Barry Steinberg’s favorite color is green, at least as far as his fifth store is concerned. The owner of Direct Tire & Auto Service in Watertown, Mass., says his new store in Medway, Mass., is an extremely efficient and “very green” eight-bay facility.
“We started with getting rid of the ‘front counters’ and built three individual kiosks for our clients to sit at and feel better about the personal touch versus the divider of the counter.”
Other efficiency and safety features of the 7,300-square-foot store include the following:
* eight in-ground and flush mount Rotary and Nussbaum lifts. “This design also allows us to work on lowered vehicles without issue,” says Steinberg.
* a flush mounted alignment rack.
* LED lighting.
* self-retracting oil and fluid reels at three different stations in the building “All of these products, along with our 1,500 gallon waste oil tank, are stored in bulk tanks in our 900-square- foot basement.”
Direct Tire also uses Clean Burn waste oil heaters. “And the shop is air conditioned to make the work environment the best for our employees.”
General Manager Bob Lane was responsible for designing “this most efficient operation set-up,” according to Steinberg. “He actually drew this out in a friend’s warehouse on a Sunday and called me to tell me he needed to show me something. Well, it was certainly worth the trip.”
The store’s grand opening was held May 9th. The store manager is Doug Smith, a 30-plus year employee with Direct Tire. Assistant manager is Tim Haynes, and the service manager is Ed DeGeorge.
“We presently have 10 employees in this facility and anticipate this to be a 14- to 16-employee operation in the near future,” says Steinberg.
