During COVID, Bob Roux, maintenance foreman for VCT, Inc. in Kelso, Washington, started assembling his now 17’ 2” long Cornwell Quality Tools toolbox setup. The setup consists of two side lockers, a hutch, an upper single bank toolbox, and one of Cornwell’s Iron Giant tool storage systems. Roux spent two and half years putting this setup together and traded in his previous, smaller, Cornwell box to get started.
“My [Cornwell tool] dealer told me it’s the biggest box in southwest Washington right now,” Roux says. “At least that we know of!”
All about storage
Roux has been doing vehicle repair for around 30 years, on and off, throughout his life. Between his longevity as a technician and the fact that he works in a heavy duty truck shop, Roux needed a toolbox that could handle his collection of tools.
“I do everything,” Roux notes of his position at the shop, “I needed a box to store tools so I can do my job.”
The storage is actually the technician’s favorite part of his box. All the space allows him to organize his tools exactly as he likes.
“People think I'm kind of crazy because I’ve got a drawer for almost everything,” Roux says. “I’ve got two separate wrench drawers, one from metric, one for standards, and I’ve got separate drawers just for my ratchets and my extensions … I’ve got a separate drawer for almost everything.”
Although, even with all his organization, he notes that the box is large enough he sometimes still gets lost looking for a tool.
Luckily, he also has a tool cart he can use to prioritize whatever tools he needs for the job at hand. Being able to push his tools around also means he saves time by not having to keep walking back and forth to his larger setup.
A quality box
When it comes to looking for a new toolbox, Roux notes that price and quality are the two major factors technicians should be taking into consideration.
“I really like this,” Roux says of his toolbox setup. “It’s a fair price, and the quality of the box is what sold me on it. My dealer took care of me.”
To make his box stand out a bit – though the size certainly does this already – Roux put the words ‘Iron Giant’ in large letters across his hutch with two of Cornwell’s Iron Man symbols on either side.
What’s next?
Roux admits that his toolbox is already full.
“I gotta quit buying tools,” he says. “I’m gonna retire in a few more years, and I don’t know what to do with it.”
However, he does have one more addition he’d like to add – a power drawer box. This way he can not only store all his power tools together but can charge them as well so they’re ready to go whenever he needs them.
