From left: Sam Yako and Jacob Yako, owners of Paste Auto Parts, with their general manager, Angelo Fiorito.
About 300 Toronto shop owners and technicians took in the biennial Paste Auto Parts trade show at the Fontana Primavera Event Centre in Woodbridge last night.
The event, which featured a hot dinner, beverages, and door prizes, gave Paste Auto Parts customers a chance to rub shoulders with the group’s most prominent suppliers.
“We do this every two years. We find that’s a good interval,” said Jacob Yako, co-owner of Paste Auto Parts with his brother Sam. “If it’s every year there’s a chance that people think they’ve seen it everything already. We don’t want anyone being bored!”
He promised attendees plenty of opportunities to learn about new products and get technical information.
“This show is like a clinic for our customers. We want to make sure everyone knows what’s new, what’s available, and what our key suppliers have to offer,” he said. “We ask the suppliers to focus on new products. And, of course, we make sure that everything that our customers see on the show floor is available immediately from our warehouse.”
The brothers started the company in 2003 with a 900-square-foot store front, and about $30,000 in merchandise. Paste Auto Parts has since grown to three warehouses in Toronto’s north end, with a total of 25,000 square foot and over $2.5 million in inventory.
Each of the three locations – on Toryork Drive, Ashwarren Road, and Shaft Road – serves auto repair shops in their immediate areas.
“We focus on the shops within a seven kilometers radius,” said Jacob. “We want to give excellent service, and in that part of the city traffic can be difficult. It can take 20 minutes to go seven kilometers sometimes!”
The company has been a member of Bestbuy Distributors for the past six years. “They’ve been like family to us.
The brothers expected about 150 area shops send to staff to the show. A local DJ kept the beats going throughout the evening.
Karen Barkin, managing director of the automotive group at Bestbuy Distributors Ltd., introduced trade show attendees to the BestAuto program, and the benefits that come with the various levels of participation.
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