As diesel cars, trucks and motorhomes become more sophisticated, the mechanical problems that occur become tougher to diagnose, requiring highly trained technicians and expensive equipment, Dynamic Diesel and BEAR Alignment of Snohomish, Washington, has become a business story. Lorene and Lindsay (Lin) Hill started the company with a $10,000 loan on a truck in 1992 and have built it into a business that generated more than $1.2 million last year. Lin Hill entered the business with an extensive background in automotive parts and diesel engines. He managed auto parts stores and led a crew that did diesel marine repairs on vessels up and down the West Coast.

Tired of the travel, he decided to open a repair shop with a diesel specialty. From a small shop in Lynnwood, Washington, Dynamic Diesel moved to much larger quarters in Snohomish in 2002 and expanded by acquiring BEAR alignment, a highly regarded 55-year-old Everett company. Steven Bear, the grandson of the founder of the BEAR alignment system, helped make the expansion a success by bringing his expertise and experience to Dynamic Diesel and also mentoring another suspension specialist.

The addition of the alignment business brought new customers, and now enables Dynamic Diesel to offer both full-service repairs and complete alignment services. Although about 80 percent of the business is on diesel-powered vehicles, Dynamic Diesel services gas vehicles too. Motorhomes represent a large part of the alignment and suspension business. Lots of shops dont like to work on mortorhome suspension, Lin Hill said, but we do a lot of it. Dynamic Diesel is very much a family business. Lorene and Lins son, Steve, is the lead diagnostician, daughter Nicole Nelson does bookkeeping, and Nicoles husband, Jeff, serves as a technician and also handles the firms computer networking.

Lim Hill said many shops dont perform diesel engine service because they lack experience and training. We do diesel everyday so its no big deal to us, but it is to those who dont understand diesel systems, he said. Lorene Hill said the company helps employees get the training they need. Three employees, for example, recently completed a training course provided by the Motorhome Steering and Suspension Institute, a division of Hendersons Line-Up Brake and RV of Grants Pass, Oregon.

Dynamic Diesels technicians are ASE-certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. The company is a member of the Association of Diesel Specialists and is an authorized BOSCH diesel service center. Just as important as the training is the equipment to do the job. Dynamic Diesel has invested more than $35,000 just in scan tools to diagnose gas and diesel systems. It also was one of the first shops to have an opacity meter for emissions testing, and is emissions-certified by the State Department of Ecology. Lim Hill said diesel service has become more complex with the 2007 emissions regulations and the advent of ultra-low sulfur fuel. Even stricter regulations will take effect in 2009, adding more complexity, and no doubt requiring more equipment and more training. But meeting that challenge is part of the commitment of Dynamic Diesel. Its management motto includes these phrases: Stay informed, stay trained or stay behind.