Former Reddi Brake Execs Driving New Venture
Bruce Douglass, founder and former chief executive of Ventura’s Reddi Brake Inc., is back in the automotive business for the first time since leaving that company last summer.
Douglass and two partners recently opened distribution warehouses in Ventura and Santa Barbara for a new venture, Fast Undercar Inc. The start-up company distributes wholesale auto parts to auto mechanics on the local and national levels.
“I resigned as CEO [of Reddi Brake] in May 1995, and I’ve been out of the business since last August,” said Douglass, president of Fast Undercar. “At the time I left, I had no plans to get back into it, but with the encouragement of some of my suppliers and executives I was enticed to come out of retirement.”
After his resignation as chief executive of Reddi Brake, Douglass spent three months as president and chief operating officer of the company.
Douglass is joined at Fast Undercar by two other former Reddi-Brake executives--Richard Donner, who had served as executive vice president in charge of operations, and Victor Davis, a former executive vice president in charge of purchasing and inventory control. Both are co-owners and vice presidents of the new company.
Reddi Brake distributes brake systems, chassis components and other auto undercarriage parts to professional installers through 92 outlets in 27 states. It recently acquired Express Undercar Parts, which has a similar operation with three warehouses in Orange County and another in Los Angeles County.
“We’re in the same business as we were at Reddi Brake, but our approach is more oriented to the local environment,” Douglass said. “Right now we’re looking at locations just in Southern California. We plan to expand through franchises and through a licensing plan, but that’s not underway yet.”
Douglass said Southern California offers great potential for automotive-related businesses.
“California in general has always been strong,” he said.
“And Ventura and Santa Barbara are strong because there is [little] mass transit and because there has always been a high level of ownership of personal vehicles.”
