Copart is an American success story. Founded in 1982 by Willis J. Johnson, Copart started with just one salvage auction in Vallejo, California. Today Copart boasts more than 140 locations worldwide and sells more than 1 million cars, trucks & SUVs each year.
Willis learned about business from his entrepreneurial father, who started and sold several successful business ventures, despite not knowing how to read or write. While other boys were learning how to play baseball, Willis was learning how to milk cows, build houses, and run restaurants.
Willis inherited from his dad a head for numbers and a desire to work for himself. But Willis was also an innovator.
Copart Goes Public
His desire to always improve and always grow his business led to him taking Copart public in 1994, trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol "CPRT." Going public was a pivotal time in Copart's history, as it gave the company the capital it needed to go across the country, and eventually into Canada and the UK.
In 2003, Willis' vision helped transform Copart into a true technology company with the development of VB2, an online sales technology which changed the industry by breaking down geographical barriers and opening up sales to a worldwide buyer base. Today, VB2 is used not only to sell cars for the insurance industry, but for dealers, banks, and the public.
Willis still has a tremendous passion for business. As Copart's CEO, he doesn't have to milk cows anymore, but he's still up just as early — usually arriving at work between 5:30 and 6 a.m. to dream up new ways of making it easier for people to sell cars.
