ABOUT US

Coming from a dealership background, Michael went out and bought four Jeep Wranglers and one GMC 1500 at the auction. He had a plan to take these vehicles to a local shop, have them up-fitted (Lift, Tires, Wheels, Steps, Flares), and bring them back to the auction to sell for a profit! 

This idea worked out and, just like that, Central Alps was born! 

Not long after proving the concept that there, indeed, was a market for pre-built vehicles, Michael quickly became disappointed in the turn-around time of the shops he was using. It often would take 3-4 weeks for his vehicles to be completed (and these shops were doing the same amount of work on a vehicle that Central Alps can do in just one day, today)! So, needless to say, Michael decided to take matters into his own hands and began building the vehicles in-house, instead. From this point on, all Central Alps vehicles would be built in the same facility we are in today. 

In 2015, we found ourselves running into an unexpected inventory problem. To put it simply, we were unable to buy the number of vehicles needed to supply the demand for Central Alps builds. So, we went out and began buying brand new Jeeps and Chevys from the dealer in order to up-fit them to then be sold at the auction. This was also the same year that we officially started selling to the general public.  

In 2016, Michael became frustrated with the rising cost of parts. Central Alps was building 20+ brand new Jeep Wranglers each month with similar parts and no real manufacture on our side. So, he started searching intently for parts-manufactures. By the end of the year, we had established manufacturing in Shenzhen, China and began manufacturing, importing, installing, and selling our own parts. 

In 2017, we had our highest highs and our lowest lows. This is the year that we hit our stride. We were in a good rhythm with the manufactures-- ordering, building, and selling vehicles. Our containers were coming in with parts that we were installing and selling. And, our builds were getting BIG and being shipped all over the world (France, Bahamas, Croatia, and Hawaii, to name a few). It is also the year that Jeep said they would no longer sell us vehicles. In other words, the business would have to change or cease to exist. 

2018 was the year that Michael had his "Solomon Moment." After building the Jeep he had always dreamed of building, then building three more-- each of which was better than the last--Michael had built all that he ever dreamed of and realized there was no purpose for it. After the "Last Build," a Jeep that would be known around Central Alps as "Michael's White and Grey Jeep," he was left much like Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1:2-11; he had his "Vanity of Vanities" and no more did he need. 

In 2019, we found our "WHY." After being cut off from buying any new inventory and building the "biggest," "baddest" vehicles we could think of, we had to find a new way of doing business. So, Michael launched a few Facebook advertisements, and people like the ones reading this right now responded. We began building their vehicles and established our true purpose. Being able to serve people like Jesus and build their dream vehicle was why we did what we did then and why we still do what we do today. Meeting with, dreaming of, and building our customers' dreams, then being able to witness their reaction when seeing their dream come to life for the first time, all while trying to love and serve them like Jesus, is what Central Alps became all about. We were no longer just building our dreams; we started building yours. 

2020 was our year of blessing. When many other customization shops like us were floundering, we were thriving. We believe that this was largely due to the fact that we were rewriting the typical narrative of off-road business, while our competitors continued to do what they had always done. In 2020, we found ways to make builds happen (usually by sourcing parts from multiple suppliers to create complete kits) that other shops were unwilling to do. This is what helped us to double in size. In the peak of 2020, we had a six-week waiting list, meaning that if you told us you wanted us to build your vehicle today, you would have to wait six whole weeks before we could even get you in the shop! 

2021 was our year of refinement. Not only did we double in size in 2020, but we doubled again in 2021, as well! We were determined to serve as many people as possible and we were doing things no other shop had thought of, like capturing content on the majority of builds coming through the shop. And, because of this relentlessness to capture the amount of content that we did, we believe that we set the standard for what content should look like for all shops. In addition, this was the year we rolled out our loaner car fleet, pickup and delivery services, as well as torque-marking on all vehicles. 

2022 was marked by building up our team. The Central Alps team started taking the day-to-day operations away from Michael and began running the business without him. And, through this team, the business was able to grow exponentially. Since the year of growth in 2022, these team members have gone on to start ministries and businesses of their own from what was learned during their time at Central Alps. This was also the year that Michael became obsessed with building vehicles with 40-inch tires yet little-to-no lift! People often reach out to us to tell us that they could not find a local shop that would build vehicles similar to what they had seen us build, and that made us stand out amongst other shops!

2023 was the year that we made a dream a reality. Michael had always dreamed of having a "Gala." The Gala was an event where we could host some of our favorite customers and love on them in grand ways. We had servers serving food, a DJ playing good music, more content people than employees filming, a solid white bounce house, and lots and lots of gifts! 

2024 was the year that we had to go back to our roots--the "roots" being that we had an experience to offer that no other shop could. Many shops had grown into trying to operate like us and we were no longer pushing the envelope of the way a shop could function. In short, we had too many competitors at this point that were similar to us. So, we had to realign how we served people; we had to remember to serve people like family and rather than a customer. Another initiative that we took in early 2024 was sending out our "Content Boxes." We created a gift that was an experience for customers as they opened it. They would receive a box in the mail from us, and inside they would find an "Apple" quality box. As they would begin to open it, they would realize it was a personalized experience crafted for them around their individualized build. We sent out 500 of these; this helped remind us of the personal touch we wanted to have with each person that comes through our shop at Central Alps. 

To everyone that has helped us get to this point--from the vendors, to the suppliers, from the past employees, to the past customers--thank you. Thank you for allowing us to serve you and try our best to love you like Jesus. As for where we are headed next, you ask? Well, for now, we want to continue helping build people's dreams, loving them like Jesus, and finding ways to set ourselves apart from every other shop.