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Turbo Wholesale Tires focuses on SUV, ultra high-performance applications Continued from page 11 to $135 million, and we expect to reach $200 million in 2011.” Over the years, TWT has added the most popular tire brands, Sepetjian said, including Pirelli, BFGoodrich, Goodyear, Michelin, Dunlop, Continental, Cooper, Uniroyal, Falken, Fullway, Nitto, Hankook, Yokohama, Bridgestone, and Lexani. Septijian said he kept the original L.A. location open and started opening increasingly larger warehouses, most recently settling into its new 290,000- square-foot warehouse and offices, with 96 docks. “This location has enabled us to maintain a stock of 700,000 to 850,000 tires and expand our applications to include off-road, light-truck, and metric tires,” he said. In 2008, Sepetjian said he incorporated TOOL AND EQUIPMENT www.ServiceTechTools.com The huge warehouse at Turbo Wholesale Tires in Irwindale keeps 700,000 to 850,000 tires in stock at all times, President Sarkis Septijian says. Lexani Tires Worldwide and started developing unique tire sizes for that brand. “We also started producing our own line of ultra high-performance tires called Lionhart,” he said. “We will also be introducing another new UHP tire line “Automotive Equipment Specialists Working Harder to Make Your Work Easier.” Automotive Lift Sales, Install & Repair In-Ground Lifts, Mobile Column Lifts, Midrise Lifts, Truck Lifts Hydraulic Scissor Lifts, 2 Post Lifts, 4 Post Lifts with Modern Design called Lizetti at the SEMA Show.” “One of the most recent sizes Sarkis has designed is the new Lexani 295/23ZR28,” said Bill Fuqua, national business development manager. “It has the same overall diameter as the 275/25ZR28 with a lower aspect ratio, and it’s wider so it can carry more weight.” TWT has a fleet of trucks that make deliveries twice a day, Fuqua said. “To better serve our customers, about a year ago the original L.A. warehouse was converted to a ‘will call-only’ warehouse,” he said. “All calls come through the Irwindale office, but the customer can pick up the order in L.A.” Fuqua said the company plans to open several 10,000-15,000-square-foot will callonly warehouses in the next few years in Southern California and eventually in Northern California. “These will be very low overhead locations with maybe only two or three people, so they’ll be profitable,” Fuqua said, “By focusing on the ultra high-performance and SUV niches, dealers quickly discovered I had the proper tire they needed for their specific application.” The 290,000-square-foot Irwindale warehouse, which houses the offices of Turbo Wholesale Tires, has 96 docks for fast pickup and delivery. “and they’ll also be in locations close to the dealers so they can come in and pick up their order quickly.” Sepetjian said most of the company’s telephone sales consultants started in the warehouse, so they know the products they sell and they receive training from tire manufacturers. “About 90 percent of our sales people worked in the warehouse, then became drivers, then moved into sales, and if they’re good enough, like Jesse Ortiz, our general manager, into management.” “We promote from within so new employees know they can rise in the company, which makes good employees more motivated,” Fuqua said. In addition, he said the company receives ongoing training from tire manufacturers. “For example, Falken, Pirelli, and Cooper come in bimonthly and give a two-hour training seminar on new tire sizes, features, benefits, new trends, and marketing.” Fuqua said that after the seminar, the employees take a test to receive certification as “Ultra High-Performance Specialists.” “So our guys are well versed on the tires they sell and what’s happening in the tire industry,” he said. “I believe you should treat all employees and customers with the same respect you would expect for yourself,” Sepetjian said. “I have been blessed with tremendous success, but I have always been humble, which I attribute to my faith and the values my parents instilled in me,” he said. n Professional Dependable Specialists 28 years of Sales and Service Used & Refurbished also available Schedule Your Annual PMI (Preventative Maintenance Inspection) For Your Equipment …. It’s Much Cheaper (and less time consuming) Than Replacing It! PRODUCT CATEGORIES • Ammco Brake Lathes • Coats Tire Changers • Coats Wheel Balancers • Wheel Alignment Racks • MIST In-Car Air Quality Service • Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Service Products & Equipment • Air Compressors • Hose Reels: Air, Water & Oil • Specialty Tools • Accessories For All Types of Automotive Service Equipment CALL TO SCHEDULE YOUR EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE (800) 446-2254 Join a Winning Team! (800) 810-4272 • www.ascca.com Page 12 October 2011 Parts & People www.partsandpeople.com
Cutting-edge design and development combine for Hunter’s success by Rob Merwin St. Louis—Denny Bowen, director of Product Management for Hunter Engineering, an award-winning manufacturer and seller of undercar service equipment, said his company has one simple message: “We offer the most innovative equipment on the market to speed and ease service and improve shop efficiency and Denny Bowen, director of Product Management for Hunter Engineering, says HawkEye Elite systems has already received two awards and is on track to be the most successful system in terms of sales in the company’s history. profitability.” In order to develop that innovation — incorporated in Hunter’s alignment systems, lift racks, wheel balancers, tire changers, brake lathes, and lifts — Bowen said the company’s R&D department has played a central role since its beginning in the 1930s. “Our founder, Lee Hunter Jr., wanted his company to be known as more than just an equipment manufacturer,” he said. “He chose ‘Engineering’ in the name to convey the spirit of the company as a problem solver. Hunter now employs the largest R & D department in the industry.” Hunter continues to meet challenges as vehicle manufacturers advance vehicle design and implement more computercontrolled handling systems that can be directly affected by adjustments of alignment, Bowen said. “Hunter introduced CodeLink as a direct link between the mechanical adjustments of alignment and the electronic adjustments required by most OEMs to reset these systems,” he said. “CodeLink integrates the resetting process into the normal alignment, so it can be done quickly and easily.” As the landscape of vehicle design continues to evolve, Hunter is adapting its training classes accordingly, Bowen said. Current alignment training includes advanced adjustment techniques to enhance tire life and ride quality, OEspecific procedures, and the proper service of vehicles with computer-controlled systems such as electronic stability control, electric power steering, and adaptive cruise control, he said. Bowen added that Hunter will be exhibiting at this year’s SEMA in Las Vegas where they will be displaying its full line of undercar service equipment with experts available to demonstrate their features and benefits, including its Hawkeye Elite systems. “The systems have features that are really unmatched,” he said. “Our QuickGrip wheel adaptors install in seconds by gripping the tire tread instead of the rim edge, removing potential damage from metal-to-metal contact. Plus, the entire adaptor and target assembly weighs only six pounds. “Three-dimensional targets and highresolution cameras provide measurements and adjustment updates on-screen, and our roll-forward compensation, exclusive to us, allows a technician to compensate all four wheels and capture initial measurements in one motion.” HawkEye Elite systems also include the largest and most comprehensive vehicle database in the industry, Bowen said. “And our WinAlign software offers the most patented software features of any system on the market,” he said. “When matched with an FIA (fully integrated alignment) lift, HawkEye Elite communicates between the aligner and lift to automate tasks once performed manually.” Since its release in March 2011, HawkEye Elite systems has already received two awards and is on track to be the most successful system in terms of sales in the company’s history, Bowen said. Those sales are supported by more than 600 sales representatives — the largest in the industry — and by its network of training centers, as well as a conference and demonstration facility, he said. n Parts & People October 2011 Page 13
Page 1 and 2: Automotive Counseling & Publishing
Page 3 and 4: Collision Repair / Suspension, Alig
Page 5 and 6: Cooper Tire awarded $1.5 million gr
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Page 11: Turbo Wholesale Tires focuses on SU
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Page 41 and 42: People & Places SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Page 43 and 44: Continued from page 38 and later me

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