NEWS RELEASE

<May 18, 2011><Greensboro, N.C.>
Standard Tools and Equipment Co, a trusted manufacturer in the automotive aftermarket industry, announced today that they have been selected by How 2 Media to be a part of the popular television series, “World’s Greatest …”, featuring their paint booths. The show airs on the ION Network.

The company goes to market as Tools USA, Eagle Equipment and paint-booths.com, to sell hundreds of products through their mail-order catalog and their various Web sites. Products include auto lifts, frame machines, pulling posts and clamps, tire equipment, powder coating equipment and, or course, their paint booths.

One of the first online sellers of Paint Booths, their Tools USA internet store opened in 1999. Recognized by Google Inc. (1,000,000 Leads Generated), and Internet Retailer (America’s Top 500 Largest Retail Web Sites), they have a history as a successful online retailer.

“We started selling to Body Shops and in the early 80’s, the company developed the very first national catalog for the body shop professional,” says Michael Kestler, President of Standard Tools and Equipment Company. “Our many years of experience in the collision repair industry helped us to develop the superior paint booth products that we offer today. The value, quality and efficiency of our paint booths have been major factors in our expansion into other industries and our overall success.”

With over half of their paint booths being sold outside of the body shop industry, Standard Tools has supplied paint booths to such industries as NASCAR teams, Woodworking shops, military, schools, government and many varied manufacturing industries.

After a careful interview process, the show determined that Standard Tools’ experience, technology and customer-service made for not only a great paint booth, but a great story too.

“We think they have an interesting story to tell and we will help tell that story in a meaningful way to our viewers,” said Gordon Freeman, Executive Producer of the show. “Standard Tools is a major company operating in the somewhat fragmented Spray Booth manufacturing industry. The difference is that they sell direct, which affords and enables them to offer products at the lowest possible prices without sacrificing quality.”

“World’s Greatest…” is a 30-minute television show from the producers at How 2 Media. The show features the world’s greatest companies, products, places and people. Past businesses featured include Anheuser-Busch, Lenox China, Land’s End, Samsung, and Xtreme Motorsports.

A film crew will be visiting Standard Tools’ facilities in late June to get the story behind the story on why Standard Tools makes the World’s Greatest Paint Booths. They will begin shooting the segment, scheduled to air later this year.

“We are thrilled to be a part of ‘World’s Greatest…’ and honored for the selection,” Kestler continued. “We are excited to highlight the company’s history, manufacturing process and the story of who we are and why we do what we do.”

About Standard Tools and Equipment Co.
Tool USA, founded in 1979, and Eagle Equipment Co., founded in 1954, are operating companies of Standard Tools Holding Corp. (Standard Tools and Equipment Co.), a privately-owned holding company. Tools USA and Eagle Equipment Co. operate as sister companies with common ownership and top management. Standard Tools and Equipment Co. is a leading manufacturer and distributor of automotive body shop equipment and through its wholly owned subsidiary, Eagle Equipment Co., it is a national leader in the distribution of automotive lifts and wheel service equipment. Manufacturing and corporate offices are located in Greensboro, NC.

For more information, visit www.toolsusa.com, www.eaglequip.com or www.paint-booths.com or contact Kat at 336.697.7177, Ext. 121 or Katm@standardtool.com.

Combustible dust was to blame for 348 explosions, 793 injuries, and 133 deaths from 1980 to 2008. It is a terrifying hazard that goes overlooked in many facilities because it is not fully understood. Are you taking all the precautions necessary to ensure that your shop, and your employees, are safe?

“Dust becomes fuel for fires and explosions when it builds to hazardous levels,” noted Standard Tools and Equipment’s plant manager, Tracy Beach. “Sources such as sugar, flour, feed, plastics, wood, rubber, furniture, textiles, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, coal, and metals can form combustible dust.”

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) show some of the materials that may become explosive when divided into small enough particles here (PDF).

There is a directive intended to reduce the occurrence of explosions and fire due to combustible dust. OSHA has launched the Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (or Combustible Dust NEP) to administer safety requirements and fines where there currently is no code. Immediate action is to identify findings and impose fines on companies that have combustible dust that is not being managed or not managed adequately. The long-term action is to develop a suitable requirement.  Click here to read more information about Dust NEP.

Standard Tools and Equipment provides cyclone dust collectors, cartridge filter systems and spray booths designed specifically for powder coating.  These items are designed to meet, or exceed, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and OSHA requirements.

Our suggestion is for your safety team to review the processes for handling or creating combustible dust and to call us at 1-800-451-2425 if you find that combustible dust is a concern for you.

If you have combustible dust, you will need processes and equipment to handle it.  Please do not wait until after a catastrophe or visit from your OSHA inspector.  Dust is an item that is much less expensive to handle before any such event occurs.

The 5th Dimension

Pop group The 5th Dimension had a hit song in late 1960’s called Up, Up and Away.  It was an upbeat, feel-good song that was about riding in a hot-air balloon.  It was played over and over on AM radio stations around the country and won a Grammy in 1968.

