After selling tools for almost a decade, Mac Tools distributor Tim Lawrence knows what he wants in a tool truck.
Like many, Lawrence’s first tool truck was used, so when he decided it was time for an upgrade, he got a brand-new truck. The distributor went with a 24’ long, wide-body 2025 Freightliner M2. To get his custom-built truck, he spoke with Summit Body Works at the Mac Tools Fair.
“I like their work,” Lawrence says. “Their finished products are really nice [and] professional. And so, when I [got] the second truck, it was a no-brainer for me. I just went to them again.”
The upgrades
One of the biggest issues Lawrence had in his previous truck was the rails in the drawers holding his stock of single sockets.
“The standard drawers are just like filing cabinet drawers,” he explains, “and they didn't handle the weight. I was putting rails in those about every two months.”
Working with Terra Becker and one of Summit’s engineers, they were able to design a custom set of drawers made from steel with 250-lb toolbox rails. In addition to the drawers, the truck has a tool storage compartment that can be accessed from outside the truck. The space is large enough to hold creepers along with extra stock and other tools that are too “cumbersome” to store on the truck.
This time around, Lawrence also went with a taller box on the tool truck to fit more stock on the top shelves. Because of this, he has lighting on the edges of all the shelves so it’s not being blocked by tools on the ceiling.
Leasing vs. buying
When it comes to the “why” of getting a new tool truck, Lawrence’s reasoning was simple – the lease on his old truck was up. As opposed to buying his trucks, this distributor prefers to lease.
“The reason I lease is every year, I get 100 percent right off my lease payment,” Lawrence says. “If I purchase them, I gotta work depreciation, right?”
Lawrence actually used his first tool truck’s depreciation to his advantage. After deciding to get a new truck, he also made the decision to run a second route and wound up buying his first tool truck.
“It was depreciated out so far that I gave almost nothing for it,” he says.
The set-up
With a 30-year background as a heavy equipment technician, Lawrence can offer his customers advice as someone who has been in their shoes and used the same tools they do. He notes that he used Mac Tools as a technician, and when they lost their Mac distributor, it provided the perfect opportunity for him.
“We had just lost a Mac guy,” Lawrence recalls, “and so I looked into the Mac franchise, and everything went pretty fast and pretty easy. So, I just signed on the dotted line.”
He now covers a route through Pasco, Washington, visiting a variety of customers, including manufacturing businesses, independent shops, dealerships, motorcycle shops, heavy equipment shops, the school district, and more.
To accommodate all these customers, Lawrence keeps over a million dollars in inventory. Though much is housed on his truck, he’s also got a 50’ by 60’ warehouse.
With so much inventory on board, the distributor finds it easiest to organize the tools by job, so lube tools on one shelf, brake tools on another, etc. He also keeps the tools closed in their cases instead of open on display to help further maximize his space. If a technician can’t find something, he can easily guide them to it or get it for them, if he doesn’t have it in stock.
“It definitely makes a difference in your sales if you have it in stock,” Lawrence says. “Sometimes the customer can wait for you to get it in, [but] most of the time, they're in the middle of the job … the bigger inventory helps with that.”
