Redmond, Wash.-Certainly not a common denominator in the world or repair or parts, Speedware Motorsports offers its clientele a diverse offering of services, said company founder Shaun Duncan.
Housed in two locations on the east side of Seattle, Speedware, Duncan said many people are sometimes confused by the totality of what the company offers its retail and wholesale customers.
“Many people know us as a general repair facility, others for our performance and racing products, some for our restoration work,” he said. “But few fully realize all the things we offer, which is extensive.”
Extensive indeed. Speedware’s main headquarters is located in a 25,000-square-foot building that Duncan purchased some years ago in a Redmond business park, he said.
Within that complex are offices, a customer waiting room complete with performance and racing product displays, 45 service bays, a Hoffman electronic alignment machine, an extensive machine shop operation, a restoration department, multiple storage bins for products two-stories high, shelving for project vehicle parts, several cars, boats, and motorcycles in various stages of enhancement or restoration, and parts for vehicles, Duncan said.
About a mile away is a 6,000-square-foot building, where Duncan said he first began his repair business in 1993, which houses performance and racing products and is the center for both retail and wholesale sales of those items.
That part of the business is run by Dan Reiss, who Duncan said has been with the company for 10 years and recently became a partner in the firm.
After graduating from the University of Washington, Duncan said he spent 10 years in the corporate world, but always being an automotive and racing enthusiast, his desires led him to open a repair facility.
“My dad raced in Can-Am, and we built a Lotus Super 7 together, and I ran vintage races for seven years,” he said. “My father died at age 52 of cancer, and I wanted to do my own thing, so at age 29 I started Speedware.” His love for everything from Formula One to NHRA was about to be realized, he said.
From a service level, Duncan said he began with alignment and chassis work, selling seats and everything performance-oriented. “We did not do diagnostics, but we transcended into providing full service in 2000,” he said.
Today, the firm provides extensive drivability and diagnostic service, preventive maintenance, tire and wheel service, complete repair services, welding, in-house CAD design and fabrication, performance brake installations, seat installations, and much more, Duncan said.
The shop handles about 150 vehicles a month, 80 percent of them import models, he said, noting that the service portion of the business generates about $2.5 million annually.
During a recent visit by Parts & People, more than two dozen vehicles were being serviced, repaired, fabricated, and restored. Close to being completed was a Dodge Super Bee that had been totally rebuilt by hand with a new chassis, cage, fuel tank, new gauge clusters, engine, and interior, Duncan said, adding that the project totaled about $350,000.
There were several similar projects in view in the restoration department headed by Ron Brown, including a Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Charger, and a Dodge Coronet that is an in-house Speedware project, Duncan said.
Many of the projects were in the $350,000 range, with one customer having multiple vehicles being fabricated and/or restored simultaneously, Duncan said.
“These are long-term projects, some of them taking a year or more as we have to design, fabricate, and build these vehicles by hand,” he said.
Adjacent to the restoration area is a large machine shop that allows Speedware staff to fabricate parts for vehicles, as well as perform other machining services, Duncan said.
With a staff of 18, including seven technicians, each has a specialty, from general service to design/fabrication to wheel alignment, Duncan said. “Some techs have VW, Mazda, and BMW factory training, so we have specialists in many areas. All technicians are ASE-certified, with two ASE Master Technicians on staff,” he said.
There are four technicians in general service and three that handle the design, building, and restoration projects, Duncan said.
“Ron Brown is a designer and builder with extensive experience and is perhaps the most knowledgeable and talented one in the nation,” he said.
Brown said he spent 18 years in the hydroplane field building boats such as the 1976 Miller Lite and the 1986 Miss Budweiser, adding that he worked for Bernie Little, the Budweiser boat owner, for many years and helped develop the turbine engines used in hydros.
There is ongoing training at Speedware in welding, brakes, electronics, and diagnostics, Brown said. “We like in-house training with factory people.”
The parts and specialized products that Speedware markets are a major part of the business headed up by Reiss, who said he has college communications and advertising degree. He said he manages the Speedware showroom; retail, wholesale, and Web sales; and works with his wife, Jennifer, who is one of six employees at the store and is the firm’s marketing director.
“We sell everything from helmets to wheels,” Reiss said, adding that while many products are for street cars, Speedware offers complete service for the racing community.
“We have gloves, helmets, racing suits, suspension and chassis products, speed shields, brakes, seats, and so much more,” he said, adding that the company sells a large number of child car seats.
“Probably our No. 1 seller, both retail and wholesale, are Arai helmets, the safest helmet in world,” Duncan said, adding that more than 20 Indy drivers have helmets from Speedware.
“We have 31 various seats on display in the showroom, and Recaro is our largest line. We also sell Sparco seating,” Reiss said. “We can supply everything for a track day guy up to outfitting a race team head to toe,” Duncan said, adding that the firm’s product sales, about $5 million a year, are split almost evenly between retail and wholesale.
From building motorcycles to designing and fabricating cars from the ground up, Duncan said he is proud of the fact that Speedware has not missed a deadline.
“We’re conscious of our customers’ needs and work diligently to meet those expectations, from performing general service to fabricating a collector car.”
