Finding Direction for Your Shop By Traci Matt STAFF WRITER Gloom, despair and agony on me, Deep dark depression, excessive misery, If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all, Gloom despair and agony on me… This ballad from the infamous “70s country music show “Hee Haw” seems to sum up much of what we’re reading, hearing and talking about in electrical rebuilding as this century is beginning. We’re also hearing of wars and rumors of wars, disease, natural disasters, and scandal upon scandal. Are you tired of all the bad news? We are. So here’s our stab at feeling out a little positive direction in this industry that is morphing at the speed of light. Is passenger work a dinosaur at this point? Is it worth spending thousands of dollars on high-tech equipment and supplies for an uncertain market demand? Are spe- cialty applications where we’re heading for high profit possibilities? What’s working or not working for other shops? Jim Thomas, owner of Smith Auto Electric in Yakima, Wa., believes the key to remaining successful is keeping up with the needs in your comer of the world. “Most of us are in the same boat and the only way to keep it floating is to do what works in today’s market and in your market. Nobody knows your mar- ket like you do,” he said. This involves keeping track of trends with customers, remaining prof- itable, maintaining visibility in your community, scoping out new potential customers, and being open to change. “T see firsthand that a majority of my appointments are electrical problems other than charging/starting systems, and a great majority of the ones for charging/starting systems have had an alternator and/or starter and battery installed, but the darn thing is still not working,” said Mohammad Samii, owner of Sammy’s Auto Electric in Champaign, III. “The first group generates a serious ticket and income, period. For the sec- ond one we have different approaches, but suffice it to say that if the customer spent $200 in parts not to have his car fixed, then he should be able to spend the same amount with me to have it fixed. There may be some flaw in this logic but that’s the way I think,” he said. According to Samii, small-scale rebuilding businesses should not count on the majority of their income coming directly from passenger car alternator/starter work in the future. Industry veteran and consultant Glenn Cheaney agrees. “The work on late automotive alternators stops with the 130D. We are not going to stock units or repair parts for the latest of the late model automotive/light truck applications. I don’t need the liability problems hang- ing over us. At this point if we can’t make it with farm, industrial, marine, antique units, some specialty motors such as 24 or 48 volt motors for scissor lifts, pump motors, and the occasional older automotive units, then we won’t make it. That’s exactly how it’s going to have to be,” he said. Even when Cheaney was a shop owner during electrical rebuilding’s heyday, 90 percent of their work was not car or light truck related and he made “serious money.” Samii said that today the “serious money” is in industrial, heavy duty, agricultural, commercial and revenue- producing vehicles. “As we all see, even CSs are lasting over 100,000 miles and Densos and Mitsubishis are all lasting well above 125,000 miles. Not to mention the 3Gs and 4Gs are providing adequate service as well. If there is any low-mileage breakdown, dealers will take care of it. The way new stuff is built, I do not see a big demand in passenger car or light truck market in the future.” The “serious money” possibilities in the passenger vehicle market will be along the specialty lines, including on-vehicle work, said Samii. “This takes a lot more training and investing in even more test equipment. I may be alone on this, but I think all this talk about very new, limited production or futuristic units is just that… talk,’ he said. “I also think a lot of talk about state-of-the-art alternators for the next few years is a lot of wishful thinking because an average rebuilder would probably not see, rebuild or test one unless he or she puts many thousands into state-of-the-art test equipment, training and supplies. When they hit the market in a big way and people are ask- ing for them, then and only then will the rebuilding industry respond. Until then, I am putting my effort where it gener- ates the most profit.” Rebuilder Paul Condi, Condi Auto Electric, Evansville, Ind., sees “serious money” in passenger work in his part of the world, but said most rebuilders are not seizing the opportunities in this area. “From the time we started over 20 years ago we’ve always been hands on. Over the years we’ve been known as the ones that fix the original problem…can you say the plug was in backwards? Or in the wrong terminal? Or the belt was loose? A lot of times we may have charged very little for something stupid, but to this day those same people still talk about it. When they co