NAPA celebrated its 100th anniversary at the NAPA NOW event held in Las Vegas from April 15-17. Part of their celebration included the brand transformation of the Carlyle Tool brand. Originally launched back in 2012 as NAPA Auto Parts’ proprietary professional tools and equipment brand, and named after NAPA Auto Parts’ first president, Carlyle Frazier, it only encompassed hand tools for the first five to six years.
Joe Sabo, senior product specialist for NAPA Auto Parts, notes how in the mid-2000s additional tool and equipment categories were added to the brand, and they continued growing until they felt they hit a plateau.
“So, about three years ago in 2022, we decided to sit down and talk about how we could take Carlyle to the next level and evolve it into the next generation of tools,” Sabo says. “And here, almost three years later, you see the new Carlyle tools.”
Solving the technician shortage
Some of the biggest changes you’ll see in this next evolution of Carlyle Tool are that the NAPA Auto Parts endorsement has been removed, and NAPA’s traditional blue and gold colors have been updated to venom green and midnight oil.
To understand exactly what needed to change for this update, Sabo notes that they collected very specific data-driven insights from over two years of market research, focus groups, and speaking with technicians. However, they were also using this relaunch as an opportunity to help solve the industry’s biggest problem right now – the technician shortage.
The first question they asked was, “How do we engage with young people who are trying to figure out what they want to do with their careers and how they want to make a living and convince them to come into the automotive repair industry,” Sabo explains.
Their response was to look to Gen Z and try to understand why people in this age group aren’t becoming automotive technicians. One of the biggest barriers to entry is cost.
“There are very few vocations where on day one, you show up for your job and you have to have almost $11,000 of tools and equipment in order to contribute to your shop and to be able to make a living,” Sabo says. “And then we went on to learn that over a 30-year career as an automotive technician, you're going to invest somewhere between 80 and $100,000 of your own hard-earned discretionary income into your tools and equipment. But then we didn't stop there. We continued to ask questions, and as we asked more questions, we learned that 75 percent of those purchases happen in the first third of their career.”
Looking at this data and understanding that many students decided against going to a traditional four-year school to avoid debt, and are ending up in debt anyway as they pursue a career as a technician, was eye-opening.
“Day one, they climb onto a tool truck, and they go into tool truck debt,” Sabo says, “So we said, ‘How can Carlyle tools engage with these young technicians and show them that they don't have to go into tool truck debt?
“So that's what we've really tried to do. Partnering with our NAPA Auto Care team, our NAPA Auto Parts team, and launching this new Carlyle tools brand, we've brought a young, youthful, exciting, energetic color palette that is engaging to Gen Z with competitive pricing, but without sacrificing any quality or performance.”
A new era of tools
With the next generation of technicians in mind, Carlyle Tool is entering a new era of tools and equipment. Apart from the fresh new look, the brand is also looking to be more sustainable with its tool packaging.
In the past, the tools were packaged in either petroleum-injected trays or blow-molded cases. Sabo explains that many technicians would throw out the trays and the cases, creating a lot of waste. The packaging now consists of EVA foam, which builds tool organization into the packaging.
“We're taking the first step in kind of a green approach to tools and equipment,” Sabo says.
Tool storage
Carlyle’s tool storage line has also been updated. The line offers service carts and three different series of toolboxes to grow with technicians as they mature in their roles.
The 1500 Series is a light duty option that comes in 41”, 54”, and 72” sizes at 24” deep. This is their entry-level toolbox line. Moving on to their 2500 Series, these boxes are medium duty and have a 26” depth, heavier drawer pulls, and heavier casters. The last series is the 3500 Series. This is the heavy duty series, featuring a 30” depth at 72” wide and additional accessories that you can bolt on to it. The 3500 boxes also come with a transferable lifetime warranty.
“We've designed this program with succession in mind,” Sabo explains. “Start them out where they can afford, get them making money, and if they feel like they need to upgrade, they can upgrade.”
Shop equipment
On the shop equipment side, safety was a highlighted key feature. For many of the tools, the midnight oil color was heavily used. About 60 percent of the brand shows up in midnight oil while only 25 percent shows up in venom green. However, for the shop equipment, many of those products utilize venom green.
“We did that for a very specific reason,” Sabo states. “When we start to get into things like hydraulic shop equipment and different types of lifting equipment … we leaned into the venom green to act as a high-visibility safety color to prevent trips and spills in the shop.
“Thinking about keeping technicians safe and in their bays, turning wrenches, making money — we don't want any workplace injuries,” Sabo says. “So we saw this as a great opportunity … to capitalize on that high visibility.”
Industrial air compressors
The newest added subcategory for Carlyle is their industrial air compressors. Sabo explains that they are the first tool company to use an all-aluminum pump. The aluminum pumps run cooler, reducing heat, which reduces wear, leading to a longer life for the compressor. It can also help to minimize downtime with fewer equipment failures.
“If you think about all of the things that a shop may use air for, everything from airing up a tire to actually putting oil into a vehicle, they are very dependent,” Sabo says. “Even though we're seeing an increase in cordless power tools, shops are still very much dependent on air compressors.”
Lifting equipment
One big update for Carlyle’s hydraulic lifting equipment is their innovations with synthetic oils. To help with the equipment’s performance, they use a Shell synthetic oil. Additionally, their power units are assembled in clean rooms. This means that anyone working on assembly must put on the little white booties and the press fit white jumpsuits.
“We don't do any screw fit power units,” Sabo says. “The reason for that is when the traditional power units are screwed together that creates contaminants. You're shipping brand new equipment with contaminants already in the hydraulic fluid, and it ultimately wears out the seals and causes a premature failure. So, by doing press fits in clean rooms, we eliminate all of the potential for contaminants and debris to enter the system during the construction process.”
They also introduced a brand-new addition to their lifting category — the electric vehicle battery and under vehicle component handler. This product is expected to launch in Q2 and is designed to meet the needs of electrification in shops.
