AlphaCars and Ural of New England is known throughout the region for selling and servicing high end vehicles. The dealership does everything in its power to exceed the expectations of the most demanding customers when it comes to attention to details and quality of the work, parts and material. They backed up this pledge by building a state-of-the-art ergonomically designed service facility about ten years ago. Topping off the new service facility with a museum-like, tiled interior, AlphaCars installed an integrated tool storage wall with tambour doors that provide a clean and neat interior to fit the image. When some of the tambour doors began to show signs of stress, Lista International replaced them all with a brand new design, even after nearly a decade of constant use. Talk about exceeding customer expectations!
Integrated tool storage designed to fit the sleek and modern imageAbout a decade ago, AlphaCars completed a new service facility, patterned more on the lines of a car museum than a classic service facility. Completely tiled and fitted out with a sleek and modern interior, owner and general manager Dmitry Bykhovsky was looking for a tool storage solution that would fit well within the atmosphere he was going for.
He was able to custom-design the space so the entire front wall of the service bays is a large storage wall with integrated workbench, toolbox and storage. Roll down tambour doors gave him just the clean, streamlined look he envisioned for the space. “The cost of comparable footage for quality toolboxes would have been three times more than the Lista storage wall solution,” said Bykhovsky.
According to Bykhovsky, he selected the Lista product after visiting the factory and being impressed with the quality he saw, including the gage of steel used, the type of welding, and the primers used. He says, “Keep in mind this was ten years ago when things were different. There were no Google testimonials and we mainly relied on industry magazines. The pictures looked great and, since their manufacturing facility is located nearby, we were able to confirm the high quality by the factory visit.”
After comparing Lista’s integrated storage wall with other high quality toolbox solutions, AlphaCars ultimately decided to go with the Lista solution. They then worked closely with Lista’s Joe Alfieri to customize the solution. “They had three work areas and were looking for a storage solution across a 50-foot wall with integrated benches and storage,” said Alfieri. “All the technicians have all their tools and supplies right there in the storage wall directly in front of their bay. We helped them plan out the thickness needed for drawer tools and sockets. We also suggested the roll down tambour doors, so they can pull the doors down and the shop always looks nice and neat. If customers are out there, they don’t see all the tools and supplies. I think they came up with a really sharp looking solution.”
Bykhovsky agreed, saying, “Now we have toolboxes we love, and we can pull down doors and make it look like there are no tool boxes. When we pull down the door it blends in with the wall.” The storage wall solution is totally extendable and can be modified or moved around to adjust to changing needs. Says Bykhovsky, “Let’s say you have a 10-inch drawer and down the road you need more surface for tools. You can remove the 10-inch deep drawers and replace them with 2 five-inch drawers. In fact, we recently needed to make changes, and Lista worked with us to suggest what would work best.”
Standing by over a decade
Installation of the storage wall with the tambour doors went very smoothly, but after a few years AlphaCars had issues with several of the pull-down tambour doors, which got heavy use. Bykhovsky was extremely pleased that Lista provided replacement doors free of charge. Then, nearly a decade after the installation, AlphaCars noticed issues with the doors again; they found they wouldn’t move freely up and down and required a lot of tinkering to keep operational.
Lista again provided replacement doors at no charge, but by this time, they had a new style and door design, which Bykhovsky was concerned didn’t match the other doors, and that the two styles took away from the quality image they had worked so hard to achieve. He contacted Lista and was amazed and delighted by their response. “Lista came out and replaced all the doors with the new style, which I find unbelievable from a customer service point of view after ten years,” said Bykhovsky.”
Alfieri explains that a few years ago, Lista switched to a new door supplier, and the new style design increases door strength, decreases door weight, and improves operation. Equipped with a stronger double wall foam-filled aluminum slat design, the door is stronger and weighs less, making it easy for operators to open and close. The new design also allows a smaller door housing, so overall height is reduced by 3 1⁄8-inches. The new door guide/liner is mounted in door tracks, reducing the gap between the door and storage cabinet and optimizing operation. A gasket at the bottom of the door prevents marking of the floor.
All in all, Bykhovsky has been extremely happy about the Lista storage solution. “We may look like a museum but we’re not. The Lista storage wall gets used every day and after ten years, the finish has held up and the metal is amazing. I have seen a lot of tool boxes and I am always impressed at how durable this is.”
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