New England Collision Equipment: New Ownership, Same Great Mission
by Katie Agnello
For over 20 years, New England Collision Equipment has been known for quality equipment and helpful customer service as the premier distributor for Car-o-Liner products throughout the New England area.
Today, those same qualities and mission continue for the supplier under new leadership. Robert Gruskos has been the new owner of New England Collision Equipment since the start of 2026. A familiar face to the industry (many will recognize him from his time with global equipment distributor Reliable Automotive Equipment), Gruskos brings his passion for training, customer service and involvement with local auto body associations to this new role, with big plans for continued growth to provide repairers with everything they need to succeed to continue the growth of the company, beginning with expanding the personnel to provide the best customer service possible.
“Our focus is to emphasize service and training,” he expresses. “We want to make sure that everyone who uses our products has a good education and knowledge of how to use them properly.” In order to help ensure customers are properly trained and safe, New England Collision Equipment has an on-site training center to not just teach how to effectively use the products and equipment, but also make sure the repairs being made are fully understood. “It’s important to us to have experienced people share their knowledge of the tools and techniques to correctly and efficiently complete repairs,” explains Gruskos. “New England Collision Equipment is able to help our customers more by helping them learn and understand the changes being made to their vehicle.”
New England Collision Equipment also acknowledges and supports the future of the industry through their work with local trade schools. “A lot of the trade schools teach on Car-o-Liner machines, so it’s important to us to help with the training programs and provide discounted equipment,” says Gruskos. “It makes a big difference connecting with the students through the equipment and training. When people learn on a certain machine, it creates a lifelong partnership between our company and their work. That’s important to us.”
Under Gruskos’ leadership, the company is also dedicated to working with automotive associations like MABA. “With my background working for a national company and now a regionally-based one, I think the most important thing is to support the shops and to put an emphasis on their work and their endeavors,” shares Gruskos. “We want to show our support not just for the shops, but the industry as a whole.”
The camaraderie that associations like MABA provide is one of the most important reasons Gruskos supports the association. “I go to just about every conference possible,” he says. “I think some people get carried away looking at profits and don’t think about the ‘why’ of repairs. But when you go to events like MABA’s general membership meetings or the Collision Industry Conferences, you get to see the true passion and meet others who focus on helping the customer and making sure cars are repaired properly.”
“Our general mission is to sell OEM-certified repair equipment with a priority on safe and proper repairs for our customers,” notes Gruskos. “And it’s important to us that our customers are not only buying something from a place with good service, but that they are also buying products that are supported and certified by the official sources.”
New England Collision Equipment has served the Massachusetts and New England community faithfully for over 20 years, and now with Gruskos at the helm, the distributor is looking forward to an even brighter future in the automotive community.
Want more? Check out the July 2026 issue of New England Automotive Report!