Today, the idea of “up, up and away” defines the costs of materials.  We have all been shocked by recent increases in fuel prices, but steel prices have risen more dramatically in the same timeframe.  In 18 months, gas prices rose from $2.50 to $3.50 per gallon… a 40% increase. In the same timeframe, steel prices increased by 65%.  This increase can be attributed to the rising fuel costs, increasing global demand and negative influences in supplies.  One such negative factor was the torrential rains and flooding in Australia that filled coke mines.  This coke is deemed the best in the world for smelting the high-tech steel ores used today.

Steel is the main component in every major item that Standard Tools and Equipment sells.  The costs for items such as spray booths, mixing rooms, collision repair equipment, lifts and tire service equipment are all greatly influenced by the price of steel.  Experts in the metals market predict that metal prices will only continue to rise through 2011 due to fuel cost and increases in demand, especially in developing countries.

Standard Tools and Equipment is working diligently to control the costs and provide our customers with low prices, but as steel prices increase, product costs will eventually have to follow.  Buying your next spray booth, frame machine, lift or piece of tire equipment sooner rather than later is advantageous to avoid paying a higher cost later.

We are not trying to scare you or unjustly motivate you to buy now.  We simply want to provide up-to-date information to our valued customers. We believe that our customers are clever enough to learn the facts that influence their business decisions and profitability. The team at Standard Tools and Equipment can help you with any questions you may have on the rising steel costs and how that will effect you!

Many times, the extent of the damages is not discovered until the repairs have begun…. dragging out the repair time, raising the repair costs and causing frustration in customers.

In a world full of technology, customers and insurance companies expect more than repairs based on strings, tape measures or basic old fashioned measuring systems.  So, what is the solution? Computerized electronic measuring systems offer tremendous accuracy and will detect damage that visual inspections miss. With this technology, shops are able to compare each measurement to the vehicle manufacturer’s specifications and display any difference, enabling the technician to make needed adjustments. As an added bonus, they provide the proper repair documentation required by most insurance companies.

Until recently, these systems were out of reach for the small and mid-size shops due to the high price tag ($25,000 to $40,000).  Not only where they pricey, but so complicated that it required extensive training, limiting the number of technicians that could actually use the system. With this added training and the regular software updates, thousands of dollars were added to the lifetime cost of these system.

Meet JNE, one of the leading international companies in the market of universal measuring systems for the collision repair industry. They introduced the Allvis, Allvis Light and Allvis Tech Systems… making computerized measuring affordable for every shop. Systems are reasonably priced at $4500 and $7999, including frame data and the computer program. If a shop can utilize a current database, the system options are priced at $999 and $1999.  All systems have print out capability or a job can be saved as a PDF document for emailing and reference. These systems are very simple to operate; every technician in the shop can use the system regardless of experience.

If you’re a shop owner, implement a computerized measuring system to provide your technicians the satisfaction of knowing that their repair quality and accuracy has been improved and the time spent on repairs has been reduced.

Contact our Sales Team online or at 800-451-2425 for more information on how you can do more painting and less watching it dry!

Visit your local new vehicle dealer.  All of the vehicles are priced 20% or higher than last year’s models.  The prices are offset with significant rebates, up to $10,000 for an F-150!  The automobile manufacturers and dealers expect their costs to increase in the next months.  Those vehicles still sitting on the lot when fuel prices rise will have the original price in the windows, but the rebates will be long gone.

Standard Tools knows that buying one of their spray booths, mixing rooms, frame machines, lifts or other similar products now, rather than later, is the best bet.  Buying before the prices are raised even higher ensures that you obtain your equipment and can start making profit by now.  Call our sales team at 800-451-2425 for more information!

On a recent shopping trip to buy name brand jeans, I found that almost all of them were made in China, Mexico, Egypt, Lesotho and Haiti. We live in a global market. It’s often easier for a consumer to purchase a product from a foreign country than down the street from where they live. Let’s face it, it is just cheaper for the company in material and labor costs! But sometimes the initial savings do not necessarily mean that you save money. Spray booths are a great example, let me explain.

A spray booth is not a pair of jeans.  There are costs beyond the initial purchase that may make a booth end up costing you more than a domestic booth. There are installation costs, ducting, fire suppression, permits and obtaining insurance.

There are numerous codes that define the requirements of a spray booth.  (Read more about these codes.) A spray booth imported from a foreign source with a lesser perceived value and no third-party certification will be harder to permit than one made with quality materials, from a proven source and with (Optional) third-party certification (like ETL).

The ETL Mark is the fastest growing product safety certification mark in North America. A product bearing the ETL listed mark is determined to have met the minimum requirements of prescribed product safety standards from an independently tested organization. Moreover, the mark indicates that the manufacturer’s production site conforms to a range of compliance measures and is subject to periodic follow-up inspections to verify continued conformance.

