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Custom-built business By Rhonda Cooper - The Watrous Manitou September 11, 2006 Three
years after welcoming students for their final ten months of learning
in its hallowed halls, Simpson School has taken on a new purpose.
Bought sight unseen, TC Customs, formerly of Kelowna, B.C., moved into
the facility approximately three weeks ago. Owner 24-year-old Tyler
Chubak, along with his parents and brother Mark have converted various
rooms of the old school into work spaces for construction of
custom-built speaker boxes.
While Tyler was busy working on an order set for delivery Wednesday morning, mom Laurie took time out for an interview. The business itself is the realization of her youngest son's dream. Always one to be involved in music, Tyler is a self-taught guitarist with a flair for painting. As a teen he would paint pictures and sketch. As he grew he found a way to marry the two interests. Three years ago he began sketching designs for stereo boxes. He looked on the internet and did not find anything like it, so he decided to start a new business focusing on custom-designed stereo boxes for vehicles. What started as a hobby on the family's back deck quickly grew. Chubak listed his products on eBay. The response was very positive and soon a larger manufacturing area was needed. To accommodate the need for more room, TC Customs rented space in Kelowna. It soon became evident an even larger facility would be required. "A space of comparable size to this would cost anywhere between $6,000 and $10,000 per month to rent," said Laurie. "When you start putting that out on rent, it cuts into the bottom line." The hunt was on again for a larger facility. Due to the cost-effective property prices available in Saskatchewan, the hunt for a new building was concentrated on possible sites within the province's borders. One evening Tyler's dad Roy was surfing the Internet and came across Simpson School. "He found it one time and then we couldn't find it again." But they had printed out photos and information about the facility. In the meantime, another site possibility was yet another empty school, this one located at Killaly, Sask., located straight south of Melville. Tyler made the trip to the village to view the facility. Its condition and size was not going to work for the business, especially if it continued to grow at such a rapid pace. The decision was made to purchase the Simpson School virtually sight unseen, except for a few printed photos. Since 98 to 99 per cent of TC Customs' customers are from the United States, requiring the products to be shipped, it did not matter where the business was physically located. The sale finalized, it was time to pack up and relocate east. For the past three weeks, the family has been working hard to get areas of the school converted into a manufacturing plant as well as living quarters. "We came with just the basic equipment," explained Laurie. There were tables to be built, wiring to be done, and exhaust fans and venting to be installed. A lot of work had to happen quickly as orders were on the books and needed to be filled. The manufacturing area of the building occupies the south entrance of the school as well as three classrooms. The process all begins in the fibreglass room where the shape of the custom-made boxes is sprayed into the molds. If a customer wants a specific colour, a gel coat also goes into the mold. 'Fibreglass boats are done in the same way," explained Laurie. The fibreglass is rolled nice and flat inside the mold to ensure a smooth surface. From the fibreglass room, the box is moved into the wood room where the remainder of the box's shape is constructed. "We use econofil to glue the wood together and to get a good seal between the wood and fibreglass. Tyler insists there be 'no leaks in the speaker box.' It might affect the sound quality." Stage three sees the box go to the gross room. Because it is the area where the excess econofil is ground off, it gets very dusty and dirty. This all has to be done before the carpeting is adhered to the box. Once the product is carpeted and dried, it is crated and shipped to the customer. On average it takes between three and four hours to make one stereo box. Wednesday, Sept. 13, there were about half a dozen boxes in various stages of production. Chubak explained customers could order designs on their boxes. One had the letter 'z' on it as it was destined for a 350Z car. Another had an iron cross on it and yet another, ordered by a Mustang owner, had the trademark horse removed from it because the customer did not want it. Right now the goal is to get caught up with orders that have been put on the back burner due to the move. Once things return to normal, more items will be lsited on eBay and the business's two websites - one for universal boxes that could fit into most makes and models and the second for custom-designed work designated for specific makes and models - will continue to be updated. TC Customs is a family affair as brothers Tyler and Mark work on the products and Laurie mans the office. Roy is not directly involved with the business but he is the one who found Simpson School. For the community of Simpson and surrounding area, it is positive to see a new, thriving and expanding business take up residence. For those who love their music and car stereo systems, it brings an opportunity to have a unique custom manufacturer right in their own backyard. (Comment by site administrator)
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