Keeping up with the times is something business owners have had to do since the concept of supply and demand has been in existence. Without constant growth and refinement of a business’s products and services, the ability to meet the demand of the customer will shrivel like a worm on a hook. We cannot just sit back on our haunches and conduct business as usual. Motor Age’s own John Anello recognized that his achievement of a successful business plan must be maintained, and it doesn’t mean it will be there tomorrow. This is how John ensured continued success for his company, Auto Tech On Wheels.
The concept of ATOW
Back in the mid to late 1980s, John began his career like many of us. He spent about ten years in the trenches, learning to repair cars properly. John had a special knack for deciphering hard-to-find faults, and in 1991, he recognized a need to fill a void (like most entrepreneurs). This is when he started his own business. He decided to call it Auto Tech On Wheels.
Yes, John was one of the pioneers of the now “common” business model. He took his diagnostic abilities on the road and visited the shops with the elusive faults, where he performed what seemed to the unknowing as magic. What took so many shops so much time and unnecessarily spent money to attempt to rectify a situation John would make fast work of with his on-site diagnostic support. He quickly made a name for himself as a “problem-solver” in the northern New Jersey area. His business grew to allow him to provide his services (single-handedly) to over 70,000 vehicles to date. Those in need came from 1200 repair shops, 400 auto body shops, and 50 transmission shops.
Morphing the model to follow the demand
Don’t get me wrong, to achieve that level of growth over the 24+ years ATOW has been in existence takes hard work, dedication, and constant refinement. John has a few unwritten rules he follows to ensure not only success but efficiency and profitability as well.
First of all, John (like many other mobile diagnostic support specialists) does not provide service to the general public. His services are only for the aforementioned. This makes things much simpler. He requires that a mechanic (with tools) be onsite. John will not spend his time removing components for access to test/inspection locations. It limits liability and prevents John from doing the work for them. John never spends more than a specified allotted time on a fault. There have been times that John had to return to a job site to complete a diagnosis but only after the rest of his scheduled workday was complete, preventing bottlenecks. After all—it's a business, not a hobby.
As stated above, consistent refinement is the key to his success. Recognizing that vehicle systems and the components that they are comprised of is ever evolving, came the virtual system platforms that we all have become familiar with. That is, it is far easier and more economical to share data over networks than to hard-wire each component, sensor, and switched input. With that came the added ECUs and the need to communicate with each one of them. This is why almost all mobile specialists now carry OE tooling, to ensure full capability. John saw this coming well over a decade ago and grew his tooling arsenal with this in mind. To date, ATOW has factory OE scan tool capability for more than 20 manufacturers through 2019! John provides diagnostics, programming, software updating, security system relearning and many other post-flash requirements that some of the J2534 options simply aren’t capable of yet. This keeps the business in demand and John at the top of the list as “the one to call.”
Recognizing a new business concept
There are two words (I'm sure all of you will agree) that we hardly ever use in the automotive service and repair industry: “always" and "never." But I believe I can in this instance. Technology is ALWAYS changing, and we will NEVER be without the need for new tooling and training. With that being said, John (once again) recognized the explosion of Advanced Driver-Assist Systems (ADAS) and went “all in” on tooling, training, and a new business niche!
The problem many shops of today face is not only a lack of capable service information (regarding ADAS) but also the hardware and software to carry out the functions and the time/space required to restore proper ADAS calibrations and overall functionality. John had invested a boatload of his free time learning how these ADAS systems are configured and how each of the components that they are comprised of function. These include but are not limited to: RADAR, LIDAR, SONAR, and trigonometry.
I mean, who would have thought we’d be carrying around string and a plumb bob? It’s a reality when it comes to ADAS calibration! The point is that all of the underlying framework and infrastructure still exist. Computers, how they share data, and the software aspect still exist. The layers of complexity just tend to multiply exponentially. John's previous expertise, along with his consistent mental growth, allows him to fill a void. Auto Tech On Wheels maintains its position as a diagnostic and reprogramming solutions provider but has now grown to become a mobile ADAS calibration restoration unit and a VERY profitable one at that. This gives John the opportunity to field diagnostic support phone calls while on the road and focus the majority of his time now on providing ADAS solutions to his customers. It's growing at such a tremendous rate that he can barely keep up. One mobile technician cannot possibly keep up with the nine million ADAS-equipped vehicles on the road in his area.
Don't limit yourselves to what has been successful in the past. Conducting "business as usual" might work for pizza restaurants and dry cleaners but certainly not in the automotive repair industry. I would describe John Anello and his mobile ADAS unit as a gladiator, which is defined as an armed combatant facing many confrontations daily. He and his specially outfitted Jeep Gladiator seek to conquer and dominate the ADAS world in his arena, which grows on almost a weekly basis. It's this thirst for constant refinement and an awareness of the industry’s future-demands that will force John and ATOW to keep on the cutting edge of technology and business moving forward in a positive direction. Along with growth will come profitability and work to keep his business secure as a reputable service provider, regardless of the implemented technologies of tomorrow. So, my advice to you? Shoot for the stars, as it is almost never crowded up there (look, I said “never” again!).
