Mauldin Body Shop and Towing

Herbert Mauldin's Legacy Lives on in His Daughter and Granddaughter

by Cindi Braun

Whenever theres a need for a heavy-duty wrecker to clear an accident scene, theres a good chance Mauldin Body Shop & Towing will be there. And if Mauldin is on the scene, you might catch a glimpse of a young woman in a pink safety vest driving the wrecker.

Meet Angela Reece, Reinhardt graduate, certified firefighter, softball player, former Mrs. Cherokee County, and WreckMaster Top Ten.

Angela breaks all kinds of stereotypes every day.

She handles a 75-ton rotator truck with skill and precision, pulling overturned tractor trailers upright, assisting emergency responders with life-saving extrications, and rescuing large farm animals in trouble all in a days work, and sometimes a nights work.

Angela inherited the familys penchant for towing and repairing vehicles. She learned from leaders in the industry: her grandfather Herbert Mauldin, mother Debbie Weaver, and father John Weaver.

We handle everything from small vehicles all the way up to moving tractor trailers and construction equipment. Weve also handled derailed trains and even airplane crashes, said Angela. After we tow a car, or if you bring it here, we work with the insurance companies. We can repair any make, model vehicle you have. We can do the body work, paint work, frame work, from start to finish.

Towing Services
Located on Butterworth Road since 1961, the company offers towing and recovery services, lockout service, relocation of vehicles, and large animal rescue (in coordination with Cherokee County Fire Department).

Mauldin has a fleet of vehicles, which includes a Peterbuilt semi with a Landoll trailer used for heavy equipment or oversized storage container relocation, three heavy-duty wreckers (a 30-ton Kenworth, 60-ton Peterbuilt, and a 75-ton Peterbuilt rotator), one medium-duty wrecker, and flatbed rollback wreckers for light-duty towing needs.

All wrecker drivers are WreckMaster certified, which means theyve learned the latest skills and techniques in the towing and recovery industry. Six drivers are also trained firefighters, including John and Angela. Four drivers are career firefighters in Cherokee County, including Brian Reece, Angelas husband.

Our drivers are trained to do towing and recovery, damage-free, said John Weaver. Were the only Cherokee County wrecker service with all its drivers WreckMaster trained and certified.

John has long supported WreckMaster training. He attended his first WreckMaster class in 1996 and continued through the training until he was named WreckMaster of the Year in 2005. Hes so influential in the field that he was inducted into the International Towing Museum Hall of Fame in 2016. He travels throughout the southeast to teach a heavy-duty cross-training course for towers and fire rescue. He also serves as chairman of the operations committee for the Traffic Incident Management Enhancement (TIME) Task Force.

Angela is following in her fathers footsteps and is the highest-trained female WreckMaster worldwide. She was named WreckMaster Top Ten in 2010. She is also a member of the Service League of Cherokee County, Safe Kids of Cherokee County, Ghost Out, and TIME Task Force of Atlanta.

Body Shop
Whatever the cause of those dings, dents, and scratches, Mauldins full-service body shop can transform your vehicle. Managed by Debbie Weaver, the shop warranties all work for the lifetime the customer owns the vehicle.

Prior to getting started, technicians meet with customers to learn the history of the car. Technicians then prepare a detailed estimate of what theyll do to restore the car to pre-accident condition.

We work with the insurance companies for customers. We help argue for what we think is needed, said Angela. We fix the vehicle the way we would want it to be if it was our personal vehicle. We treat it like we would be driving it every day.

The shop uses only best quality PPG paints to ensure optimum gloss and durability. Trained technicians mix colors by factory computer codes and then custom tint to match the vehicles specific color. The shop also offers paintless dent removal.

Using two Brewco frame and alignment racks, technicians can detect misalignments and restore vehicles to proper structural alignment. This ensures that the car not only looks good but is safe to drive.

The Fourth Generation
While the youngest of Herberts descendants is not quite ready to take over the shop, Angela and Brians ten-year-old daughter Sierra is already fascinated by the business. Shes been known to provide helpful suggestions for the wrecker drivers and has begged her mom to take her out on calls. In a few more years, Cherokee County may have a second woman in a pink safety vest driving heavy-duty wreckers.

Mauldin Body Shop and Towing
143 Butterworth Road, Canton, GA 30114
770-479-4851
MauldinBodyShop.com
Facebook.com/MauldinBodyShop