Truck of the Month: Aux Mechanical, Birmingham, Ala.

Aux Mechanical is getting the message across on its trucks.

Photo credit: Aux Mechanical

Birmingham, Ala.-based Aux Mechanical’s truck wrap is eye-catching. General manager PJ Smitherman notes the photo on the back door that depicts a waving service tech - his father, Aux President Phillip Smitherman - draws plenty of looks.

“After we wrapped them, everybody and their brother were calling saying how great the trucks looked,” PJ Smitherman says.

The material on the wrap that packs the greatest punch is the company’s “We’ll fix it at the speed of life” slogan and its unique toll-free phone number that references its fast service guarantee, he adds. Aux offers plumbing, heating, cooling, and electrical repair and replacement services throughout metropolitan Birmingham.

“One of the keys in designing it was to make sure the wrap was plain and simple and effective in what we aim to do,” says Smitherman, who adds the company has a dedicated website based on the toll-free phone number. “We try and keep it simple from a branding standpoint and don’t try and get too crazy with different tactics. Our goal is to be there as fast as we can and fix it as fast as we can.”

While heads are turning on Birmingham roads when an Aux service truck passes by, the company’s technicians are equally in awe of the inner workings of the vehicles. The majority of Aux’s 20-vehicle fleet features Ford chassis with Unicell boxes. It also has five Sprinter vans.

Click to enlarge

Photo credit: Aux Mechanical

“From a service standpoint, the Unicell allows us to get twice as much material in there,” Smitherman says. “Tall-framed techs can get in there and stand up with no problem. It cuts down on a lot of the old issues of being cramped in the back of a van. We can pretty much put in every part we need. There’s even a work bench on the bulkhead that technicians use.”

Fully stocked trucks with clear and concise messaging factor into Aux’s unwavering commitment to customer service - a company staple dating back to when Smitherman’s father started the company out of the family basement in 1987. Technology, though, also plays a major role in the Nexstar-affiliated company. All techs are outfitted with laptop computers and GPS devices.

“We are very technologically driven,” Smitherman says. “Our techs have all the customer’s history and equipment that has been installed. They are getting the information quicker and it’s more accurate. Our biggest focus is our customers.”

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Mike Miazga (former group editorial director for BNP Media’s Plumbing Group) is now the vice president of sales/membership at the American Supply Association (ASA). Supply House Times is proud to be the official publication and brand of the ASA — a relationship that spans more than a decade.

Mike’s relationship with BNP Media and the Plumbing Group continues today. He now writes a monthly ASA-focused column for Supply House Times and acts as an editorial consultant to BNP Media’s Plumbing Group.

In his 10-plus years at BNP Media, Miazga was senior editor of Plumbing & Mechanical and PM Engineer before taking over chief editor duties at Supply House Times in 2011. In addition to his role as editorial director, Miazga continued as Supply House Times chief editor and the editor of the American Supply Association’s PVF Outlook eNewsletter. He also enjoyed three stints as PM Engineer’s chief editor, holding dual roles as Supply House Times and PM Engineer chief editor on two occasions.

Miazga started his career in newspapers at the age of 19 and has more than 25 years of newsroom, management, editorial and public/media relations experience, and is a former high-school baseball and golf head varsity coach. Mike and his family are still based out of the Chicago area (with ASA Headquarters in Itasca, Illinois). You can reach Mike at PlumbingGroup89@gmail.com.