July/August 2019

T o be profitable, a garage needs to be able to provide an efficient service that meets the needs of its customers. Investing in the latest equipment will provide new advantages for your business, and new avenues. The problem isn’t finding kit, it is making the choice about the direction you want to go in. When you’re in the market for a replacement item or a new line to offer a new service there is an enormous amount of choice out there. The central issue is making the right choice for you. Quality Robin Huish, Managing Director of Hickleys, comments: “Nowadays the brand label on the equipment is not always the manufacturer and a little bit of investigation is probably wise before you buy. This is where you need a good garage equipment company to offer advice and recommend quality products. I believe garage equipment companies prosper on product knowledge, equipment quality and customer service. Of course, price is important, but cheapest is definitely not the best way to do your selection.” Robin continues: “At the recent Automechanika show we showcased new products from Beissbarth and they generated huge interest. Top of the interest list was the drive over tread depth machine, the Beissbarth Easy Tread. This latest technology tool can be recessed or surface mounted at a strategic location in your workshop where all vehicles drive over it. The optional camera captures the registration number, measures the tread depth across the full width of the tyres and by the time the customer gets to reception, a picture of the car the registration plate and the tyre wear with full pass/fail and suggested causes are displayed and printed and waiting for your customer. “You instantly have the information to show to your customer the wear levels of their tyres, predict when new tyres will be required in the future and whether a wheel alignment test is imperative or advisable. At around £80 per week you only need to generate one or two premium tyres or a wheel alignment test to cover the cost.” Robin concludes: “The Beissbarth Easy Tread has no moving parts, is completely waterproof and is easily cleaned with a quick wipe over giving reliable performance and excellent accuracy. To learn more about the Beissbarth range of garage equipment visit www.hickleys.com “ Calibration New, or at least recent challenges necessitate new kit. To help the aftermarket deal with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) Hella Gutmann Solutions (HGS) has released the CSC-Tool Mobile (camera and sensor calibration tool); a portable version of its CSC-Tool, for mobile technicians and workshops with limited space. Neil Hilton, HGS’s Head of Business Development says: “The CSC-Tool Mobile is engineered to the same criteria as the standard version, but with the added bonus of being ultra- portable and able to be assembled in just a few minutes. Again, as with the standard tool, it is fully compatible with the HGS mega macs range of diagnostic tools, which all come pre- loaded with the necessary ADAS calibration software. “The new tool has retractable scale mirrors, which keeps cross beam length to a minimum, as well as fold flat legs and a fast adjustment beam system. Similar to the standard CSC- Tool, the mobile version uses the vehicle’s rear axle to ensure the correct alignment of the camera or radar sensor with the vehicles thrust axis. “Moreover, the modular extensions for radar, side and rear camera from the full-size CSC-Tool can be used with the CSC-Tool Mobile. To make this new tool even more practical for the technician, the vehicle-specific calibration panels have been redesigned, so that they can be folded for easy storage and transportation if needed. “This tool is certainly something the aftermarket needs,” says Neil, “especially mobile technicians and workshops that don’t have enough space for the standard CSC-Tool. We want to ensure that all technicians are able to have the opportunity to have 44 AFTERMARKET JULY/AUGUST 2019 GARAGE EQUIPMENT Above: Digital 3-D Four Wheel Aligner www.aftermarketonline.net GET YOUR KIT ON See how the latest garage equipment can keep you ahead of the game