SALT LAKE CITY (October 1, 2025) Crush Software Solutions LLC announced it has acquired S3 Software Solutions LLC, developer of Crush, the largest yard management system used by more than 200 self-service auto recycling yards in the U.S. and Canada. S3 will operate as Crush Software Solutions LLC. Ryan Paterson will serve as chief executive officer and founder Dimitri Gerontis will serve as chief operating officer.
Terms were not disclosed. The ownership group, led by people with deep roots in auto recycling, including the family offices of Tom D. Klauer Jr. and Kendig K. Kneen, is committing an additional $3 million to reengineer the platform, add new capabilities and return buying power to independent yards. Between the two they have operated over 70 yards during the last three decades. “We have learned by operating our own yards that we can use the CRUSH software to teach our buyers to buy inventory that will yield far better results and thereby far more profits” Klauer said.
S3 has supported self-service auto recyclers for more than 15 years with Crush across the United States and Canada. With the acquisition, Crush Software Solutions will accelerate the roadmap for Crush 2.0. The company’s goal is to double the footprint to 400 plus yards by delivering a modern, cloud-hosted, enterprise-ready system that improves vehicle sourcing, pricing and sales.
“Independent operators deserve technology that works for them. We are building Crush 2.0 to give yards more control over buying, inventory and margin,” said Klauer. “This investment will modernize the platform and remove friction from daily operations so teams can focus on throughput and customer experience.”
“For current customers, nothing changes immediately. No disruption. Same highly secure platform. More investment,” said Gerontis. “This is an exciting time for the Crush community. The new funding lets us move faster on features, strengthen security and boost performance.”
What improvements to expect with Crush 2.0
- Complete re-engineering of the software with a modern cloud architecture
- Data-driven vehicle acquisition
- Integrated marketplace connections
- Enterprise-grade analytics and security
The company’s near-term focus includes customer listening sessions, a transparent roadmap and early-access pilots in select markets.
Leadership background
Dimitri Gerontis founded S3 Software Solutions and built the Crush platform used by more than 200 self-service yards across the U.S. and Canada. He will serve as Chief Operating Officer of Crush Software Solutions, overseeing product, customer success and day-to-day operations
Tom D. Klauer is a long-time auto-recycling executive. As a founding partner and former President/CEO of Pick-n-Pull Auto Dismantlers, he led the team to triple the store count and grow annual revenue to ~$500M before departing in 2015. He later spearheaded iPull-u-Pull Auto Dismantlers, where he now serves as Managing Partner.
Kendig K. Kneen is a veteran manufacturing and operations executive in scrap-recycling equipment and U-Pull-It operations. He has led Al-jon, a maker of car crushers, balers and landfill compactors. He has also held leadership roles with iPull-uPull, bringing hands-on yard experience in pricing, throughput and safety to the team.
Ryan Paterson is a technology leader with more than 20 years in federal and commercial markets, will serve as chief executive officer. He founded IST Research in 2008 and led it to an acquisition in September 2020 after deploying advanced information systems in hard-to-reach regions. He has served at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency twice.
Kay Schaefer is a tech entrepreneur known for launching and scaling digital businesses that turn attention into outcomes, will serve as chief product officer. Schaefer built Gamers.Online for the gaming community, helped grow KaFe Rocks as a performance media/affiliate leader and drives operational innovation at iPull-uPull.
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ABOUT CRUSH SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS
Crush Software Solutions LLC builds software for auto recycling operators. The company is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. In September 2025 Crush Software Solutions acquired S3 Software Solutions, developer of the Crush yard management system. For more than 15 years Crush has supported self-service yards at more than 200 active installations across the U.S. and Canada. Crush 2.0 modernizes how auto recyclers source, price and sell vehicles and parts.
Media Contact
Jo Trizila, TrizCom PR for Crush Software Solutions
Email: jo@trizcom.com
Cell/Text: 214-232-0078
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:
Automotive Recycling Toolbox Edition interviews Tom D. Klauer Jr. on the recent acquisition of S3 Software Solutions, LLC, to form Crush Software Solution LLC in order to take the leading self-service management system to the next level. The newly expanded team includes Crush Founder, Dimitri Gerontis, who will serve as Chief Operating Officer.
Plans for “CRUSH 2.0” include its establishment as an enterprise system on the cloud, improved reporting, and internet vehicle purchasing capabilities with real-time pricing tools. Future advancements could be cutting-edge reporting dashboards with KPIs to customer loyalty programs, and more. Klauer says “I've been in this business for a long time and still own and operate yards. The industry’s been struggling to get the right inventory at the right price, and a lot of that’s due to outside forces messing with margins. Crush 2.0 is built to fix that—and I knew I had to be part of the solution. This is the kind of change we’ve been waiting for.
“September 19 marked the official close,” says Klauer, a lead investor in the new venture. “But we didn’t wait around—we’d already built a seasoned team to retool CRUSH 2.0. Even before the ink was dry, we were investing in development. Today, we’ve got 10 full-time engineers focused on building out the software.
Klauer is a CRUSH user at his five self-service facilities, and approached Gerontis on improvements he’d like to see, which ultimately led to this deal. “It is already a great product, and Dimitri has a very good understanding of the self-service business. He has done a wonderful job with the tools he’s had to work with to build the CRUSH system. We are excited to team up to make it even better,” he says. For now, users can expect the same reliability that they have come to appreciate. Klauer says that any new improvements will be incrementally rolled out so as not to be disruptive to any users.
Read our full EXCLUSIVE interview with Tom Klauer in the upcoming October/November issue of ToolBox!
