Truck wrap transformation

Warmly regarded as “Vinny Mac” by his customers, Mac Tools distributor Vincent Parente has been serving his route base in Long Island, New York since 1979.

He purchased his 1979 GM Workhorse new from Mac Tools when he started his business in September of that same year. While there have been extensive overhauls to the engine and transmission, countless maintenance services and redesigns to the inside of the truck, Parente still runs the same vehicle he did when he started out.

With more than 335,000 miles, the truck has all OEM parts and components, with a few exceptions. “We did the motor over once right in the cradle, but never took the motor out,” Parente confirms. “The transmission has been done a few times, every six to eight years.”

“I’m a preventative maintenance person,” Parente adds. “I do oil changes every 3,000 miles, (the) transmission every six months. That’s why I believe my truck has lasted so long, and it’s also garage kept. I don’t take it out in heavy snow.”

Parente has also made aesthetic upgrades.

“I’ve revamped the inside three or four times since I got the truck,” says Parente. The original layout allowed for four smaller toolboxes. In the mid-1980s, Parente says Mac Tools introduced a larger storage solution, the 1600 series.  “It was a hot thing because (the 1600 series) was the biggest box around,” says Parente.

“When they first came out with the 1600 series, I gutted the whole truck” to fit the new larger-sized boxes, Parente explains. He still has that same 1600 series on his truck today, bolted to the floor.

While the internal workings of the vehicle are still operational, Parente worked with Mac Tools to get his original truck re-wrapped with the company’s current logo and branding.

Parente says it took a full days’ work – from 8 a.m. to midnight – to have the wrap placed on his truck. Like many of his customers, Parente says a good customer of his who owns a body shop allowed him to house the truck to have the work completed. “When you have history - I’ve gone to their kids weddings - you gain that kind of friendship and trust over time. They left the shop open for me.”

And that trust is mutual. “I’m very old fashioned, if I shake your hand it’s a done deal. That’s the way my father brought me up.”

Parente starts his 39th year in the business this September. While he has an eye on retirement, he has no definitive plans yet. “I’ve been slowing down too – my legs and my knees aren’t what they used to be,” says Parente. “My family jokes about it, but I’ve always been on a two-year plan for years.”

Parente adds there are two people in particular that have helped him keep up with running a successful business: his wife, Susan, and his mentor, Bob Barton.

"My wife, being my backbone, she does all of my books for me," says Parente. "That’s one whole days work that I don’t have to do. She’ll place orders for me when I’m on the run. She’ll take time out for me." 

As for his mentor, Parente says Barton was the one who originally introduced him to Mac Tools, and was a positive influence to help guide him through learning how to run a mobile tool selling business. "There was no such thing as mentors back then. He took me under his wing, and for the first year – I’m sure I drove him crazy – he answered all my questions and gave me great advice. He was a great influence on me."