Copart history

Many of the chain's customers agreed that PIP was a good concept; by 1990, about 70 percent of Copart's vehicle transactions were made through the program.

Cofounder and CEO Willis Johnson took the company public in 1994, retaining a 31 percent stake.

The company's largest purchase to date came in May 1995, when it bought NER Auction Group for $43.6 million.

Furthermore, the ratio of vehicles processed through PIP declined to just 25 percent in fiscal 1996.

By the end of fiscal 1997, about one-third of Copart's total sales were through PIP, and 61 percent remained on fixed-fee consignment.

He was also early to embrace the internet, launching an online bidding platform in 1998, three years after EBay Inc. was created.

He’s contributed at least $1.5 million to conservative causes since 2001, including $50,000 to the “Trump Victory” political action committee this year.

By 2003, the company grew to 100 locations across the country and became the first to launch a completely online auction model.

Finally, Copart’s vehicles were available to everybody! And the rest, as the say, is history. It was created in 2004 as a Florida Licensed Auto Dealer.

2007 Copart expands to the United Kingdom.

2008 Copart opens website to the public.

2009 FIRST to advertise to Members through racing.

The trailer is a far cry from the Tennessee mansion he bought for $28 million from country singer and fellow car enthusiast Alan Jackson in 2010.

In 2012, Copart began expanding to the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Bahrain, Oman, Spain, Ireland and Germany.

2013 Copart has 750,000 Members in over 170 countries and launches industry’s FIRST iPad App.

2015 Copart expands international presence to Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman.

By 2016, Copart established an international presence in Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Spain and Germany.

The global growth continued in 2018 with expansion into Finland and significant growth in Germany.