RECOGNITION Fire Damages North Carolina’s Banging Systems Car Audio
An accidental fire at Banging Systems Car Audio in Fayetteville, N.C., caused thousands of dollars in damages, but owner Daniel David Gonzalez — who was once homeless — vows to resurrect the business he’s spent years building up. “This fire makes me stronger and prepares me to be better,” Gonzalez told the Fayetteville Observer. The Nov. 21 blaze was confined to the installation bay of Banging Systems, located at 840 Robeson St. In the garage, a Nissan 300ZX and a 1964 Chevy Impala had the worst damage out of six cars. Gonzalez was working on restoring both cars. “I’ll pull through and get back on my feet,” he promised.
Female Installer Opens Audio Department at AK1 Motorsports in Southern California
Andrea Pitron-Gonzalez, an
MECP-certified installer, is an industry vet whose entrepreneur- ial drive has finally reached its destination. Having worked with a number of people in the indus- try and building cars for SEMA, including an Audi A4 with ARC Audio components, Pitron-Gon- zalez will be heading up Certified
Autosound & Design. The car audio installation shop is housed within the spacious location of auto performance shop AK1 Mo- torsports in Montclair, Calif., some 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. With the shop, she’ll be able to fulfill a passion she’s had since she was 5 years old, when she began helping her father work on his Corvette. “It’s something I have wanted to do for a long time,” Pitron-Gonzalez says.
AK1 Motorsports proved to be a great match for Andrea on
several levels. “With an opportunity to open up my own shop, I didn’t want to start from scratch,” she says. “AK1 already has customers come through, and this lets me do what I want to do.” Although she installs remote starters and alarms, custom- izing is what she enjoys the most. “There aren’t many people who do custom work, but there’s actually a market for stuff like that. There are people who care for quality installations, not just their iPad hook-up.” Pitron-Gonzalez was at SEMA, and has been making her rounds at consumer shows as of late. Recently she joined forc- es with Audio Factory in La Puente, Calif., to do custom wiring on several vehicles. Looking to build out her shop through word- of-mouth, she is taking clients on an appointment basis as she seeks to establish long-term business relationships with reps and brands. “I’m trying to find some distributors,” she says. To reach Pitron-Gonzalez, email
andreapitron@gmail.com.
400-Vehicle Fleet Job to keep Kansas Retailer Busy
Mark Scrivner, the owner of Santa Fe Auto Sound in Over- land Park, Kan., is used to handling commercial fleet in- stalls. “We’re always working for some sort of commercial fleet,” he said.
So when a logistics firm
called on Santa Fe for its lat- est need, Scrivner went to its
facility to survey the work. Then he was told the company wanted 400 vehicles, mostly GM and Ford models, outfit-
20 Mobile Electronics December | January 2012
ted with GPS equipment. “It’s a little intimidating,” Scrivner added of the volume. The 44-year-old shop was ready, however. Adding just one
employee to bring the total to seven, including Scrivner, they committed to get the job done. The logistics company will procure the GPS equipment it
wants installed, making it somewhat easier on Scrivner and Santa Fe, traditionally a mobile electronics retailer. It’s going to take them well into 2012. “A labor job this big will take us the next six months or so to complete,” Scrivner concluded.
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