Tools USA Archives : Page 2 of 5: Tools USA

Sure, you can go with the cheapest deal you find online.

Frame Machine, Chassis Machine, Frame Straightener or whatever you want to call them! In recent years, frame machine choices, prices and quality have changed immensely due to the ever-growing Internet.

The Internet has changed the frame machine market, with one- and two-man operations giving the impression that they are bigger than they are. They want the customer to think that they are viable, multi-location, well-staffed companies. How can you tell when you’re shopping online, anyway?

With lower-priced import machines flooding the market, who you purchase from is as important, if not more, than what you buy. You need to research the company that you are planning to purchase from to find out how long the company has been in business, how many employees they have, what type of facility they are operating from, and what level of customer service you can expect.

Sure, you can go with the cheapest deal you find online. But what you will get is very poor quality from an unreliable company. These companies don’t last long, and when they shut down how will you find replacement parts, contact customer service or get product support?

Remember the golden rule, you get what you pay for! Pay the little bit more to get a good machine from a quality company that will stand the test of time in your shop.

Tools USA has been a leader in the industry since 1979, you can trust that we will sell you a quality machine and be here for the many years that it will last you! Read More about Us!

Measuring; Before & After

Collision repair shops both large and small need accurate measuring capabilities in order to return a customer’s vehicle to pre-crash condition.

The Allvis Computerized Measuring System offers simple, technician-friendly measuring with the capability to print before and after repair reports.The system saves the work orders as JPEG files, making it easy to pull them up in the future. At a price that is affordable to the smaller shop and attractive to the large multi-tech shop, this system offers you a simple, speedy operation.

With the Allvis System shops can meet the print out requirements of many insurance companies to qualify for DRP status, without the $35000 investment. The Allvis Systems are the most practical , technician friendly systems available. Any technician regardless of experience can measure, register and print using the Allvis systems.

Buy Before January 1st to Save Thousands.

It’s December already, can you believe it? Where does a year go? With the year coming to a close, you may hear a lot about “Section 179” and how you’re business can benefit if you are looking to purchase some equipment before 2013.

We get just as confused as the next guy when you start talking “tax rate”, “deductions” and “depreciation”. We thought we would do a little research and try to explain how this could be a HUGE benefit to small businesses.

When we say ‘equipment’, we mean any large purchase you buy to benefit your business. Some examples: a paint booth to help your productivity, a car lift to increase your repair business or a frame machine for the busy winter months. If your business needs it to increase business and it’s an ‘investment’, it is most likely included in this category.

You can even finance it in 2013, but write it off in 2012 and save thousands.

So, section179 is what exactly? It’s an incentive created by the U.S. government to encourage businesses to buy equipment and invest in themselves. Essentially, Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment purchased (or financed) during the tax year. Wow! The FULL PURCHASE PRICE will be deducted from your gross income. (As long as the total purchase price is less than 139,000.) Continue reading Buy Before January 1st to Save Thousands.

Proudly MADE IN THE TRIAD!

WFMY News 2 featured Standard Tools and Equipment on their Made in the Triad feature. We are proud to be manufacturing paint booths from our plant in Greensboro, NC.

Watch the video now!

Standard Tools and Equipment Co. to be Featured on the “World’s Greatest…” Television Production

NEWS RELEASE

<May 18, 2011><Greensboro, N.C.>
Standard Tools and Equipment Co, a trusted manufacturer in the automotive aftermarket industry, announced today that they have been selected by How 2 Media to be a part of the popular television series, “World’s Greatest …”, featuring their paint booths. The show airs on the ION Network.

The company goes to market as Tools USA and paint-booths.com, to sell hundreds of products through their mail-order catalog and their various Web sites. Products include auto lifts, frame machines, pulling posts and clamps, tire equipment, powder coating equipment and, or course, their paint booths.

One of the first online sellers of Paint Booths, their Tools USA internet store opened in 1999. Recognized by Google Inc. (1,000,000 Leads Generated), and Internet Retailer (America’s Top 500 Largest Retail Web Sites), they have a history as a successful online retailer.

“We started selling to Body Shops and in the early 80’s, the company developed the very first national catalog for the body shop professional,” says Michael Kestler, President of Standard Tools and Equipment Company. “Our many years of experience in the collision repair industry helped us to develop the superior paint booth products that we offer today. The value, quality and efficiency of our paint booths have been major factors in our expansion into other industries and our overall success.”

With over half of their paint booths being sold outside of the body shop industry, Standard Tools has supplied paint booths to such industries as NASCAR teams, Woodworking shops, military, schools, government and many varied manufacturing industries.

After a careful interview process, the show determined that Standard Tools’ experience, technology and customer-service made for not only a great paint booth, but a great story too.

“We think they have an interesting story to tell and we will help tell that story in a meaningful way to our viewers,” said Gordon Freeman, Executive Producer of the show. “Standard Tools is a major company operating in the somewhat fragmented Spray Booth manufacturing industry. The difference is that they sell direct, which affords and enables them to offer products at the lowest possible prices without sacrificing quality.”

“World’s Greatest…” is a 30-minute television show from the producers at How 2 Media. The show features the world’s greatest companies, products, places and people. Past businesses featured include Anheuser-Busch, Lenox China, Land’s End, Samsung, and Xtreme Motorsports.

A film crew will be visiting Standard Tools’ facilities in late June to get the story behind the story on why Standard Tools makes the World’s Greatest Paint Booths. They will begin shooting the segment, scheduled to air later this year.