Standard Tools is a company proud to be manufacturing American products from their plant in Greensboro, NC. Our paint booths and spray booths are designed for code approval with materials that comply with OSHA guidelines as well as the National Board of Fire Underwriters, as recommended by the 2011 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA33) requirements. Factors that make a spray booth from Standard Tools a better product include:

Rapid design and manufacturing capabilities, typically less than a week

Complete flexibility in designing and manufacturing custom spray booths

Quick response time from our customer service team to questions and address any problems

Single-point transit – Your booth can ship from our plant to your shop without lengthy overwater freighting

In-house experts at code compliance, booth design, assembly experience and application assistance

Consistent quality with proven materials and manufacturing processes

Optional Third-party ETL labels on many spray booth and mixing room styles

Better design for installation – Many imported designs use panels too large to handle without forklifts.

Stability – Standard Tools is an industry-leader with a solid history and promising future.  We have been there for our Customers since 1979 and foresee a future of continued success.  If you plan to expand in several years, we will be there to provide products that will match your current Standard Tools items or are improved due to efficiency improvements or code changes.

If you are looking at an imported spray booth, we ask that you give us a chance to provide pricing and lead-time information for a comparable spray booth.  Please contact our booth sales department at 1-800-451-2425, Ext 125.

For many years shop owners designed and built their own spray booths.  Over time a small number of manufacturers realized that they could design, make and sell booths that were more efficient, safer and ready to build.  Standards were written to define the requirements of these units.  Standard Tools is a in the spray booth industry today because of the level of quality in their products.

The sales and engineering team at Standard Tools can talk with you if you are researching the prospect of getting a new spray booth.  We can save you a great deal of stress, time and money while providing an efficient and safe spray booth. 

The are four ways to get a spray booth in your shop:

The Homer -– Home-designed and Homemade.  The design task is actually more important than the building tasks since the design should meet certain codes that define construction, air flow, emergency egress, electrical and fire protection aspects.  This project is much larger and much more expensive than you can anticipate and will end up as a booth that doesn’t meet code, has no history and may be a fire hazard.  (There is a reason that a certain Simpson is named Homer.)

Pre-designed or Pre-engineered – Standard Tools has trained and skilled engineers who reference accepted standards, use CAD modeling to design the unit, verify construction and air flow performance, and provide a manual that details the installation and maintenance manual.  We have skilled fabricators and welders who build booth components everyday with specialized equipment.  We have packers who inspect each panel and door, and then kit the parts to ensure safe transport.  Many of our team members have assembled spray booths and bring that experience into their manufacturing jobs.

ETL-Certified – Standard Tools offers this optional kit with our most common spray booths.  This option means that the booth has had a hands-on evaluation by Intertek, a third-party testing firm that has been around since the 1880’s and is the leader in spray booth certification.  This option eases the permitting and insuring processes.

Turnkey – A firm can design, build and install your spray booth.  They may be hired to take care of the local permitting process.  They will be in your shop, often doing tasks that you could easily do yourself.  Standard Tools does not offer this option directly but can direct you to some of our distributors who do provide this service.  This is a suitable option for a new shop with limited help.

Most of our customers elect to buy a pre-engineered booth, install it themselves and hire contractors for specific tasks like electrical, fire protection and ducting tasks.  We feel like this is the best option for most customers with adequate help who buy average-sized booths. Call us toll-free at (800) 451-2425, Ext 125.  You can also email us at kellyg@standardtool.com

FABTECH Location

FABTECH 2010
Georgia World Congress Center
Atlanta, Georgia
November 2-4, 2010
www.fabtechexpo.com

The notes included in this message are a general reference only.  Standard Tools and Equipment Co. can explain how our equipment complies with this standard.  However, your local authorities have the final say about compliance to this rule.  There are no exemptions for completing the form, but there are a very few exceptions for compliance to the requirements within the form (military installation, munitions, spraying no more than two personal vehicles per year, and a low volume system for quality or R&D).  New shops or any shop being modified is required to submit this form to the EPA for approval.

The form to be submitted includes information about the facility, types of materials used, training records for painters, and efficiency ratings for the exhaust filters. Stating the efficiency ratings of exhaust filters implies that the painters are using a spray booth.  Standard Tools can provide a spray booth for your facility which exceeds the requirements for proper spraying, filtering, and exhausting of hazardous overspray and fumes.

The EPA can be a difficult challenge for any company; many business owners simply want to run and hide at the mention of the EPA.  The requirements are often technical and can sometimes seem extremely constrictive.  On the other hand, our rivers no longer catch on fire they way they did forty years ago; our air is much cleaner, and we have better information about the chemicals that we use in our shops everyday.  Due to the nature of chemicals used in the spray painting and stripping process this task is required.  Adhering to this policy will increase the safety within your shop and lower its environmental impact.  Please contact Standard Tools & Equipment with any questions about our equipment.  Your local EPA office will have more specific information about the forms and requirements specific to your shop.