Shop Look: Our Planet Automotive in Forest Park, Illinois

Shop Name: Our Planet Automotive Services

Location: Forest Park, Illinois

Owners: Tyler Dowling and Peg Dowling

Bay Count: 3

Staff Size: 5

Shortly after his high school graduation a generation ago, Tyler Dowling enrolled in trade school and quickly learned that he enjoyed—and had an aptitude for—performing automotive maintenance. He has now been an ASE-certified technician for 26 years.

His mother, Peg Dowling, meanwhile has established a keen sense for business operations. She served as an administrator at Montessori schools for 25 years.

In 2014, mother and son put their skills together and launched an automotive service business of their own. Once a location was secured, Our Planet Automotive, an eco-friendly auto repair facility in Illinois, opened its doors in 2015.

Carving out a niche as an eco-friendly auto shop was a goal for the Dowlings well before they officially opened.

“I never really understood why we couldn’t recycle just about everything coming through an automotive shop,” says Tyler. “Every part comes in a cardboard box. Let’s put that in recycling. All the metal and plastic that comes off cars, we can disassemble and recycle properly. It was a simple idea to implement in the automotive industry. I had not seen it before, at least not in this state.”

Most cardboard and plastic goes into a normal recycling bin, which is then picked up by the local garbage collecting company. A scrap collector takes away much of the discarded metal.

Our Planet Automotive also uses motor oils that are up to 50% recycled or re-refined, as well as non-toxic, biodegradable antifreeze. Our Planet Automotive's other eco-friendly practices include:

• Using organic and water-based solvents
• Having a paperless workflow system (although the shop will print out work orders and documentation to customers on request, Tyler clarifies)
• Serving compostable coffee in ceramic cups, and using compostable water cups
• Cleaning with cloth towels that can be washed and reused

Our Planet Automotive’s eco-friendliness appeals to some customers, but quality work still comes first, says Peg.

“(It matters) to some, but some people don’t care (about the shop’s eco-friendly initiatives),” says Peg. “Some people care more about the fact that Tyler is a personable mechanic, and you can talk to him. He’s honest and fair with them. I think, for the most part, people think the eco-friendly part is a bonus, but we definitely have some customers who are coming to us just because of that.”

Our Planet Automotive is a single-shop operation that is now in its third location. The current building, tucked away in a quiet corner of Forest Park, Illinois, is a bit smaller than its predecessors, but it has been a blessing in disguise for the Dowlings. The family was forced to relocate in 2020 when the previous space they were renting was in a building that was sold to a new owner.

The current facility opened a month before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Having a smaller shop meant lower operational costs, which offset losses from business dropping at the time, says Tyler.

While her son runs operations in the shop, Peg says she mostly works from home now, in large part because the facility has limited office space. The arrangement has been working, she says.

“I’m mostly doing paperwork anyway,” Peg says. “Occasionally, I’ll get a call because they’re busy. ‘Can you go pick up a part here or there?’, and I do that, too. Sometimes, I give customers rides when they drop off their car. I’m just sort of an auxiliary to the actual running of the business.

“I keep (Tyler) out of trouble with the state, with the sales tax and other taxes and that sort of thing,” she adds with a laugh.

“She has always been exceptional at knowing the ins and outs of operating a business at the highest level,” Tyler says of his mom. “And I think our dynamic together has really worked out great because she helps me learn things I didn’t know (on the business side), and I definitely help her learn more about cars.”

Our Planet Automotive has two lifts and room for a third vehicle, as well as a parking lot where other customer vehicles can be stored as needed. Business ramping up in recent years has necessitated the shop to keep things moving along when vehicles are brought in.

“There’s a level of efficiency that has to be maintained in a shop this small when we had 10,000 square feet before,” Peg says. “It was way more than we needed, so cars could sit. We can’t do that anymore, so you have to keep them turning over when you’re in a smaller location.”

In addition to quick lube services, Our Planet Automotive performs “everything from general maintenance, brakes, and tires, to advanced diagnostics, engines, and transmissions,” says Tyler.

“We don’t do a lot of rebuilding in-house, so we usually farm that stuff out,” he explains. “But we definitely work on high-end vehicles, as well as the beaters around town. There’s no job too big or too small for us.”

Looking ahead, Tyler says he and his mom would be open to relocating again if they can find “a perfect building at the right price that we could purchase and move into.” Tyler has certifications in hybrid and electric vehicles, and with the industry’s move toward more ADAS systems, there are tech-centric opportunities to expand the shop’s service offerings, he says.

Tyler’s son, NAME, who is now in his sophomore year of college, worked at Our Planet Automotive during the summer, and he has expressed an interest in someday taking over the family business.

“So, certainly, if we’re trying to move it on to the next generation, then we definitely need to keep goal-oriented to keep growing the business and moving into something a lot more permanent of a location,” Tyler says.