“We are thrilled to be a part of ‘World’s Greatest…’ and honored for the selection,” Kestler continued. “We are excited to highlight the company’s history, manufacturing process and the story of who we are and why we do what we do.”

About Standard Tools and Equipment Co.
Tool USA, founded in 1979 is an operating company of Standard Tools Holding Corp. (Standard Tools and Equipment Co.), a privately-owned holding company. Standard Tools and Equipment Co. is a leading manufacturer and distributor of automotive body shop equipment. Manufacturing and corporate offices are located in Greensboro, NC.

For more information, visit www.toolsusa.com or www.paint-booths.com or contact Kat at Katm@standardtool.com.

INDUSTRY HAZARD: COMBUSTIBLE DUST

Tracy Beach, Plant Manager
Standard Tools and Equipment Co.

Combustible dust was to blame for 348 explosions, 793 injuries, and 133 deaths from 1980 to 2008. It is a terrifying hazard that goes overlooked in many facilities because it is not fully understood. Are you taking all the precautions necessary to ensure that your shop, and your employees, are safe?

“Dust becomes fuel for fires and explosions when it builds to hazardous levels,” noted Standard Tools and Equipment’s plant manager, Tracy Beach. “Sources such as sugar, flour, feed, plastics, wood, rubber, furniture, textiles, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, coal, and metals can form combustible dust.”

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) show some of the materials that may become explosive when divided into small enough particles here (PDF).

There is a directive intended to reduce the occurrence of explosions and fire due to combustible dust. OSHA has launched the Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (or Combustible Dust NEP) to administer safety requirements and fines where there currently is no code. Immediate action is to identify findings and impose fines on companies that have combustible dust that is not being managed or not managed adequately. The long-term action is to develop a suitable requirement. Click here to read more information about Dust NEP.

Standard Tools and Equipment provides cyclone dust collectors, cartridge filter systems and spray booths designed specifically for powder coating. These items are designed to meet, or exceed, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and OSHA requirements.

Our suggestion is for your safety team to review the processes for handling or creating combustible dust and to call us at 1-800-451-2425 if you find that combustible dust is a concern for you.

If you have combustible dust, you will need processes and equipment to handle it. Please do not wait until after a catastrophe or visit from your OSHA inspector. Dust is an item that is much less expensive to handle before any such event occurs.

UP, UP AND AWAY

Pop group The 5th Dimension had a hit song in late 1960’s called Up, Up and Away. It was an upbeat, feel-good song that was about riding in a hot-air balloon. It was played over and over on AM radio stations around the country and won a Grammy in 1968.

Today, the idea of “up, up and away” defines the costs of materials. We have all been shocked by recent increases in fuel prices, but steel prices have risen more dramatically in the same timeframe. In 18 months, gas prices rose from $2.50 to $3.50 per gallon… a 40% increase. In the same timeframe, steel prices increased by 65%. This increase can be attributed to the rising fuel costs, increasing global demand and negative influences in supplies. One such negative factor was the torrential rains and flooding in Australia that filled coke mines. This coke is deemed the best in the world for smelting the high-tech steel ores used today. Continue reading UP, UP AND AWAY

COMPUTERIZED MEASURING SYSTEMS

Vehicles are fighting to become the best in their feature offerings. Technology is bringing more and more “hands-free” this and “touch-screen” that…. It seems that we will soon have cars that can even think on their own! With all of these techy gadgets and time-saving devices comes a higher chance of damaging something in just a minor collision. Gone are the days where it was just a “fender bender” … a little bump affects the car’s core and all of these modern devices.

Many times, the extent of the damages is not discovered until the repairs have begun…. dragging out the repair time, raising the repair costs and causing frustration in customers.

In a world full of technology, customers and insurance companies expect more than repairs based on strings, tape measures or basic old fashioned measuring systems. So, what is the solution? Computerized electronic measuring systems offer tremendous accuracy and will detect damage that visual inspections miss. With this technology, shops are able to compare each measurement to the vehicle manufacturer’s specifications and display any difference, enabling the technician to make needed adjustments. As an added bonus, they provide the proper repair documentation required by most insurance companies.

Until recently, these systems were out of reach for the small and mid-size shops due to the high price tag ($25,000 to $40,000). Not only where they pricey, but so complicated that it required extensive training, limiting the number of technicians that could actually use the system. With this added training and the regular software updates, thousands of dollars were added to the lifetime cost of these system.
Continue reading COMPUTERIZED MEASURING SYSTEMS

Spray Booths – Domestic or Imported

Written by:Tracy Beach
Plant Manager at Standard Tools & Equipment Co.

On a recent shopping trip to buy name brand jeans, I found that almost all of them were made in China, Mexico, Egypt, Lesotho and Haiti. We live in a global market. It’s often easier for a consumer to purchase a product from a foreign country than down the street from where they live. Let’s face it, it is just cheaper for the company in material and labor costs! But sometimes the initial savings do not necessarily mean that you save money. Spray booths are a great example, let me explain.

Continue reading Spray Booths – Domestic or Imported

FABTECH 2010

Tools USA and Paint-Booths will be attending FABTECH 2010. FABTECH is North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, finishing and welding event with over 1,000 exhibiting companies.

FABTECH 2010
Georgia World Congress Center
Atlanta, Georgia
November 2-4, 2010
https://www.fabtechexpo.com/

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Category: Tools USA