"It's a family business," said Lorene Hill, who handles a variety of duties at the business. Of the nine employees at the firm, she said five were family members, including the couple's son, Steve, who is the lead diagnostician; daughter Nicole Nelson who handles bookkeeping; and her husband, Jeff, is a technician who also handles the firm's computer networking.

Lin Hill said he has an extensive automotive parts background dating back to the 1970s, including a stint at the former General Automotive Parts warehouse in Seattle and managing parts operations at diesel specialty facilities.

Hill said he spent the 10 years prior to opening Dynamic Diesel building up a shop facility that serviced diesel autos and trucks and later got involved in the diesel marine business, traveling the West Coast working on marine systems.

In 1992, tired of traveling for extended period, Hill said he started the diesel specialist operation in an 800-square-foot building in Lynnwood, Wash.

The two-person shop grew each year, and in 2002 the shop moved to Snohomish into a 3,200-square-foot main building that also has a second floor for offices, accounting services, a conference area, kitchen, and living room area, Lorene Hill said.
A second 600-square-foot building is used for alignment service and other purposes, Lin Hill said, including housing a recent three-day hybrid training course sponsored by CTI.

A Bosch drive-up service center, Dynamic provides Bosch service and parts and its customers as well as sells Bosch parts to other shops, Hill said. "The Bosch program has been exceptional for us," he said. "Their training programs are some of the best in the industry, and they are certainly leaders in technology information."

Dynamic is also a longtime member of the Association of Diesel Specialists (ADS), Hill said, adding that ADS is a superb source of data and information for the firm.

The firm is a member of iATN and uses that information service for a data relating to diesel and other service, Hill said. "And I go back into the 1970s with ASA and the Washington group," he said, adding that he joined ASA-Washington (ASA-WA) when he opened the shop and has served in all offices of the Snohomish County unit, attended state retreats, and been a participant at CARS (Congress of Automotive Repair Service) in Las Vegas, a extensive training conference presented by the national ASA organization.

Lorene Hill said she was active with the state ASA-WA Ascettes, a support group that raises funds for automotive scholarships.

Lin Hill said that when he started the business in 1992, the advancement of diesel systems was dramatic as opposed to engine systems he was working on in 1982. "We worked on Mercedes-Benz, GM, Ford, and Chrysler products and had little competition," he said. "We also performed some work for dealers, as we still do today. While diesel systems had improved drastically from 1982 to 1992, we've seen dramatic changes from 1992 until now. Training is key to offering quality service today."

The training of Dynamic's four technicians is fully paid for by the company, Hill said, and each technician and service adviser is encouraged to be ASE-certified, and those certifications are tied to compensation. He said he is L1 and Diesel-certified ASE technician and that all technicians at the shop are ASE-certified.

"We are also emissions-certified by the state DOE (Department of Ecology) for diesels and were the first shop to have an opacity meter," Hill said. "We have a great relationship with DOE, and they do a wonderful job for those in the service and repair field."

Hill lauded the training and commitment of the entire staff at Dynamic Diesel. "We have a great crew. They care about our customers, and the job is done right the first time."

While the type of vehicles that Dynamic works on is diverse, from sedans to motorhomes, light-duty trucks to 18-wheelers, the firm also performs full-service repairs on diesel and gasoline vehicles, Hill said.

 
With the purchase of the BEAR Alignment Service in nearby Everett a few years ago, Dynamic brought in a new dimension to the business, Lorene Hill said.

"We were friends with the Bear family, and used them for our alignment services," Lin Hill said. "And one day, they asked if we wanted to purchase the business. We had a family meeting and the deal was done. Steve Bear, the grandson of Frank Bear, the founder of the Bear alignment system, is now an employee at Dynamic."

As a result of the Bear purchase and moving the alignment/suspension segment into the Dynamic facility, Hill said he and Steve Hill traveled to Minnesota last summer to three days of training on high-rail vehicles used by the railroad and serviced by Bear for many years.

"With the addition of the alignment business, we have lots of new customers," he said. "Many of the former alignment and suspension customers are now service and repair customers, which has added substantial growth to our business."

Hill said motor homes represent a large portion of the alignment and suspension service. "Lots of shops don't like to work on motorhome suspension, but we do a lot of it."

Eighty percent of Dynamic's repair business in on diesel-powered vehicles, and the other 20 percent is on gasoline-powered cars and trucks, Hill said. "Diesel and gas diagnostics is almost the same today," he said. "OBD II, oxygen sensors, MAP sensors, pressure sensors, throttle position sensors, and other systems are almost all electronic and have patterns much the same, whether gas or diesel. Today, diesel diagnostics is as complex as gas."

A variety of special scan tools are required to properly diagnose both gas and particularly diesel systems, Hill said. "We currently have six scan tools and soon will add a seventh," he said. "We have more than $30,000 invested in scan tools, not including updates. Diesel-specific scan tools are not cheap. The DRB3 (Chrysler's scan tool) is about $5,000."

Hill said most shops do not perform diesel engine service or repair because they don't understand how diesel works and because there is limited training available. "We do diesel everyday, so it's not a big deal to us, but it is to those who don't understand diesel systems."

When selecting scan tools, Hill said shop personnel have to be careful. "You have to know the capabilities of the tool," he said. "Scan tools have to do everything right. We've created some of our own tools."

Diesel service became more complex, Hill said, with 2007 emission system regulations and the advent of ultra-low sulfur fuel. More regulations will come in 2009, and he said he believes that diesel systems will become even more complex.

"Emissions will be more challenging, there will be more electronics to deal with, and drive-by-wire will be an issue,' Hill said.

"There will be challenges in many areas, including brakes and suspension, but we will be able to meet the challenges with our crew. Our (his and his wife's) focus is to work on the business and get additional management training."