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December 8, 2025
RIB MOUNTAIN – At Yach’s Body & Custom, Inc., President Henry Yach III said it’s always been about more than just cars – creating a professional, clean space with staff who care and “just happen to fix cars.”
Henry said it’s a philosophy he learned early in his life and one he carries forward daily at the third-generation collision repair facility.
Located at 152746 Menton Lane, Henry said the shop – which celebrated 70 years in business in 2025 – has long centered on listening to customers, providing care and delivering exceptional collision repair, a legacy started by his grandfather, Henry Yach I, in 1955.
Henry said his father, Henry Yach II, ran the business for 40 years before he formally joined in 2005.
In 2013, he stepped into the role of third-generation leader – a role he felt he had been preparing for his whole life.
A forward-thinking legacy
Since 1955, Henry said, Yach’s has built a reputation for quality and skilled auto body repair.
Beyond experience and effort, he said the family-owned shop is distinguished by OEM certifications from 11 car brands, representing 80% of vehicles on the road today.
“Ninety percent of our work is collision repair, and we’re the only certified collision center within 80 miles in any direction,” he said. “Even the car dealers [representing those brands] in our area don’t have the certification we do.”
That foresight, Henry said, began with his father – who “had the forethought to attain and maintain” that.
“We’re an independent facility and positioned as the best in the market because this is our sole focus,” he said. “We are the best because… we’re laser-focused on what we do in partnership with customers’ [car manufacturers].”
Henry said car manufacturers care deeply about where their customers go for repair.
“When a person gets into a car accident and has a bad body shop experience, they’re 70% more likely to switch car brands,” he said. “They want to retain those customers, and we’re here as a partner to them to ensure a safe, proper repair.”
Today’s vehicles, Henry said, are increasingly complex, which makes certification even more important.
“That certification is a differentiator, especially with [technologies] like blind spot monitors and cross-section traffic alerts…,” he said. “There is so much technology on vehicles.”
Word of the shop’s capabilities and strong online presence, Henry said, often draws customers to Yach’s from far beyond the local area, including the Upper Peninsula.
While most business comes from within 10 miles of the shop – which has been at its current location since 1971 – Henry said many people are willing to drive 45 minutes to an hour once they learn the shop is certified.
“They say they have no problem driving 45 minutes to an hour,” he said.
Caring for customers by caring for the team
Technical excellence may draw people in, but Henry said customer experience brings them back.
The shop’s large base of repeat customers, he said, is rooted in how they care for their employees – because that care translates directly to how employees care for customers.
“If people are cared for, that translates into how they fix cars and how they will care for the people we serve and lead to being the leader in the communities we serve,” he said. “Our core values – integrity, quality, accountability, teamwork and attitude – create a high-caring, high-performance company. We have worked really hard to create a culture of care and performance, and it’s a blessing for sure.”
Henry said that culture has helped Yach’s stay properly staffed even as the number of new technicians entering the industry has declined.
The shop’s mission, he said, anchors it all: To glorify God by providing consistent, efficient, high-quality collision repairs, with an unsurpassed repair experience.
“It’s our brand promise, from the first customer phone call or walk-in all the way through dropoff, estimating, repairs, pickup and delivery,” he said. “Competence leads to confidence, and we can be their advisor and say, ‘We have you. We understand.’”
Henry said he understands the emotional weight of repair work, having survived a fatal car accident himself.
“People just want their car back and to be heard and cared for,” he said.
Each morning, Henry said the general manager leads a production meeting in which the team reviews the day and reflects on one of the company’s core values, with a team member sharing insights.
Henry said the routine is inspired by John Kotter’s “Leading Change” – a book that emphasizes that simply talking about values isn’t enough, you have to live them.
Each meeting, he said, concludes with a voluntary huddle that includes scripture and prayer.
“It’s optional, even though everything we do is related to faith,” he said. “We just want to show team members we care.”
Henry said the culture at Yach’s quickly stands out to new team members.
“When one started, he was shocked that we [go through our days] without yelling,” he said. “This is just normal – it doesn’t have to be like that.”
Henry said the team of 18-20 works on about 100 cars per month, with 25-30 vehicles on site at any given time.
The operation, he said, spans three buildings: a 16,500-square-foot main office and production facility, a storage building and an aluminum repair facility for calibrations and advanced technology work.
“The issue isn’t so much the cars coming in but the ability to get to them and get them out quickly,” he said.
Growth, vision, industry leadership
As he moved into a leadership role, Henry said he recognized the value of direct repair programs with insurance companies and spent years building those relationships.
Experiencing significant growth from 2008 to 2011, Henry said the business earned the Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year award in 2011.
Certifications followed, he said, starting with Daimler-Chrysler in 2012 and culminating in 2020 with recognition as one of the original founding shops pursuing OEM certifications.
“We were recognized as one of the original 80, and that looked like having a vision of where the industry was going,” he said. “My dad was very forward-thinking and known as a leader, and I’ve strived to have that same vision for the future.”
To continue strengthening that leadership, Henry said he participates in a C12 Leadership Forum – a peer group where business leaders learn from one another.
The experience, he said, taught him what he calls a “buffalo mentality” – charging into a storm rather than away from it.
“I’m thankful we are 70 years in business, but I have been more diligent and worked even harder in the past couple of years,” he said. “You can’t kick back. It’s about keeping the momentum going and building on that.”
Henry said his understanding of leadership also extends beyond the shop.
“My nucleus family and relationship with Jesus is preeminent – you can’t give what you don’t have,” he said. “It starts with my relationship pointing up, my relationship with my wife and my four kids. I can’t model here what I’m not doing at home.”
Though there have been challenging seasons, Henry said diligence and intentionality have carried the business forward.
“The Yach’s family is a secondary family here, and if I focus on my family – my wife and four children – and they are cared for and can support me, I can give more here,” he said.
Henry said that balance and focus translated into measurable results.
“2024 provided the greatest growth the business has ever experienced, with top-line sales growing 32%,” he said.
Henry said Yach’s achieved it by carefully examining and strengthening every part of the operation.
“We looked at every aspect of the business and asked, ‘What is the top performing part’ and kept learning, doing a lot of investments in the facility and efficiencies while never straying from the care of our people,” he said.
Growth continued into 2025, Henry said, with a heightened focus on cross-training and strengthening execution.
“We’ve been going at a pace where we can execute really well,” Yach said.
Yach’s Body & Custom held a 70-year anniversary celebration earlier this fall with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony in partnership with the chamber.
