For 50 years, Duralite Evolves With The Times Chevy Volt Heating/Cooling Preview of Things to Come Case Studies in Cooling System Failures
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For 50 years,
Duralite Evolves
With The Times
Chevy Volt
Heating/Cooling
Preview of Things to Come
Wexford, PA 15090 Case Studies in
Cooling System Failures
NARSA, 3000 Village Run Rd., Ste 103, #221
Cover story
For Nearly 50 years,
Duralite Evolves
with the Times
JACKSONVILLE, FL – Batteries were the focus and Duralite
was the name back in 1961 when Pete Amante opened the doors
for business in this northern most city in the Sunshine state. As
much as some things change, a lot has remained the same for
both the town and the business. Still, for close to 50 years, the
business has evolved and changed with the times.
Duralite remains in the town’s gritty Northwest industrial/
commercial sector and it is still owned and operated by Pete
Amante, but he is the son of the founder. The full scale assembly
and crafting of hand-built batteries for automotive and industrial
use is long gone. Since 1972, radiators have been the mainstay.
The only batteries found at 2877 Edison Avenue are the ones in- Terry and Pete Amante stand in front of the main building. Pete’s father,
Peter J. Amante, started the business in 1961 as Duralite Batteries.
stalled as part of their general automotive service business. In
1985, the business founder, Peter J. Amante retired and left the
next phase to his namesake. But they still do what they can to eliminate or reduce waste-
First batteries, then radiators and now radiators and general water treatment. “We offer our commercial customers a discount
automotive, Duralite Radiator has evolved to meet market if they clean the components before we get them,” said Pete.
needs. A location in the industrial Northwest section of town “They are already doing some of that just to get the radiator or
can have its advantage. According to shop owner Pete Amante, cooler off the truck or machine. So we give them an incentive to
they are in the right part of town for heavy duty radiator work do a little more. Most of it is mud or oil from hydraulic leaks. It
and that suits him just fine. helps us save time and work so we pass the savings along to
them.”
Pete first worked in his Dad’s battery shop. While making a
delivery at a truck fleet, he met Jim Ryan of Ryan’s Radiator in
Densmore, FL. Pete asked Jim if he would teach him the radiator
trade and of course he agreed. So after working the battery shop
Terry positions the guys (Michael Roman, Richard Spear and Ronnie Roman).
This is hard working and versatile crew. Michael and Ronnie concentrate on
radiator work while Richard does mostly general automotive repair.
18 the cooling journal • march 2011
Cover story
As it is for many shops, most of the radiator work is commercial. The job today
is rebuilding two cores from overhead cranes for the Port of Jacksonville.
each day, he would spend his evenings learning from Jim.
Over the past 50 years, the city and region have grown.
Jacksonville tied its destiny to a bold plan to incorporate with
the county and other small towns to create the largest (in geog-
raphy) city in the USA. With 1.3 million people, it is also the
largest city in population in the state.
Local industry is dominated by service with major employ-
ers in banking, insurance, healthcare and tourism. However it
does have some manufacturing and more importantly for
Duralite, Jacksonville is a leading transportation and distribu-
tion hub. For this deep water port, transportation means rail,
road and water.
In addition to the commercial seaport, one of the leading
entries for imported automobiles, there are also two US Navy
bases. For an industrial focused business, a landscape populated
with truck fleets, ship repair yards, and freight handling equip-
ment is a real advantage.
Despite the opportunities afforded by some of the more es-
tablished commercial enterprises, Pete said that in the past three
continued on page 20
the cooling journal • march 2011 19
Cover story
General automotive service supplements the commercial radiator work.
Duralite does everything from engine and transmissions to routine light
maintenance. The shop is open, airy and well lit.
continued from page 19
to four years his business was driven by commercial and residen-
tial construction. Business was good, but when the bottom fell
out of the economy in 2008, so did the construction part of the
business. But the general automotive service business has pretty
much remained steady.
Duralite’s location is in a blue-collar community where the car
RF-106 It is what you expect in a traditional cooling system service business. The
Roller Flat tale of the tools is evidence; from A/C gauges to bead blasters, this industry
is one of diverse specialties. Those outside the business rarely recognize all
Fin Machine that a radiator shop does.
population hasn’t changed much. This means a steady demand
N EW for aftermarket replacement products and service. Six service
bays plus plenty of room outside allows them to handle routine
• High Speed service as well as more time-consuming jobs including engine
and transmission swaps.
