OUR STORY
A Reputation for Excellence 30 Years in the Making!
The Bates Collision story begins more than 30 years ago in Baytown, Texas through the vision of Lee Bates, a young repair technician who got his start sweeping floors in a body shop, but had a love for vehicles, developed a real talent for repairing them and knew he could provide a remarkably better repair experience in his hometown.
Since our beginnings in 1990, we have been committed to treating our customers like family; with the highest levels of Quality, Service, Convenience, and Respect available in the collision repair industry. We work hard every day to earn that trust by treating every customer like family (and we’re local, so some of them actually are)!
Below you can learn more about us and see how we got from where we started to where we are today.
1990
Owners, Lee and Leila Bates married in 1989 and together they open the first Bates Collision Center in 1990, in their home town at 4911 North Main Street in Baytown, TX.
1992
Bates Collision quickly out grew its first facility and moves to a much bigger new home just a mile down the road at 3219 North Main Street.
1993
Bates Collision Centers was the first in the area to achieve I-Car Gold Class Certified Repair Center status; joining a very elite group of collision repair centers in the nation. Today, only around 10% of collision repair centers in the U.S. accomplish this certification and Bates Collision has attained it every single year since 1993.
1995
Bates Collision keeps on growing and Lee & Leila Bates purchase more land & embark on a major expansion to the facility.
1996
Expansion is complete and the Bates Collision Center team moves into their state of the art new facilities.
1999
The Bates Collision team starts it’s annual tradition of presenting “new” used vehicles to deserving families through volunteer staff hours and donations each Christmas. The Bates staff has refurbished and presented nearly 40 vehicles since the 1st one in 1999.
2003
In early 2003, Lee & Leila Bates purchased land and an existing building to house their second repair center at 15532 I-10 East, Channelview, TX. They immediately began renovations & expansions to bring a State-Of-The-Art collision repair facility to service the Channelview community.
2008
Texas Governor Rick Perry recognizes the Bates Collision staff at the Governor’s 25th annual Volunteer Awards for their annual tradition that began in 1999 of presenting “new” used vehicles to deserving families through volunteer staff hours and donations each holiday season.
2018
Lee & Leila Bates were named 2018 Citizens of the Year.
TODAY
Today, Bates Collision Centers are the premier collision repair center in the communities we serve. Our reputation for excellence has been 30 years in the making!
Baytown Sun Reader’s Choice Award Winners
Bates Collision Center has been chosen for the Baytown Sun Reader’s Choice Award in 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
It means so much to us to be recognized by our customers. Our connection to the Bay Area community has always been so important to us. Click here to read more about our story…
Green Technology
Recycling for the Environment
Air conditioning refrigerant (MACS certified mechanic)
Excess paint and thinner is recycled.
Aluminum parts
Sheet metal
Plastic bumpers & body parts
Batteries
Cardboard packaging
To Protect the Environment and Employees
Paint mixing occurs in an explosion proof mix room with fume extraction
Spraying occurs in a downdraft spray booth
Sophisticated HVLP (high volume, low pressure) spray equipment is used to reduce overspray emissions into the air
Painter wears a paint mask and a full body paint suit to avoid inhalation and skin absorption of toxins
S/P2 Safety & Pollution Prevention Training is utilized
Paint gun washers utilized reducing the amount of solvent used in clean paint guns by 80%
Computerized paint mixing system designed to color match and mix the proper quantity of paint for the repair, limiting product waste
Energy Efficiency
We’ve pioneered the use of water-based paint versus solvent-based paint for significant reductions in Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Hazardous Air Pollutants.
Our paint center utilizes the latest spray booth technology, enabling the capture of 98% of all paint particulates during both the spray and bake cycles.
Radiant heat to heat only specific objects.
Industrial set-back thermostats to reduce energy use in off hours.
Spray booth has commercially insulated walls to keep heat in, and has an afterburner to quickly ramp up the heat and has a programmed timer to shut off automatically.
- We use fast-dry paint products to reduce the duration of the spray booths bake cycles.
“Despite collision shops not being perceived as front runners of the green movement, our dedication to reducing hazardous waste and protecting our environment and our community has always been a priority” says Lee Bates, President-Bates Collision Centers. “We will continue our dedication to be on the cutting edge of eco-friendly technology for collision repair shops.”