33 spins around the sun for any business is quite an accomplishment. When Bruce and Sherry Shields founded ABS on July 1, 1989, the number one song on the radio was ”Baby, Don’t Forget My Number” by Milli Vanilli. Thankfully, time has moved on from those pop music “lip-snyc-ers,” but in those 33 years, good things were happening with our ABS family… growth (coincidentally, the number one song the week after July 1, 1989, was “Good Thing” by the Fine Young Cannibals). By the year 2000, ABS employed eight people. Today, ABS employs 158 people. ABS Chief Operating Officer Ashley Lighty said, “ABS Tag & Title is proud to celebrate 33 years of business. God has blessed ABS Tag & Title and we would like to thank all our loyal employees and customers who have been with us all these years. We are thankful for you all!”
As time marched into the new century, around our 11th anniversary, ABS started the title and registration service segment of the business for all 50 states. This was due in large part to clients asking if we could title and register the cars we were locating for them. A year later, clients asked if, in addition to tag and title services, we could now deliver them too, and that led to the creation of our sister company ATC Driveaway. ABS Vice-President of Operations Jessica Bentley said, “I was hired 22 years ago when there were only seven other employees. ABS was just getting into title and registration services, and I was hired to do research on securing titles for a large financial company. After the project was completed, I moved on to focus on all 50 states. Two years later we expanded our services to include IRP and IFTA.”
As the menu of services for ABS grew, the ABS work family had to follow suit to keep up with demand; from 40 employees in 2004, to 52 in 2011, to 97 in 2016. Bentley said it’s the people who matter the most. “I have seen ABS change a lot over the years, but one very important thing that has not changed are the people. I have been fortunate to work with some amazing people over the years, some for a short time and some for a long time, but the impact they made will last a lifetime. I am thankful to have worked my way up through the company and I feel that gives me an advantage in leading such an amazing team. I know God placed me here 22 years ago and I pray I’m here 22 more years.”
In 2018, a milestone for ABS Tag & Title was achieved, becoming WBENC certified. Being a Women’s Business Enterprise National Council business is a very important distinction for ABS. The WBENC is dedicated to helping women-owned businesses thrive, and since the 2018 certification, ABS once again bumped up their employee number to today’s 158.
On July 1, 2022, ABS Tag & Title celebrated our 33rd year in business, and we couldn’t be happier. Here’s to another 33 years of happy employees and satisfied customers. By the way, the number one song the week BEFORE ABS began in 1989, “Satisfied” by Richard Marx. After 33 years, we say “Buh, Buh, Buh, Buh, Baby…don’t forget our number”! It’s 800-288-6324. We’re ABS Tag & Title, how can we help you?