Howard's Wrecker Service

What Howard's Wrecker Service does

Howard's Wrecker Service is a regional towing, recovery, and heavy haul operator founded in 1971 by Billy Howard in Smyrna, Georgia. The business began as a full-service gas station and expanded into towing within its first year of operation by purchasing its first truck. Over more than five decades, the company has grown into a multi-service fleet operator serving Central Georgia, including Atlanta, Cobb, and Fulton counties, under a single phone-based 24/7 dispatch operation.

The company operates a fleet of 30 vehicles encompassing flatbeds, heavy-duty wreckers (25–100 ton capacity with rotating recovery cranes), landolls, and lowboys with ground-loading capability of 20–85 tons and gross combination weights up to 254,000 lbs. Service lines include light and medium duty towing, heavy duty towing, heavy haul trucking for over-dimensional equipment, vehicle recovery (from simple winch outs to overturned tractor-trailer extraction), secure monitored vehicle and equipment storage, and abandoned vehicle auctions. The company is fully licensed and insured for both local and long-distance towing. Its digital presence is hosted at howardswrecker.guardianfleetservice.com, and it maintains two physical locations: headquarters at 2465 Ventura Place in Smyrna and a secondary site at 1650 Armstrong Place in Atlanta.

Howard's Wrecker Service generates revenue through transaction-based service fees across three primary customer segments: individual vehicle owners (breakdowns, accidents, roadside assistance), commercial accounts (fleet recovery, oversized equipment transport, heavy haul), and government/municipal customers (vehicle impound, abandoned vehicle processing). Pricing is quote-based per job, with no public rate card and no disclosed pricing models. The company operates as a subsidiary of Guardian Fleet Services, a larger fleet services parent organization that provides organizational backing, shared branding, and a unified digital platform across its portfolio. Marketing channels are concentrated on local SEO, Google Business Profile, an email newsletter, and industry association memberships (United Way, Georgia Motor Trucking Association, Georgia Trucking, Towing Museum).

Name

Howard's Wrecker Service

Legal name

Howard's Wrecker Service

Website

https://howardswrecker.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Howard's Wrecker Service is a Central Georgia towing, recovery, and heavy haul operator founded in 1971, serving consumers, commercial fleets, and municipalities across Atlanta, Cobb, and Fulton counties with a 30-vehicle specialized fleet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Towing and Recovery Services

NAICS

Motor Vehicle Towing (48841), Motor Vehicle Towing (488410)

SIC

Services-Automotive Repair, Services & Parking (7500), Trucking & Courier Services (No Air) (4210)

akta.pro primary industry

Accident Recovery, Winch-Out & Towing Services (Light/Heavy) (TLAKAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Towing, Recovery & Vehicle Removal Services (TLAJAJAC), Automotive & Finished Vehicle (Car Hauler) TL Carriers (TLADADAJ), Salvage, Total Loss & Insurance Auction Services (TLABAKAH)

Keywords

• Towing and recovery
• Heavy haul trucking
• Vehicle recovery services
• Wrecker services
• Vehicle storage

Headquarters

HQ city

Smyrna

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Towing Services: Light and medium duty towing services providing safe and efficient transport for vehicles of various sizes, plus heavy duty towing services ranging 25-100 tons with rotating recovery cranes for emergency situations.
2. Heavy Haul Trucking: Oversized equipment and product transportation with ground-loading capabilities from 20 to 85 tons and gross combination weights up to 254,000 lbs.
3. Vehicle Recovery: Recovery services from simple winch outs to complex overturned tractor-trailer recovery, available 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
4. Vehicle Storage: Secure storage solutions for vehicles, equipment, and cargo in monitored facilities.
5. Abandoned Vehicle Auctions: Sale of vehicles not claimed by their owners through abandoned vehicle auctions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Howard's Wrecker Service is a Smyrna, Georgia-based towing and recovery company founded in 1971 that provides light duty towing, heavy duty towing, heavy haul trucking, accident and vehicle recovery, secured vehicle storage, and vehicle auction services. The company serves individual consumers, commercial fleets, and government/municipal clients with a fleet of wreckers and specialized recovery vehicles. It operates as part of the Guardian Fleet Services platform.

