After an accident left his last truck totaled, independent tool distributor Hal Holbert knew exactly what he wanted – a better truck than the one he had before. Though funnily enough, that truck was the same model as his previous one – a 2005 C5500 Chevrolet Kodiak.
Holbert and his wife drove down to Georgia to pick up the new truck, however, even during the interim of losing his last truck and getting his new one, Holbert never stopped working.
“I’ve got a 2002 Denali and a trailer, and I went and did business,” Holbert says. “I didn't stop. Not one day.”
Luckily for the distributor, other than the packaging of the products no damage was done to any of his inventory. The only casualty of the car accident was his printer.
Customizations inside
Prior to Holbert owning the truck, it used to belong to another distributor. Though the independent has left much of the customizations the same, such as the custom oak shelving, he’s also added his own unique touches to the truck.
The biggest addition being the snack station he installed. The snack station is filled with different kinds of beef jerky, snack cakes, energy drinks, sodas, water, and more.
“I go to a lot of shops that [it] takes 30 minutes for [the technicians] to go out and get something to drink or eat,” Holbert explains, “so I have snacks when they want one. I don’t make a lot of money on it, but I do it for convenience. I try to take care of [my customers] really well.”
Out-of-the-box organization
Holbert hits up a variety of customers in and surrounding Knoxville, Tennessee. From tire, body, car, truck, and industrial shops to construction companies, trailer shops, docks, junk yards, and more, the distributor notes that he does as much with a single truck as some distributors do with three.
To accommodate all these customers and make sure they get everything they need, Holbert likes to fully display the products on his shelves.
“I try to display everything,” Holbert says. “I open it up so they know what they're looking at and that way they can pick it up and see how it works and … if it'll do what they want [it] to do.”
He also lets them take the tools back into the shop to test them. This often leads to a sale.
His truck, his way
At the being of his 22-year career as a distributor, Holbert worked for a flag. Unfortunately, working for a flag meant abiding by their rules for truck design, so Holbert made a promise to himself that if the opportunity ever came up, he would do things his way.
After leaving the flag and becoming an independent, Holbert finally got his chance. He had a design all planned out, and one of his customers helped him bring it to life. Holbert created a flame design for the exterior of his truck as well as adding stickers for all the vendors he carries so everyone knows what he stocks. He’s finally got his truck, his way.
