Mac's Antique Auto Parts
Starting out more hobby than business a quarter-century ago, Mac’s Antique Auto Parts has grown into a successful second-generation family enterprise with 50 employees and annual sales of more than $7 million.The late Douglas McIntosh founded Mac’s Antique Auto Parts in 1977 in his garage on Locust Street in Lockport as a retail outlet for Ford Model T parts. In less than a decade, the company began undergoing a period of consistent growth and expansion that continues today.
In 1979, Mac’s was moved to a 5,000 square foot building on Lincoln Avenue, Lockport and expanded to include retail Ford Model A parts. Soon after, an additional 5,000 square feet of warehouse and office space was added and retails sales expanded to include Ford 1932-48 early V8 parts.
In 1990, the company entered the retail Ford 1909-48 Street Rod market and during the next two years entered into the wholesale parts and parts manufacturing businesses. In 1991, Mac’s purchased Specialized Auto Parts of Houston, Texas, which had a 30-year reputation as an auto parts wholesaler. A year later, the company acquired Auto Hardware Company of Cleveland, a leading researcher and manufacturer of authentic automobile hardware.
In 1993, Ford Motor Company instituted its Trademark Licensing Program and that year granted Mac’s a license to produce more than 200 trademarked auto parts. That same year, the company purchased The Cover Up Upholstery Company of St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada, allowing Mac’s to manufacture, in-house, a complete line of upholstery products for Fords from model years 1912-48, with the potential to expand through model year 1956. In 1994, the company expanded to include 1949-72 parts. To accommodate its increasing inventory, a 7,000 square feet of space was added that year. Four years later, Mac’s expanded its product line further with the purchase of Thunderbird Parts of Clarence Center.
Mac’s is owned by a second generation of the McIntosh family. When Douglas McIntosh passed away in 1999, his three sons Robert, Richard and Randall, became equal partners in the firm. The company, which now employs more than 50 people, has enjoyed an average annual growth rate of 8 percent over the last two decades. Despite a sluggish economy, sales have increased by about 15 percent this year.
Robert McIntosh attributes the company’s continued growth to a commitment to the clientele that is as important as the bottom line. “Top flight customer service is the biggest reason we’ve been successful,” he said. “I think small business, particular those that are family owned, are more in tune with their customers’ needs” than are publicly-held firms.”
Mac’s is committed not only to its customers, but also to the local community. The company supports various charitable efforts in the Lockport area, is involved in Boy and Girl Scouts and provides scholarships to youngsters through its family foundation.