Canada Catalyst, What's Old Is New Again

Stephanie & Andrew

The saying “what’s old is new again” couldn’t be more accurate for the small-town Rodney business, Canada Catalyst. Owners Andrew and Stephanie Moore proudly boast that they are in “the helping business”; helping people to keep their Volkswagen vehicles on the road for many years to come.

The concept behind Canada Catalyst originated when Andrew’s personal Volkswagen was on its last wheels. Andrew quickly learned that finding parts for these German-made vehicles was nothing short of amicable, which lead him down the path towards entrepreneurship.

This line of work is nothing new for Andrew; before starting this business venture, he was in the CORE business, driving around the countryside looking for catalytic converters, aluminum rims, and buying parts from auto recyclers. Soon Andrew found himself squirrelling Volkswagen parts away for not only himself but for others as well.

When a fenced-in compound, mere minutes off the 401 highway came onto the market, Andrew and Stephanie knew that they had hit the jackpot. Not only was the location geographically perfect and easy to get to, but it was also the goodwill and assistance of the Municipality of West Elgin that won their hearts over. Andrew notes that not all Municipalities are supportive of end-of-life vehicle dealings, but with the help of his wife and the support from West Elgin, Canada Catalyst soon became licensed, insured and registered.

Andrew and Stephanie’s niche business plan focuses solely on finding and selling used Volkswagen parts worldwide. This duo spends their days scrolling through Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace looking for deals, and even travelling to insurance auctions in search of car parts to dismantle and sell. Every once and awhile, Andrew becomes graced with a vehicle that is in too good of shape to part-out; resulting in a new business venture, a used vehicle lot.

With an online website and excellent word-of-mouth, Canada Catalyst has become a hot spot in Rodney. Not only do Stephanie and Andrew ship parts worldwide to enthusiastic Volkswagen users, but they also entertain numerous clients in person from all over Canada and the United States.

Andrew and Stephanie’s affable attitude makes them the perfect duo to work on the “people’s car”; the translation of Volkswagen German to English. Follow Canada Catalyst on Facebook to find your next Volkswagen part, or to see photos of where they find their next Volkswagen; you might just be surprised!