• Affordable Price In the booming economy of the 90s, Duralite Radiator had
• High Quality Fins five employees plus Pete and his wife Terry. A full-time insur-
ance insurance claims processor, Terry does the shop bookkeep-
• Easy to Operate ing part-time. Today, the crew is four full-time employees includ-
ing three technicians and Pete in Jacksonville and full-timer Ron
and Maintain Cline who operates a satellite shop in Walterboro, South Carolina
just outside of Charleston.
The Jacksonville technicians are Ronnie Roman, Michael
Roman, and Richard Spear. Michael and Ronnie are cousins and
VOSS Manufacturing, Inc. Ronnie has been with the business the longest. Both of the
2345 Lockport Rd., Sanborn, Roman cousins do radiator work and automotive. Richard Spear
NY 14132 is primarily automotive general repair. Ronnie was recently certi-
email: sales@vossmfg.com fied to do trike repair and maintenance.
“We are doing fairly well. People have cut back on buying
new stuff and that is helping us. You need to change with the
www.vossmfg.com times,” commented Pete.
The Walterboro shop came about after he saw he was getting
20 the cooling journal • march 2011
Cover story
Young Pete, influenced by the family business, took metal-
lurgy courses in high school. When he started in the shop, he
did everything and learned the business from the ground up.
Today, his role is different. “The best thing for me to do is to
check routinely with our customers and make sure everything
meets expectations. I call, and often visit them, to make sure
they are satisfied and find out what we need to do if they are
not.”
Duralite does all of the routine rad shop work, but some
jobs are better than others. One “nice” job was overhauling
the radiators on the gensets for Channel 4 News. It was an on-
site job and one in which the crew took great pride in doing.
While in the shop for this interview, two large cores were be-
ing rebuilt for overhead cranes owned by the Jacksonville Port
Service bays are in the rear of the building. There are six, but one is used Authority.
for storage. Pete tries to stay clear of the “box wars” that seem to engulf
every market from time to time. “I don’t see how they make any
quite a few calls from commercial accounts in that area. Pete said money.” The same competitive market that exists for automotive
apparently quite a few of the local shops had closed and that radiators is beginning to emerge for the commercial application
opened some opportunities. The new location has been working side as well. “People need to understand that not all radiators are
out well even though the Florida construction business still re- the same, even in industrials. If they are strictly shopping price,
mains soft. they are going to get what they pay for. Not all failed units need
Duralite does their own TIG welding in addition to the full replaced. We work with our customers and we know that not
menu of cleaning, testing, soldering, and brazing as needed for continued on page 22
copper/brass products.
- Quality, late model products
- Knowledgeable, helpful staff
- Easy to use online catalog
- Extended customer service hours
- 7 am to 8 pm est.
- Same day shipping
your simple AC solution
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the cooling journal • march 2011 21
Cover story
to the accounts receivable have been fruitful. “Despite the down
turn, things have been good, “said Pete.
As for hiring new staff, he likes to hire people like him. “I
look for people who like working with their hands and have a
background in working with metal.”
What does he see for the future? He isn’t counting on con-
struction coming back as it was in the 90s, but he thinks it will
come back a little. In the meantime, he works to keep his custom-
ers close and happy with their service and products.
With the business currently occupying two buildings, he and
Terry are considering an acquisition. The building across the
street once housed an automotive performance shop. They are
considering using it to house the next phase of their business – a
trike dealership. They recently acquired the rights to a California
Sidecar dealership and are eagerly looking forward to building
General automotive service has always been a good fit with radiators but it this part of the business. Why trikes? According to Pete,
hinges on the talents of the technicians. Skill sets and knowledge between
radiator work with its roots in brazing and soldering is different from the “People like them for their safety and comfort and this is an ideal
diagnostics and wrenching required under the hood. climate for them.”
For 50 years, the family has managed the business and al-
continued from page 21 lowed it to change with the times. Several things have remained
every job is a home run.” constant, however – the energy of Jacksonville’s commercial
Pete’s biggest challenge recently has been with slow collec- economy and the creativity and flexibility of the Amante family
tions in the down economy. By stepping up his calls and finding in serving it.
creative ways to work with his customers, his additional attention
22 the cooling journal • march 2011
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