Cover Story: Global Motor Coach – Sprinting Towards Excellence
- Details
BY ROB SMENTEK
Cover Art: Global Motor Coach CEO Randy Galbreath with several of his Sprinter builds at Dobbins Landing in Erie, Pa. Photography by Chris Weiss.
If you asked Global Motor Coach CEO Randy Galbreath to name his favorite aspect of the industry, he’s likely to answer, “buying and selling.” In fact, Galbreath has been a natural entrepreneur since he was in high school. When his brothers were heavily invested in riding their new Quad motorbikes, Galbreath was setting his sights on purchasing used DJ equipment to start his own company.
“When I was 15, I sold my four-wheeler and was looking through classifieds and found DJ equipment. I soon was DJ-ing school dances, etc., and making good money.”
But by the time he was in his last year of high school, Galbreath had had his fill of the turntables, and was more interested in a career in the luxury ground transportation world. “I had always loved limos. By 1999, when I was a senior in high school, I basically decided I wanted to buy one. I saved $10,000 to $12,000 from my DJ business and put together a business plan for my dad.”
Impressed by his son’s business acumen, Galbreath’s father co-signed a loan, and the high school senior found himself in possession of a brand-new 120” Tiffany limousine. Within two short years, the new operator added another limousine to his now growing fleet and was soon making plans to add yet another hot new vehicle.
L to R: (Rear) Darrin Klein, Randy Galbreath, and Daniel Lopez. (Front) Tyler Plunko, Mario Vasile, Sonny Gibbs, Daniel Dorrity, Jason Grygier Jr., Scott Dias, Thomas Voltz, Mohamad Sillati, Christine Hillhouse, Michael Silvis, Eric Zahner, and Antonio Anderson. “In 2001, I decided to build a brand-new Excursion stretch, since stretch SUVs were all the rage. I sourced a deal on a used chassis, had it built, and then ran it as part of the fleet. Unfortunately, when winter came around, I found myself barely able to make a payment. So, ultimately, I sold it and made more than I paid for it. That became my philosophy: I would buy limousines before the busy season, get a great deal, and then sell them. That way I’d always have something new and fresh. After I did that a dozen times or so, I realized that people wanted to buy them before I even had it built. I realized that I was going to make more selling the limos than in six months of running them. I still ran the limo company, but I was buying and selling as well. By 2005, I was up to selling two to three a month. I was young and it was exciting,” says Galbreath.
While Galbreath still maintained his limo company—and, in fact, still does to this day—he soon found himself sourcing and selling 180” Lincoln Town Car stretch limousines and founded La Grand Elite Limousine Sales. Working with two builders—one in Michigan and one in California—he sold close to 50 units.
“However, it got to the point where I was doing so many that I didn’t have control over the end product. Either they were really late, or the quality went down. At that point, I decided that I needed to build them.”
Global Motor Coach CEO Randy Galbreath sits in a brand new 14-passenger Limousine Sprinter Still in college, Galbreath found a business partner and the pair launched LGE Coachworks. Soon the partners were building stretch Hummers, eventually moving into the luxury bus and shuttle market.
Though Galbreath sold his share of LGE in 2017, it wasn’t long before he was building buses, this time outside of Long Island. While “exciting” at first, the commute between N.Y. and where he lived in Erie, Pa., was a grind for the young husband and father, and he closed the New York operation in 2019 with plans to launch an operation much closer to home.
As the limobus market began to explode, Galbreath set up shop in Erie, embarking on a deal to open a 16,000-square-foot facility. He closed on the building in March 2020, just as the pandemic was beginning to rear its ugly head.
“It worked out to be a perfect storm, to be honest,” shares Galbreath. “At that point, I had one employee still coming in even after I laid off the staff. We got creative, and we just started building. I started building custom vehicles like a mobile barber shop, some mobile offices, and a clothing store with racks. I was able to do some overseas work as well. The coolest thing I ever built was sent to Africa. It was the highest-end vehicle I ever made. It was on a TEMSA TS30 and was amazing.”
Global Motor Coach’s 13-passenger Mercedes-Benz Executive Sprinter Shuttle Though he was finding some success building custom buses, the pandemic afforded Galbreath the opportunity to look closely at this business.
“I actually was spinning my wheels a bit, and wasn’t being efficient,” he says. That’s when I made the decision to get into Mercedes-Benz Sprinters. At the time, my main production was limobuses and luxury shuttles. By 2021, people were starting to get back to doing things. The Sprinters were working well, so that became our focus. It panned out really well when I decided to set my sights on specific vehicles that I was going to build. The custom stuff is great, but unfortunately it takes a really long time to make. I realized that I wasn’t going to grow doing custom work.” Ultimately, Galbreath developed a plan to build several models of Sprinters that would appeal to operators in a variety of markets.
