Owner: Joseph Spiak
Shop: Von’s Airline Service Station Inc.
Location: Troy, New York
After almost three generations of service, shop owners Joseph (Joe) and Gail Spiak have accumulated quite the collection of tools at Von's Airline Service Station in Troy, New York, and they're adding and updating to the collection almost every week, shop manager and co-owner Joe Spiak says. Most of those tools are housed in a setup totaling 207”, complete with two main boxes with matching hutches, two side lockers and three top cabinets.
"If we wanted to expand the box we would need to put an addition on the building," Joe Spiak says of the tool storage setup currently maxing out space in the four-bay shop.
The matching bright yellow setup consists of two main Mac Tools Macsimizer tool boxes: one 88” and one 66". Each main box has a hutch fit to size, wired for internet, power, lights and air hookups for shop tools. The 88" tool box has two 26.5" side lockers on either side of it. Over the entire assembly are three 66" top cabinets with custom spacers in between for a custom-fit, which were added most recently in 2016 to free up drawer space by housing less frequently used tools.
Inside the drawers, the tools are organized by category and type using magnetic trays, magnetic strips, racks and tool cases as needed.
The box features custom decals of a car, the garage logo and the outside of the shop that were created by local artist Frank Smith and local sign shop No Name Design.
At Von's Airline Service Station, all the shop technicians have and use their own personal tools and work out of their own tool carts and tool boxes – like the Spiaks’ son, Joe Spiak Jr., and his 66" Mac Tools Macismizer. But when they don't have the right tool of their own they know where to find it. While the 207" box is shop-owned, it's shared openly by all the technicians.
"This box has continually grown with the workload of the shop and the need to store a wide range of tools needed to service the many types of vehicles that we work on," Joe Spiak says. "There is rarely a tool that we do not have. The smaller [66"] hutch has a power supply that houses our service computer and printer, as well as our computer diagnostic tools. It allows our techs to access diagnostic and repair information without having to leave the service area of our shop."
After 70 years of service, Joe Spiak says the shop has accumulated interesting and uncommon tools, some that modern technicians have probably never seen. But even so, he keeps the shop tool box current, stocking new technology or tool innovations that could save time and money.
"Rarely a week goes by that I am not replacing, warrantying or upgrading a tool that I have here," Joe Spiak says.
Von's Airline Service Station is a full service mechanic, auto body and towing service that services all makes and models. The shop also does auto glass, custom welding and some custom painting.
Von's Airline Service station was co-founded by Gail Spaik's father, John Von Fricken, in 1947. Joe and Gail, married, now co-own the shop, while Joe Spaik and his son run the shop's daily operations.
