Few aftermarket operations offer more one-stop shop services than DeCarolis. When you look at the company’s history, it’s easy to see why.
From its origins as a single-truck operation in Rochester, N.Y., to its current position as one of the larger businesses supporting commercial trucking in the Empire State, DeCarolis Truck Rental (parent company of DeCarolis Heavy Duty Parts) remains as committed as ever to the principles of its founder, Louis DeCarolis Sr., who was a man devoted to his customers and their satisfaction. He was willing to grow his business any direction to meet their needs.
Today, under the direction of Louis’ son Paul, DeCarolis Truck Rental operates nine locations with 164 employees across New York state. The business features truck and trailer rentals, leasing, used truck and trailer sales, custom fleet maintenance programs, drive-in truck, trailer and bus service and, of course, eight DeCarolis Heavy Duty Parts facilities.
Added to the company portfolio in 1989, first-time Truck Parts & Service Distributor of the Year finalist DeCarolis Heavy Duty Parts has grown steadily to become one of the most valuable sectors of the business. The operation features a 25,000 sq.-ft. master warehouse with 65,354 part numbers in Rochester and supports a store network ranging from the shadows of Niagara Falls in Buffalo to Syracuse and south to near the Pennsylvania line.
It’s a large area of operation, says General Manager Greg Rawleigh, but the company has a strong strategy for dealing with it.
“When our people go into a customer’s facility on a sales call, they go in intending to be an asset to the customer and their business,” Rawleigh says. “We want to bring them some-thing we know can help them.”
That’s where DeCarolis’ full complement of services comes in. Because DeCarolis serves so many customers in so many different ways, there are rarely customer segments or requests in which the business is unfamiliar. Coupled with its own homegrown customer relationship software, Rawleigh says any salesperson across the business can learn about a customer’s fleet with a few simple key strokes.
“I think that gives us a leg up in regard to our knowledge of the industry,” he says.
But even with those corporate connections, Rawleigh says it is ultimately employee commitment that makes each customer relationship hum. The DeCarolis Heavy Duty Parts team works as one cohesive unit, he says.
“We have open communication here and try to keep every-one on the same page,” Rawleigh says. “People tend to buy in more when they understand the plans for the company.”
The big plans ahead at DeCarolis over the next 12 months are business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-commerce websites, says Rawleigh. DeCarolis Truck Rental updated its corporate website last month, and Rawleigh says when complete, the new online sales portals will complement the company’s enhanced online presence. Just another step in the company’s 80-year commitment to customer service.
“We are large enough to be competitive with what our customers need but also small enough to change when that is needed,” Rawleigh says. “We know how to adapt to our market.”
