The importance of well-educated, -prepared leaders in the workforce
The jig is up on Lake Wissota
December 9, 2024
WAUSAU – Two childhood best friends fulfilled a life-long dream last month with the grand opening of Hub Central Collision – the first Hmong-owned auto body repair shop in Wausau.
Kong Yang and Khang Xiong – according to Hub Central Collision’s Business Manager and Kong’s wife, Chee Yang – have always had a passion for auto body work.
“When they were younger, they started fixing vehicles just for fun as a hobby,” she said. “Eventually they both actually ended up going through North Central Technical College’s auto body technician program.”
Armed with Kong and Khang’s nearly quarter century of combined experience, her Masters of Business Administration and professional accounting experience, Chee said the three of them “were able to really put the business together and just really progress.”
Now, roughly a year and a half after starting Hub Central Collision, Chee, Kong and Khang celebrated opening the shop’s new, permanent location at 1010 N. 3rd Ave.
Humble beginnings
Chee said she, Kong and Khang grew up in Marathon County as first-generation Americans after their parents immigrated from Thailand – crediting their success to their parents’ sacrifice and support.
“All of our parents really were like the first to immigrate from Thailand and Laos after the Vietnam War and because of their service and their sacrifices for the United States, they were allowed access (to the U.S.),” she said. “So for our parents to come here and then raise us all to be educated – and also to provide, as best as they could, those opportunities that they did not have growing up – I think that really just allowed us to become our own individuals and find our own identity and really just excel.”
In beginning to develop their auto body repair skills as young adults, Chee said Kong and Khang have spent more than a decade perfecting their craft and honing their abilities to eventually bring top-notch service to the Wausau area under their own brand.
“When you talk about (the) quality work that they put out, they definitely have the track record to back them up,” she said. “Earning that education, they started their career from there and 10 or 12 years later, after working in that industry for so long, they finally decided to branch off on their own.”
Achieving the American dream
Throughout their career, Chee said Kong and Khang were inspired to start their own business instead of continuing to find work with other established auto body shops.
“They were able to see that living in the United States, you have the opportunity – if you work hard enough for it – (to) build something from the ground up as long as you’re willing to sacrifice and commit to it,” she said.
Chee said they started Hub Central Collision in May of 2023 – renting their first two locations.
“It was just a part-time gig (while we) worked our full-time jobs,” she said. “Eventually we were able to really build the business where they could transition full-time.”
When the three of them were still working other jobs, Chee said Kong and Khang would still spend roughly 14 hours collectively a day repairing Hub Central’s customer’s cars, while she helped manage the business and its finances in between her job as an accountant for JARP Industries, Inc.
Chee said Kong and Khang were able to transition to Hub Central full-time after they were presented with the opportunity to work under a technician with 42 years of experience, eventually buying his building.
“Because he was retiring, we had the opportunity to work with him to acquire his building,” she said. “We would not have been able to find a commercial property (like) we did in the price range that we got it for if (he) had not (seen) something in us and wanted to give us that opportunity.”
Now with a permanent location, Chee said she, Kong and Khang are working to establish Hub Central Collision as a go-to place for quality auto body work.
Inspirational growth
Just one month after the grand opening of Hub Central Collision’s permanent location on 3rd Avenue in the heart of Wausau, Chee said business is booming.
“The guys have been extremely busy,” she said. “They’re in the initial phases of going full-time with the business, so they’re still managing the office and also the labor side of things – so they’re still having to wear multiple hats because we don’t necessarily have the funding and the resources and the capacity to do everything.”
As the business grows, Chee said she, Kong and Khang hope their success can serve as inspiration for other people to follow their passions in life and develop success using their individual talents.
“Through hard work and commitment (and) consistency you can make anything possible,” she said.
For more information, visit Hub Central Collision’s Facebook page.
