and boys basketball teams.

Caprara's Auto Body Shop is I-CAR Gold Certified and the staff is I-CAR trained. Caprara was president of the Albany Auto Body Association for many years, and also served the New York State Auto Collision Technicians Association as president for two terms. He is now the treasurer of the association, a position he has held since 1992.

He is a member of ASA because he feels it is important to share thoughts with other industry leaders. "We continue our membership because our industry is continuously changing," adds Caprara.

As for his thoughts on the future of the industry, Caprara says, "My hope for the future in the repair industry is for some type of apprentice program. For now we just have to continue training new personnel."

But for today, Caprara just focuses on providing the highest quality repairs for his customer's cars. "We put in that little extra time to ensure total customer satisfaction," he says.

Apparently, customer satisfaction is all the advertising Caprara's Auto Body Shop needs.

Mark McGwire photos above taken by Scott Brown while attending an Angels game in the early 90s.

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