"It was a pure business decision," Kenny said of the purchase, which took only two months.  When weighing the decision, he said he and his wife, Denise, closely examined its size, market presence, and cash flow.

"To our knowledge, we're the largest business of this type in New Mexico and several surrounding states," he said.

The facility sits on 2.5 acres with a 4,000-square-foot showroom, a 10,000-square-foot shop, and a 10,000-square-foot warehouse, Kenny said, which allows him to make bulk purchases direct with manufacturers for deeper discounts.

For example, he said that with RKI commercial pickup tool boxes, he orders up to 200 every couple of months.  Iron Cross Automotive is another supplier of nerf bars, one he also buys direct from.  Several of the products can be purchased only through authorized distributors, such as himself, which creates a great market advantage.

Kenny said that at the onset, he recognized that the "bread and butter" of the business is customization of light-duty trucks, from a half ton to one ton, with custom bumpers, suspension, tires, exhaust, air intakes, and much more.  That has now grown to include more functional upfitting for fleets and several local dealerships selling new "mock-up" trucks on their lots.

"Right at the one-year mark, we decided to make commercial business a real focus," he said.  "When we decided to move into that market in mid-'06, retail business was good."  As that business declined with rising fuel prices, commercial business took off.

Getting to this point required some adjustments to the business, Kenny said, which included cleaning up inventory and devising a set pricing structure for labor on installations.

"When we took over the business, nothing was priced," he said.  Re-educating customers was one of the hardest things to do, he said.  Common jobs now have a set labor rate of $84 an hour, he said, adding that labor times on installations for bug shields, tool boxes, grill guards, and snow plows were established from experience. 

 
"This really provided the sales staff with piece of mind," Kenny said.  If they close a sale another sales rep quoted, they can refer to the common price, he said.  Accessories and parts are priced from MSRP backwards or jobber price forward, he added.

When determining which items to stock, Kenny said he looked at how quickly they turned and if he could acquire it at the right price.

"We went through every line and did returns where we could," he said, "reducing old product and replacing it with new.  Everything in the warehouse now is what we believe to be salable."

The most growth in the business continues to be with commercial upfitting and custom fabrication of bumpers, Kenny said.

The crew at Trucks Unique recently outfitted a 2007 Ford F-150 Supercrew truck that showcases the shop's capabilities, Kenny said.  The truck is equipped with dozens of modifications, including the shop's custom bumpers, and is finished off with a University of New Mexico's Lobos mascot and custom vinyl wrap  .  The modifications total approximately $10,000, he said.