Business
www.SanTanSun.com
April 19 - May 2, 2014
Hondas, Acuras, Toyotas focus of Hontech BY ALISON STANTON
From the time Joe Carney was young, he enjoyed tinkering with cars. Although he liked being around vehicles of different types, he confesses that he really didn’t know that much about them.
That all changed when Carney began working at a local Honda dealership in Mesa. In 14 years, Carney went from washing cars to becoming the dealership’s top mechanic. Carney liked his work so much, he was inspired to open his own shop.
Twenty-one years ago, he and his wife Lorraine launched Hontech in Chandler. “I figured I might as well start my own business while I was still young, and if it didn’t work out, I could always go back to wrenching it for a dealership. For the first year, it was just my wife and I running it,” he says. Two decades later, Hontech is still going strong. Instead of working on all sorts of makes and models, the business focuses on servicing three types of vehicles, striving to get the work done in just one day. “We specialized in just Hondas and Acuras for about 15 years, and then we took on Toyotas about five years ago,” Carney says. “We can do pretty much everything that the dealers do, except for tires and alignments.” Because he and his employees are so familiar with three types of vehicles, Carney says Hontech offers the same quality and specialized work as a dealership, but with a more personalized feel. “We’re basically like a mom and pop shop. People enjoy coming to us and interacting with us,” Carney says. While Carney stays busy working on the vehicles, Lorraine can be found up front, meeting and greeting the customers as they come in, and getting to know each one.
TRIO OF MAKES: Hontech specializes in servicing and repairing three types of vehicles— Hondas, Acuras and Toyotas. STSN photo by Ron Lang
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Beyond Graphix offers quality products BY ALISON STANTON
Prior to opening Beyond Graphix in September 2006, Greg Hladek worked for a local printer. Although he enjoyed the work, he wanted to own his own company and branch out a bit more, using his skills to offer a variety of additional products and services. “From start to finish, I can do design work, printing or installs for individuals or companies,” Hladek says. “I can do everything from working with ASU students who need a high-end print job on a canvas and managing banners for wedding ceremonies, all the way to doing stickers or decals for a large corporation and more.” While Hladek says customers who work with much larger graphics companies might run the risk of being lost in the shuffle, he takes pride in working closely with everyone who walks in the door looking for a banner, auto wrap or printing job. “The biggest thing for me is that since we are a small company, our customers get a more hands-on service,” he says, adding that his clients are much more to him than “just a number.” “With some of the larger companies, SEE GRAPHIX PAGE 21