Owner: Grant Batten
Shop: Southside Autowerks
Location: Newnan, Georgia
Grant Batten, owner of Southside Autowerks in Newnan, Georgia, has had all different kinds of toolboxes over his 20-year automotive career, but when he was introduced to Sonic Tools’ MSS+ four years ago he was hooked.
“What makes the box so unique is that it’s able to house everything I need… and it does it perfectly,” he says.
Batten opened his own shop two years ago, starting out as a small, home-based business that soon turned into a brick and mortar shop, specializing in Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen maintenance. At his previous job, he traveled around the world, which is where he had first seen Sonic Tools’ MSS+ in the UK. When it came time to decide which toolbox to go with for his own shop, it was an easy decision.
“I wanted to go with Sonic Tools because of the organization system they have,” he says. “I’m kind of OCD and I like efficiency. It helps me put my tools back at the end of the day and to keep a clean workspace.”
Because MSS+ is a modular system and Batten had an odd-sized area to put his toolbox, he worked with a Sonic Tools representative to custom design his box. He was able to calculate the measurements to fit precisely how he wanted.
“Having it designed through them, I’ve got exactly what I need and nothing more,” Batten says. “It was very efficient [in the sense that I did not buy] something that I wasn’t going to use. There is no wasted space.”
Previous boxes, he noted, left him with drawers that were too tall or too narrow where he couldn’t utilize them efficiently. Now, he has drawers with organizers and foam inserts for everything from individual fuses and small hardware pieces like drain plugs and washers, to torque wrenches, his favorite tool.
“With drawer organizers, everything has its own space,” he says. “Every day I know exactly where each tool is and where it goes. I know very quickly if I’m missing anything and I’ve yet to replace a tool because of the foam system. It’s really unique and comes in handy.”
Batten’s toolbox consists of a large, 6’ double-wide cabinet and 22’ stainless steel benchtop with two cabinets above and four cabinets below. In addition, it has a total of 22 drawers, backing, space for a 35” computer monitor, and under-cabinet lighting. It also locks.
At first, Batten wasn’t sure if he would like the under-cabinet lighting feature, but he finds that it really comes in handy. And because it’s a modular system, he can remove the cabinet directly below the computer monitor to create a workspace similar to a desk, complete with a keyboard and mouse.
Another feature that he likes is that it doesn’t show fingerprints and cleans up nicely.
In the future, Batten is looking to build a new facility with six to eight bays, where he would like to replicate this exact toolbox for each bay.
