Forty Under 40: Clint McDonald

Clint McDonald, 31, grew up working at his family’s business in El Dorado.

“I’ve worked at Laney’s since I was old enough to walk,” he said. “I made a buck an hour sweeping up. I went to work every day right after school. I didn’t play baseball.”

Laney’s Collision Services Inc. was founded in El Dorado in 1939 by A.H. Laney.

Needing money after having a couple of costly automobile wrecks, McDonald’s father, Neal McDonald, went to work for Laney’s in 1957 as a clean-up boy. In 1979, Neal McDonald purchased the business and kept the original name.

Since then, Clint McDonald earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Arkansas in 1992 and moved Laney’s to Springdale in 1996.

With the move, McDonald took over as owner of the business.

“We specialize in collision repair of late model and luxury vehicles,” McDonald said, adding that revenue will be about $2.2 million this year.

Laney’s is the largest independently owned repair facility in Arkansas, repairing everything from small dents to major collision damage. Laney’s 25,000-SF building has more than 30 repair and paint bays.

McDonald is president of the Arkansas Collision Repair Association.