Snap-on has been proactive, even during the current recession. One example is the company's NO COMPROMISE TOUR, which features
as its centerpiece a customized Chevy 'Glo-mad.'
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The bond between a tech and his tools is forged over years of toil in the service bays. Intellect and problem-solving skills
converge with grease, blood and sweat to solidify this exclusive partnership, a relationship much stronger than the current
economy can dictate.
At the Start
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Forget the recession, says Tom Ward, president of Snap-on Tools Group, a division of Snap-on Incorporated. The tool supplier
has been around since the bigger one – the "D" word. That's right: the company has weathered through the Great Depression
and will survive the current climate intact, Ward adds.
"We perfected this business model, loaning directly to technicians, in periods of time like the Great Depression," says Ward.
"We've been at this a long time, and a lot of those innovations we've brought to the industry were based on a credit environment
that looks a lot like today than maybe the world looked five or 10 years ago."
Despite the gloom inherent in today's headlines, the repair industry is in a profitable position. "In 2008, what you saw generally
across all the segments that you mention is innovation sells and productivity sells," Ward adds. "If you've got something
that will help a body shop tech or a dealership technician or an independent repair technician do their job faster, that's
good for them, good for their families and good for business. Innovation will continue to sell."
The whole business structure of repair shop tool providers is unlike anything in nearly any neighboring industry. The repair
business is on the upswing, and the words "credit crisis" are nearly nonexistent.
Talk to any technician, and they'll more than likely tell you they have no credit problems with their tool suppliers, whose
vast U.S. reach approximates 3,400 franchisees. With its own financing arm, Snap-on is able to help its franchisees with the
benefit of capitalization of a small business, a critical element to its success.
"Snap-on's in the repair industry, and the repair industry's fundamentally strong," says Ward. "We're seeing new vehicle
sales continue to struggle in 2009. Clearly the January numbers were pretty dismal, but the long-term fundamentals for vehicle
repair are positive."
He adds: "You've got a vehicle parc that continues to age — over 40 percent of the cars in the U.S. today are over 10 years
old. Those vehicles break down and they need to be fixed. If people don't buy new vehicles they need to fix their family vehicles.
This is an automotive-oriented society." And he doesn't see this focus changing anytime soon.
