Shop Profile: Hawk Frame & Axle

April 24, 2014
Owner Bill “Woody” Hinchcliffe’s Navy service set a course for his shop, Hawk Frame & Axle, to conquering heavy-duty vehicle repairs.
Bill “Woody” Hinchcliffe

Drafted in 1965 and shipped out to Spain and Morocco aboard the Navy’s 6th Fleet as a top-secret communications specialist, Bill “Woody” Hinchcliffe has leveraged skills he learned in the military to achieve success in the heavy duty collision repair business.

“I learned to type,” he deadpans, noting that having that ability did indeed provide a career assist as he rose through the ranks to become a co-owner of Hawk Frame & Axle, Inc. in Fairport, N.Y.

“I also learned people-skills; you have to go along to get along,” says Hinchcliffe. And while his responsibilities at this 50,000-square-foot, full-service heavy duty repair operation keep him plenty busy, Hinchcliffe is honoring his long-ago shipmates by making the time to volunteer at the Veterans Outreach Center in Rochester.

“It helps disabled veterans and guys down on their luck,” he explains. “It teaches them real-life skills, and they have an Art Center for these men and women for relaxation.”

It’s unclear who gets more out of these efforts – Hinchcliffe or the troops. “They’re very receptive,” he notes, insisting that he merely plays a minor role. “I’m just glad to give back. It helps where the Veteran’s Administration doesn’t and picks up where the other groups don’t. I find it rewarding and I’m thankful that I’m personally not in need their services.”

Making sure that big rigs remain on the road and construction sites humming is a constant concern of everyone at Hawk. “Downtime on equipment is a direct cost to the customer’s business and reputation, so you better know what it takes to keep the repairs moving,” Hinchcliffe points out.

“The biggest challenge in being profitable is knowledge. Our fleet customers know and understand what it takes to repair their vehicles and they pose very few problems. Most insurance adjusters are pretty good and some possess a great deal of knowledge about trucks and equipment. Heavy vehicles scare most adjusters, but the truth is they are easier and simpler to deal with than passenger cars,” he says.

“When an appraiser/adjuster writes an estimate with little or no knowledge of the vehicle it becomes a big problem and a time-consuming task to educate that person, providing they are willing to listen. Mistakes are very costly in time and money; replacement trucks rent for several hundreds of dollars a day – if they are available. Some adjusters will not approve a supplement until they see it, and in New York they have 48 hours to look it over: Those 48 hours can cost thousands and are not recoupable.”

Direct repair programs (DRPs) in the heavy duty equipment realm are few. “I know of only three or four DRPs from insurance carriers that serve trucking companies, and they are regional in nature or serve a truck dealer network.”

Thus Hawk’s 50-plus fleet accounts are what drive the business, located minutes from Interstate 90 along the bustling corridor between Syracuse and Buffalo. “Our fleet customers range from the small local service industries to the national trucking fleets and everything in between. We have three salesmen calling full-time on fleet accounts ranging from school buses, highway departments, trucking companies and construction companies,” says Hinchcliffe, who serves as vice president and sales manager.

Ahead of the field
“Rental fleets for truck, trailer and construction equipment provide a continued flow of work for our shop. We seek industries and businesses that would likely have a need for collision repairs, refinishing, maintenance and occasional modifications to their vehicles.” Fleets that have “a high exposure rate” and vehicles “that see rough service” are prime prospects.

“Our technicians continually learn of new technologies and methods of repair so they can be up to date,” he reports, adhering to an overall message of “professionalism in our duties.” “Our customers are professionals in their fields, and we are professional in dealing with them and their situations. The employees are family to us; most of our staff has been with us most of their careers, and we value each of them and their families.”

Obtaining OEM and industry training certifications is a continuing endeavor, yet the heavy duty element makes the practical educational requirements challenging to achieve. “Unique knowledge is found where you can get it,” according to Hinchcliffe. The Truck Frame & Axle Association (TARA) provides a wealth of effective repair techniques and personal mentoring.

“Our number of members is small, but you can’t find more diverse knowledge about this industry anywhere else that I know of. Several of the major manufacturers are instrumental in joining us and helping to educate our members.”

Hinchcliffe is TARA’s immediate past-president and the current secretary/treasurer. The company belongs to several other HD national, state and regional organizations along with automotive association affiliations, including the pursuit of I-CAR Gold status. “We have always repaired aluminum truck cabs and trailers, but now the trend in autos is focused on aluminum construction. The need for certified shops is evident so we hope to be ahead of the field.”

Framing success
As Western New York’s largest body shop, Hawk has been repairing cars, collector cars, light trucks, vocational trucks, heavy equipment and precision vehicle applications for more than 50 years.

“We operated on ‘lean’ procedures before we knew what they were,” Hinchcliffe recounts. “Since our repair tickets are substantial, it is imperative that every move counts. To our customers, their trucks, trailers and equipment are a revenue-generating asset that needs to be back in service as quickly and cost effectively as possible,” he continues.

“To our good fortune, the heavy vehicle models don’t change as rapidly as an automobile, so repair standards are easily built in on an ongoing effort. Our services include certified welders for both steel and aluminum; we also offer limited mechanical services in conjunction with collision repairs. All work is done in-house with very little sublet,” says Hinchcliffe.

“Our capacity is only limited by the door size, and ours are 20-feet by 16-feet high.” The largest piece of equipment repaired was a Caterpillar 770B quarry truck “that had rolled off a cliff in New Jersey.” Arriving on two drop-deck trailers, the dump body alone weighed in at more than 22,000 pounds. “Hawk was able to straighten the frame when no one else in the area could attempt it. A replacement quarry truck at that time was worth over $500,000, and totaling it posed a problem for the owners.”

Backhoes, loaders and crane booms are other repair opportunities that come rolling through those big bay doors, as are requests for customized fabrications.

An expansion project in the late 1980s resulted in two new 50-foot frame cages being built into the structure. The late owner, Gerald Relyea – who established the shop in 1962 – came up with the cage designs and had engineers draw up the final blueprints.

“These cages are capable of withstanding 150,000 pounds of pressure anywhere within the cage,” says Hinchcliffe, still in awe of Relyea’s invention. “This gives Hawk a capability to repair frames and equipment that no other shop within a 500-mile to 700-mile radius has. In repairing heavy vehicles all the straitening is done with pushing as no one makes an affordable pull cylinder strong enough to repair some of the heavier equipment,” he says.

“A shop in Calgary, Canada saw our frame cages on the Internet and called about selling him blueprints as he was building a new shop and wanted to repair some of the oil/gas well equipment being used in the Western Canadian provinces. He has done well with his frame cages in the Northwest,” Hinchcliffe reports.

After mustering out of the Navy in 1968, Hinchcliffe applied his shipboard-learned attention-to-detail skills to pursue a career as a vehicle appraiser, drifting into the heavy duty aspect. Taking note of his industry acumen, Relyea recruited him into Hawk in 1986. It hit Hinchcliffe hard when Relyea died in 2011; currently Gerald’s sons Craig, Steven and Mark share ownership duties along with Hinchcliffe.

“The biggest challenge facing our industry is the workforce,” he says, adding that “if trucking companies can’t hire drivers that eliminates their exposure to incidents that would require our services.”

Hinchcliffe concludes by emphasizing that every American city is served by truck. “Manufacturers are making equipment easier to drive – automatic transmissions are more prominent in trucks in an attempt to get more women interested in trucking careers: Trade schools need to make this industry more interesting, and the auto repair industry needs to get more involved with the education system.”

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