Pro-Glo is family owned and operated and has been for nearly three decades.  We believe that this enables us to guarantee excellent quality in restoring vehicle to their pre-accident condition.  Owner  William Caples, Sr. has been in the business for 47 years.  He is General Motors certified and has a degree from General Motors University.  He is certified in I-Car, ASE and MACS air conditioning.  Operator William Caples, Jr. has been in the business for 35 years.  He is also certified by I-Car Platinum, ASE, MACS airconditioning, PPG paint, Sherwin Williams paint, Nexa paint, ICI paint, Lesonal paint, Sikkens paint and Dupont paint, Mitchell's Computer Estimate Writing, CCC and Pathways Computer Estimate Writing.  We are proud to serve the Sumter area! 


     Pro-Glo is I-Car certified as well as ASE, MACS air conditioning and Nexa certified.  We have a full staff of certified frame, body and paint technicians here to serve you.  We understand what an inconvenience it can be having your car repaired.  We offer many services to help you maintain your busy schedule with the least amount of interruptions.  Some of the services we provide for your convenience are:

   - Full service on auto body and paint repairs.
   - Full service on frame and suspension repairs.
   - Handle your insurance claim, working with most major insurance companies directly.
   - Cleaning and detailing of all vehicles before they leave the shop.
   - Off-site local estimates.
   - Local pick-up and delivery.

Below is a featured article in "The Item" on how Pro-Glo played a part in helping a Sumter, SC  family to heal after a tragedy.

The Apache was finally primed when Rice gave it to his son Oct. 14, 2009.  Burke --- who Durrett described as
 "a speed-dial" mechanic with an automotive repair degree and a menchanic's license --- looked around Sumter for a  place

Burke wasn't able to see the finished product before he was killed in a tragic Halloween accident.  But, through the efforts of the loved ones he left behind, Burke's planned special gift is now complete and in the hands of his father.

"I told his mama I'd do the best I could, and we decided to do a lot more than normal," said Billy Caples Jr. of Pro Glow Auto Paint, Body, Glass & Frame Work Inc.

"He came in the Friday before Halloween," said Caples.

"I don't normally work on old cars," Caples said.  But Burke convinced Caples to meet agin the following Monday or Tuesday.  But he never made the meeting.

On Oct. 24, a Saturday, Burke was working on a Jacob's ladder, an electronic device with parallel conductors called ladders connected to a high voltage transformer; an arc jumps between the two electrodes and climbs the ladder.  Durrett said her son thought it would look cool in the window of the "man cave" above a garage in Columbia.

"You've probably seen one if you've seen those boogie monster movies like Frankenstein," Durrett said.

Burke built the ladder in a garage that had a ground fault interruper; a device that monitors current  flowing from hot to neutral in an outlet and trips the circuit if there is an imbalance.  However, the garage Burke plugged the Jacob's ladder into did not have the safety device, Durrett said.  "Electricity arced across his heart," Durrett said.  "It stopped his heart. It was nothing but touching two switches."

Michael Baler, Burke's best friend and roommate at the time, now the orchestra teacher at Bates Middle School and Chestnut Oaks Middle School, found Burke.  He told Durrett her son was laid out on the floor like a cross with a smile on his face.  At first he thought Burke was playing a trick on him.  Baler told Durrett he kicked Burke and told him to get up and stop messing around.

Then Baler realized it was no joke and called 911.

The neighbors who knew the family saw all the responders in the front yard and called Durrett.

She said lots of people came out because they "realized my gosh, it's our golden boy."

Burke was working to earn his criminal justice degree from Central Carolina Technical College and planned to attend the police academy.  The Thursday before he died, Burke had gone on his first ride along with the police.  Not long before he died, Burke had contacted a personal trainer to try to trim down a little bit.  He wanted to be top notch at the police academy.

Durrett said she was worried Burke couldn't tackle anyone because of his good natured disposition.  At 6 feet , 5 inches tall, weighing 245 pounds and wearing a size 17 shoe, police officers later told her Burke wouldn't have to tackle a suspect.  He could "just bear hug him until backup arrived."

"He was a big ol' teddy bear," Durrett said.  He had big hands, big feet and a big heart."

The Tuesday following his death, Durrett went to tell Caples about her son.  Durrett told Caples she wanted them to finish the truck and then she's take it to Rice because that's what Burke would have wanted.

"It's a hard thing to do," Caples said.

Caples choked up talking about Burke and the truck.  He said it touched him because when he was robbed and shot in 1992, his father worked on a car of his even though his father wasn't sure he was going to live.

Instead of just sanding and painting, Pro Glo's staff worked on the whole body, filling in holes and aligning doors.  They replaced glass and installed wood slats in the bed of the truck.  They even installed chrome molding and parts.

"We [tried] to make it as slick and pretty as we could," said Todd Cook, one of the men working on the truck.  "Originally we thought it would only take a few weeks, but with the situation, we decided to take it apart and put it back together so it would be right when we were done."

Jon Vandegerift even researched original paint colors for the truck.

"It's been a project, but I'm glad to take part in it," Caples said.  "I'm not going to charge them anymore than originally said.  They hadn't bothered us about time lines."

Durrett said the original price was something like $2,500 to paint the outside, but she didn't care about the cost.  She wanted it done right.

Every couple of weeks, she would go to check on the truck's progress.

"His mama always cries when she comes by," Caples said.

Durrett said Sumter family and friends would also go by Pro Glo to check on the truck's progress.  As it neared completion, she said, "everybody wanted to put their hands on it."  They'd tell her they just wanted to turn one screw.

Finally, on Sept. 10, the 1959 Chevrolet Apache was ready to go.  Durrett called Ricky Warren at Sumter Wrecker to help her take the truck to Burke's father in Spartanburg.  Burrett said Rice liked the refurbished truck and especially liked the sticker, "Burke," on the back window.

"It's what Burke was going to do," Durrett said.  "It's what he would have wanted."

The following Thursday, Sept. 16, Durrett and her family held a "thank-you" lunch for all the people involved.

"I'm glad it's done," Durrett said.  "It was the right thing to do.  It's a positive thing, and I try to keep the positive flowing.  That's the way Burke was."

Jade Anderson

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