MAC's ANTIQUE AUTO PARTS
COMPANY BIOGRAPHY



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MAC's Antique Auto Parts started in Douglas McIntosh's garage on Locust Street in Lockport, New York in 1978. The original idea was to retail Ford Model T parts, but the business grew rapidly and in 1979 was moved to 1051 Lincoln Avenue, where it expanded to include retail Ford Model A parts. The building at 1051 Lincoln Avenue began at 5,000 square feet, but as business continued to expand a second building of 5,000 square feet was added to the original structure to create 10,000 square feet of warehouse and office space. By the end of the 1980's, MAC's had expanded its retail line to include Ford 1932 - 1948 Early V8 parts.

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In 1990 the decision was made to enter the retail 1909 - 1948 Street Rod market. A Street Rod catalog was created, new vendor relationships were established, an advertising program was designed, and the catalog was distributed. Even to the present day, attending the annual National Street Shows as a vendor is an important part of the Street Rod marketing program.

Beginning in 1991 MAC's embarked on a plan to become a significant player in the antique auto parts business through a series of strategic acquisitions. It was also decided that MAC's would remain in the Ford parts arena, and not expand into other brands. The strategy was simple: any acquisitions should not duplicate existing capabilities, but should be used to incrementally and significantly increase the scope, manufacturing capability, control, and profitability of specific existing product lines. The path was clear, a significant entry into the wholesale parts and parts manufacturing businesses. The result was the buy-out of Specialized Wholesale Auto Parts of Houston, Texas in 1991. The merger created a major manufacturing capability, and the company's entry into the wholesale auto parts business. To capitalize on Specialized Houston's 30 year reputation and existing dealer program, the wholesale program was named Specialized Wholesale Auto Parts Company.

Another acquisition occurred in 1992, when Auto Hardware Company of Cleveland, Ohio, was purchased. This company had a long-standing reputation for researching and manufacturing authentic auto hardware, and this brand-equity was transferred to MAC's. The hardware is sold at retail as well as wholesale, and has been expanded. An additional benefit from this acquisition was their extremely valuable list of sources and manufacturing information.

1993 proved to be a busy year, the Ford Motor Company instituted a Trademark Licensing Program a few months into the new year which MAC's quickly applied for and was granted. This license allows MAC's to produce over 200 trademarked parts, and the development of additional trademarked parts is an ongoing program. In late 1993 the company acquired equipment and patterns from The Cover Up Upholstery Company of St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada. This provided MAC's with the ability to manufacture, in-house, a complete line of upholstery products for Fords from 1912 through 1948, and the potential to continue on through 1956. This manufacturing capability has allowed the company to create a totally new wholesale upholstery program as well as a greatly expanded retail program leading to significantly improved profit margins at both levels. As an integral part of the company's strategic plan, MAC's joined the Middle Atlantic Warehouse Distributors (MAWDI) Buying System in 1993. MAWDI allows the company to purchase at WD pricing levels from over 200 of the world's largest auto parts manufacturers.

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In early 1994 it was decided to expand our parts coverage to include the years 1949 through 1972. This resulted in 10 new catalogs and the addition of approximately 15,000 new parts. These new catalogs were put into circulation beginning in June of 1996.

In order to accommodate the 1949 through 1972 expansion and allow the upholstery manufacturing facilities to expand, it was decided in mid-1994 to build an addition on the 1051 Lincoln Avenue building. This addition consists of a 7,000 square foot warehouse structure, and a parking lot expanded to accommodate approximately 36 vehicles.

As MAC's expanded carrying parts through 1972, we concentrated on acquiring business that could strengthen our position as "Your One Stop Source For Quality Parts and Accessories for your 1909-70's Ford & Mercury." To this end, MAC's purchased Thunderbird Parts of Clarence Center, New York in mid-1998. This allowed MAC's to quickly grow the 1955-1966 Thunderbird market, which MAC's was concentrating on.

In October of 1998, MAC's was the first antique auto parts company to go online with a fully interactive web site. MAC's was -- and still is -- on the leading edge of E-commerce in the Ford antique auto field.

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As the new millennium was on the horizon, MAC's too experienced many transitions. In February of 1999, MAC's founder Doug McIntosh passed away and his three sons Rob, Randy and Rick McIntosh took over the company operations. Also at this time MAC's concentrated on becoming Y2K compliant by installing a new computer system from the ground-up. The daunting task of converting UNIX-based files to a Windows NT platform was completed in October, and successfully tested through December 1999. As January of 2000 came in, no problems were experienced. With the threat of Y2K a memory, MAC's installed a new, fully integrated phone system to assist both our customers and employees.

During 2002, MAC's brought catalog development into the 21st century with the introduction of many advances in printing technology, as well as a bar coding program which increased the efficiency of order processing. We also merged our 1973 though 1979 Ford Pickup parts into our now expanded titled 1948-79 Ford Truck catalog which also includes 1961-67 Econoline and 1966-79 Bronco parts.

In 2003 MAC's proudly celebrated its 25th anniversary, but instead of settling in, MAC's continued to move forward, keeping abreast of the rapid improvements in the field of computer technology. The company installed new computer servers and networking to create a more efficient processing system of day-to-day orders. Also as of January 1st, 2003 Rob McIntosh sold his portion of the company to Rick McIntosh (now President/CEO) and Randy McIntosh (Vice President) after working at MAC's for more than 20 years.

In 2004 we integrated our wholesale division (Specialized Wholesale Auto Parts) back into the primary company's name MAC's Antique Auto Parts and we continue to strive in being the best one stop source for parts and accessories for your 1909-70's Ford or Mercury!

2005 saw the development and implementation of MAC's "brand name" for promoting the extensive upholstery line of products we offer. The CARTOUCHE (car-toosh) line is now advertised in all major auto-restoration periodicals and our effort has paid-off as CARTOUCHE is becoming recognized as the name in re-upholstery for 1914-1950's Ford cars or trucks.

During 2006 MAC's upgraded its phone system, as well as order processing and accounting software in anticipation of future growth. Many additional efforts and improvements in inventory control, warehouse management and customer service management were realized as well.

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MAC's moved into its new state-of-the-art location at 6150 Donner Rd., Lockport, NY in February 2007. This new facility has 50,000 square feet of first and second floor storage and production. The showroom usually has 4 to 5 cars on display and a parts counter to view and pick out many of our products. It is a huge step for MAC's and one that will allow it to continue to grow.

MAC's owners and over 70 employees continue to instill and believe in the entrepreneurial vision set forth by the founder Doug McIntosh over 27 years ago, to make MAC's "Your One Stop Source For Quality Parts and Accessories for your 1909-70's Ford & Mercury."


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