Nobody knows what would make for a great tool better than the person who’d be using it on a daily basis. Having spent years calling on body shops as a tool salesman, Gerry Trueit was made well aware of this fact. He also picked up a few ideas along the way — ideas that helped birth Killer Tools & Equipment, a Las Vegas-based manufacturer that has built an extensive, nationwide distribution network in just four years.
The company’s strategy for product development is simple. “Quite frankly,” Trueit says, “if the tool saves time and/or stress on the body, that’s a tool we want to produce,” as many of his ideas have come directly from collision repair technicians. For the products he ended up developing and marketing, Killer Tools paid royalties to the technicians. It's a practice they plan to continue.
“I look at new products all the time,” Trueit relates. “When technicians contact me about their new tool ideas, I draw up an agreement, assuring them in writing that I won’t produce their product for sale without paying them a guaranteed royalty, or pre-set sum we both agree on.
“The first thing I have to ascertain is whether or not the product lends itself to a utility patent or design patent. Then we get a working model in the field for testing. For this I talk to some trusted friends who own shops, and they give the tool an honest test and provide me with honest feedback.”
Killer Tools currently has three products on the market: Surge Suppressor, Door Skin Tool and Door Stabilizer. More are on the way, each of which fit the company’s theme of saving stress and time.
In Demand
While selling tools from 1989-2001, Trueit developed a 1,500-shop national route that he would methodically visit every year. This route became the platform he used to introduce his patented Door Skin Tool to the collision market when he founded Killer Tools & Equipment in 2001. For the first year, the company sold its flagship Door Skin Tool directly to end-users. Now it distributes all of its products through an extensive network of paint jobbers, mobile tool distributors and WDs.
After that initial year of selling direct, Killer Tools started signing on paint jobbers, but only if they agreed to buy a demonstration rack that would help show how the tool worked. Trueit wanted the collision technician to have a positive experience with the tool the very first time it was used. This meant the tech needed training on proper usage, which is why Killer Tools initially discouraged mobile tool dealers from selling it. “I felt that many mobile tool distributors were not comfortable with the collision industry, and probably wouldn’t demonstrate our tool,” Trueit explains.
It didn’t take but a year or so for a ground swell to be created through the paint jobbers, and collision techs were soon asking their mobile tool distributors for the Door Skin Tool. Feeling comfortable that most collision techs had a solid grasp of how the tool worked, Trueit placed a little less emphasis on live demonstrations. In turn, he opened the doors to mobile tool distributors.
He also devised a strategy that would help the mobiles sell the increasingly popular Door Skin Tool. A video was included with each product, and the Killer Tools logo and phone number was placed on every tool so end-users could call Trueit directly with questions.
Finally, Trueit and other Killer Tools employees began attending regional and national trade shows, which provided the opportunity to demonstrate the tool to thousands of mobile dealers, and point out the most important selling features. Killer Tools now works with all four of the mobile tool franchises, as well as many independent mobile distributors via warehouse distributors.
Time And Stress Killers
The Pneumatic Door Skin Tool has been Killer Tools’ flagship product since the company’s founding in 2001. The initial idea emerged when it was realized that putting on door skins is among the least favorite jobs in the collision repair industry.
Furthermore, those in the shops say insurance companies generally pay less in labor for door skins, and if the body tech makes even a single mistake, very little money is made.
“We’ve automated the process by using air,” Trueit explains. “A job that took 1.5 hours was cut to under 10 minutes with no damage to the door skin, and no arm stress for the technician.
“We started production in 2001 and nationally presented our first tool at the 2003 NACE convention. At NACE 2004 we brought 10 door skins to demonstrate the tool to the industry. Huge crowds watched as our guy did every skin in under a minute, with not a ripple to be felt. We sold 1,000 units through distributors that month, and haven’t looked back since.”
Trueit has been very pleased with the popularity of the Pneumatic Door Skin Tool, and thinks this hot item is only going to get hotter. State Farm Insurance recently had Trueit sign a waiver that allows them to distribute a video to all State Farm agents showing a door being skinned with the Pneumatic Door Skin Tool.
The Next Killer Ideas
One of Killer Tools’ latest products is the Door Stabilizer. It’s designed to hold a door stable when off the vehicle and while labor is being performed. This could be when applying a door skin or replacing hardware, for example.
”Collision techs are using everything from blankets to bubble wrap to protect the face of the door from being marred,” Trueit points out. “Our new Door Stabilizer supports the vehicle door with two 35" long, 2" wide floating arms with non-skid rubber. A third arm comes over the top and sandwiches the door between the rubber arms to create a stable working situation for the technician.”
Killer Tools has also been manufacturing a Surge Suppressor for the past five years. This tool suppresses transient voltage spikes while a technician is welding, alleviating the need to disconnect the battery, which, in turn, allows vehicle computers to retain their memory. Killer Tools plans to introduce this product to its customer base sometime this summer.
But before that, a new tool is scheduled to be released that’s designed for both the collision and mechanical repair industries. “We have just filed a patent on a device for crimping the bands around CV boots on cars with rack and pinion steering,” Trueit reveals. “Insurance companies typically allow two hours to accomplish this task. Our new tool is designed to do the same job in less than 10 minutes, which puts at least $40 more in the technician's pocket.”
Several other products are in various stages of development. As usual, their conception arose from a need expressed from the field, and are designed to be real time- and stress-savers.
“We manufacture all components for our Pneumatic Door Skin Tool here in America,” Trueit points out. “I have a hands-on, in-the-shop relationship with all my suppliers and it shows the final product. I want the technician purchasing our tools to recognize the quality, and understand that the tools will last as long as his or her career.
The only exception is that we do use a Taiwanese air hammer to run our Door Skin Tool because it’s inexpensive to replace, and I know the Taiwanese have plenty of experience making them.”
Headquartered in Las Vegas, Killer Tools handles all assembly and shipping in southern California, since that’s where the majority of its vendors are located. Long-term, Trueit plans to consolidate all operations in southern California. “The weather has a bit to do with that decision, too,” he says with a chuckle.
Trueit has been smiling a lot lately. Killer Tools is selling three times as many Door Skin Tools as it did in 2001. With the new Door Stabilizer currently on the market, and other products on the way, the company expects to have a banner year with the top-notch distribution network that’s been built up over the past four years. “We invested a lot of time and money into our company before realizing a return on our investment,” cites
Trueit, whose wife Maggie serves as the company’s chief financial officer.
However, that doesn’t mean the company is not on the lookout for additional distribution partners. “I prefer that they come to me, though,” Trueit points out. “We seem to get off on a better foot when I know they’re interested, and they know we’re serious about who is distributing our product.”
