LAS VEGAS — Fixed ops solutions provider KEEPS Inc. announced the retirement of the company’s founder, Vernon “Ray” Branch, effective June 30.

“It is with a combination of disappointment and excitement that I announce the retirement of Ray Branch,” said Les Silver, chairman KEEPS Inc. “Ray had a distinguished career spanning all aspects of dealership fixed operations from OEM, to dealership, to consulting, to the founding of KEEPS 25 years ago. He was instrumental in pioneering the concepts behind KPIs in general and the use of ROAMs analytics software to guide service management in the optimization of service department performance. He made a tremendous contribution to both the industry and KEEPS Inc., and he will be missed.”

Branch founded KEEPS in 1993. As well as creating many of the automotive industry’s most critical KPIs, he is also widely respected for developing some of the best management practices used by top operators in the retail automotive industry today. Branch partnered with Silver, founder of Newgen Results, MPI and Service Repair Solutions, in 2013. In 2016, Fraser McCombs Capital partnered with KEEPS, assisting with the acquisition of Dynatron Software, which is now a wholly owned subsidiary, all according to the announcement.