“I came up with three different models of Sprinters and started building them. They became our focus, and they are great to work with.”
Tyler Plunko routers out a part to be finished and installed in a Global Motor Coach Executive Shuttle Global Motor Coach’s current bestseller is their Executive Shuttle, which seats 13 passengers. Also available is their Limousine Sprinter, which fits 13 and has crossover appeal for both party/retail clients and corporate customers. Last is their party-style Sprinter, which is offered in two configurations that can hold either 14 or 15.
“My focus is efficiency,” says Galbreath. “I’ve picked my niche, and I have the models that I sell to a core group of clients.”
Galbreath’s emphasis on efficiency has paid off in spades. Now with a staff of 17 full-time workers and 10-12 part-timers, Global Motor Coach can deliver up to six Sprinters a month. “I figured out that prior to COVID it would take a month to build the interior of a limobus. Now I have three different teams. Start to finish with an empty cargo van, we can complete a Sprinter in nine days. 2023 was a record year: We built 59 Sprinters, and we also sold a number of used vehicles. We’re always buying and selling. That’s my thing ... I love buying and getting a good deal,” he says.
“My focus is efficiency. I’ve picked my niche, and I have the models that I sell to a core group of clients. – Randy Galbreath, CEO of Global Motor Coach.”
After production became steady at four to five completed Sprinters per month, Galbreath decided to work closer with Mercedes-Benz and become a certified Mercedes-Benz eXpertUpfitter. This new eXpertUpfitter Status placed Global Motor Coach among an exclusive group of builders to which there are less than 100 authorized upfitters in North America. Recently, Galbreath attended a very unique opportunity at the MBUSA Sprinter production plant in Charleston, S.C., which was only offered to certified eXpertUpfitters. This visit helped Global Motor Coach to obtain up-to-date information on all new Sprinter van products along with strategic seminars for three days.
While Galbreath takes pride in the speed at which his team can produce a Sprinter, he’s especially proud of the level of service that Global provides its clientele.
Jason Grygier Jr. laminates a custom Corian bar top for a Global Motor Coach Limousine Sprinter “Unfortunately, every builder is going to have a problem with their builds. No matter what, stuff happens. After all, we still have people working on these conversions. The key thing that I figured out is that it’s about how quickly and easily those problems get resolved. As a result, our main focus in 2024 is on making sure that if someone has an issue we’re going to get them the help needed right away so the issue can be resolved and get the vehicle back in service as soon as possible. We’ll get on the phone with their mechanic or get them parts—whatever needs to be done. Customer service is why people buy anymore, or the relationships they have. That’s why people come back,” he says.
Galbreath is quick to credit his personnel for the repeat business. In addition to Office Manager Christine Hillhouse and Operations Manager Tom Voltz, who serves as Galbreath’s right hand man, Sales Manager Marty Vitelli plays an important role in delivering top-notch service to Global’s customer base. Along with these key managerial positions, Global Motor Coach has an amazing team in the production shop. With three teams in the shop, any model can be produced in less than two weeks from a cargo van to a luxury shuttle or limousine layout.
“Marty’s been in the industry his entire life. It’s in his family. We’ve been friends for at least 15 years, even when we were technically competitors. Bottom line, he knows everybody and he’s a super nice guy. I took him on full time as my sales manager in January 2023, and we crushed it last year. I like good people, and we flow well together even though he’s in California and I’m in Pennsylvania. It’s worked out well to where we have a well-rounded company for sales and customer service,” says Galbreath.
Daniel Dorrity welds the frame of a bar unit to be installed in a Global Motor Coach Limousine Sprinter In addition to his first-rate team, Galbreath’s role as an operator keeps his ear close to the ground, so to speak. With La Grand Elite Limousine, the builder still operates a 10-vehicle fleet in the Erie area, which he says keeps him in the loop when it comes to operators’ needs and expectations.
“It really helps me understand what’s happening out there,” says Galbreath.
As 2024 comes to a close, Galbreath says the future of Global Motor Coach will continue to be their popular Sprinter lineup.
“They’re awesome vehicles, and we have everything dialed in. My goal for 2024 and beyond is quality control. I started implementing processes with my guys, creating checklists, and holding people accountable for certain items. What we’re doing now is building a YouTube channel with our specific vehicles that focuses on a problem that we’ve had in the past. Operators don’t get angry when things go wrong; they get mad when they can’t be fixed in a timely manner. We’re providing a resource that will give you a three-minute video that will show how to fix issues. As a business owner, I want to eliminate stress and anxiety for problems operators could potentially incur,” he says. With many industry shifts happening over these past years, Global Motor Coach is dedicated to staying current with customer needs and producing top quality conversions. [CD1024]