AlphaCars and Ural of New England (www.alphacars.com) is known throughout the region for selling and servicing high-end vehicles. It specializes in service and repairs of all systems on such luxury vehicles as BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Audi, Land Rover, and Volkswagen. The Boxborough, Mass., dealership also services Russian-made Ural motorcycles, one of a very few in the region to do so.
The dealership works hard to exceed the expectations of the most demanding customers when it comes to attention to details and quality of the work, parts and material, says Dmitry Bykhovsky, owner and general manager.
NEW FACILITY
Several years ago, AlphaCars completed a new, state-of-the-art, ergonomically-designed, service facility. The 13,000-sq ft, environmentally-friendly building is patterned more on the lines of a car museum than a typical service facility. Completely tiled and outfitted with a sleek and modern interior, Bykhovsky went looking for a tool storage solution that would fit well within the building’s atmosphere.
Before making a selection, he did his research, investigating a variety of options, including individual workbenches and toolboxes for each technician in the six-bay service area. He also considered construction methods and materials, along with fit and finish, of various tool storage solutions.
What he opted for instead was an integrated, modular wall solution from Lista International (www.lista.com), a manufacturer of workshop and warehouse furnishings. The solution included a modular drawer, shelf and roll-out tray storage system that offered maximum weight and cubic volume capacity, and was available in a variety of heights to take advantage of all vertical space.
CUSTOM DESIGNED
Bykhovsky says he was able to custom-design the shop space so the entire front wall of the service bays is a large storage wall with integrated workbench, toolbox and storage. Roll-down tambour doors gave him just “the clean, streamlined look I envisioned for the space.”
AlphaCars worked closely with Lista’s Joe Alfieri, a regional sales manager, to tailor the solution.
“They had three work areas and were looking for a storage solution across a 50’ wall with integrated benches and storage,” he recalls. “All the technicians have all their tools and supplies right there in the storage wall directly in front of their bay.
“We helped them plan out the thickness needed for drawer tools and sockets. We also suggested the roll-down tambour doors so the technicians can pull the doors down and the shop always looks nice and neat. If customers are out there, they don’t see all the tools and supplies.”
When the doors are pulled down “it makes it look like there are no toolboxes and the doors blend in with the wall,” says Bykhovsky.
CAN BE MODIFIED
Another reason for choosing the storage wall solution is that “it is totally extendable and can be modified or moved around to adjust to changing needs,” Bykhovsky notes.
“Let’s say you have a 10-inch-deep drawer and down the road you need more surface for tools. You can remove those drawers and replace them with two 5” drawers.”
While AlphaCars may look like a museum, it is not, he says. However, the storage wall solution it chose keeps the shop clean and attractive, which helps promote the company’s high-end, professional image.
Moreover, he adds that more, with the solution’s improved organization, the shop is more productive, and that, in turn, makes for happier employees.