Product overview

Howard's Wrecker Service is a Guardian Fleet Services Company offering a unified suite of towing and recovery services. The company operates a fleet of 30 vehicles including flatbeds, heavy-duty wreckers, landolls, and lowboys to serve Central Georgia. Core offerings include Light Duty Towing for vehicles of various sizes, Heavy Duty Towing with 25-100 ton wreckers and rotating recovery cranes, Heavy Haul Trucking with 20-85 ton ground-loading capabilities, Vehicle Recovery services, Storage facilities, and Auctions for abandoned vehicles. All services operate 24/7 with 24-hour dispatch.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Guardian Fleet ServicescoreOthersHoward's Wrecker Service is a Guardian Fleet Services Company, operating as a subsidiary or brand under the Guardian Fleet Services parent organization. This affiliation provides organizational backing and brand association with a larger fleet services network.
• United WayminorOthersHoward's Wrecker Service is a proud member of United Way, indicating community involvement and corporate social responsibility participation.
• Georgia Motor Trucking AssociationminorOthersMembership in Georgia Motor Trucking Association, indicating industry association and networking within the trucking and transportation sector.
• Georgia TruckingminorOthersAffiliation with Georgia Trucking organization for industry visibility and networking.
• Towing MuseumminorOthersMembership in Towing Museum, demonstrating commitment to preserving towing industry heritage and history.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Copart: National vehicle auction operator with overlapping exposure to the salvage and abandoned-vehicle auction segment that Howard's operates. Comparable as a competitor and ecosystem participant in the disposal side of Howard's business, and a benchmark for online auction scale in the same end market.
• IAA (RB Global): Major salvage and total-loss vehicle auction operator, now part of RB Global. Comparable to Howard's auction business line for abandoned vehicles and provides a national-scale benchmark that pressures Howard's local auction economics.
• Daseke: National flatbed and specialized heavy-haul trucking platform built through roll-up acquisitions. Comparable to Howard's as a scaled competitor in specialized heavy haul, and provides a model for how regional heavy-haul operators can be consolidated.
• AAA (American Automobile Association): National roadside assistance and towing membership organization with extensive contracted towing provider networks. Comparable as the dominant consumer-facing channel for towing demand that Howard's serves, and a structural counterparty in how towing jobs are routed and reimbursed.
• Guardian Fleet Services: Howard's parent company and broader fleet services operator offering towing, recovery, and fleet management across multiple geographies. Comparable as the platform that aggregates Howard's specialty heavy-duty capability with similar regional operators, and the entity that defines the competitive context for Howard's.

Others

• Rush Enterprises: Largest network of commercial truck dealerships and service centers in North America. Comparable as an ecosystem participant supporting the heavy-duty commercial vehicle segment Howard's serves, including parts, service, and used truck resale adjacent to Howard's auction business.

Regional players

• Quality Carriers: Bulk and specialized trucking carrier with strong U.S. Southeast footprint and tank/bulk expertise. Comparable as a specialized Southeastern freight operator with overlap in regional heavy-duty logistics demand that Howard's also serves.

Direct peers

• Melton Truck Lines: Flatbed and specialized heavy-haul trucking operator with national reach in oversized freight. Comparable to Howard's flatbed and landoll-based equipment transport capability, with a different scale and geographic scope.
• Landstar System: Asset-light freight and heavy-haul transportation network with significant oversized and specialized freight exposure. Comparable to Howard's heavy haul trucking and oversized equipment transport capabilities, though operating at a national scale through independent agents.
• Bennett Motor Express: Specialized heavy-haul trucking carrier with significant oversized and over-dimensional load capability. Directly comparable to Howard's heavy haul trucking service line in equipment type, capacity range, and customer use cases (machinery, construction, industrial).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/howardswreckerservice

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Howard's Wrecker Service