TECHNICIAN TUESDAY: Scott Tona

February 4th, 2025 by
For this week’s Technician Tuesday, we headed over to West Herr Collison Lockport to meet Collision Technician, Scott Tona. Scott has been in the automotive industry for almost twenty years but has been with West Herr for about six years now!
When asking Scott how he got started in the industry, his answer was quite simple! He said one day he woke up and just decided automotive is what he wanted to do! At the time, he had a friend going to Alfred State, so he went to shadow him, fell in love with the campus and the industry, and the rest is history! Scott mentioned it helped that he grew up working with his hands doing construction with his dad, so he knew he wanted to continue doing something along the same path as that.
He mentions that if he didn’t choose to go down the path of automotive, he aspired of becoming a robotics engineer. He mentioned that with that career, it would be a lot of time spent behind a desk – which was not his thing.
Scott mentions he truly enjoys being a Collision Technician for many reasons. He says that being a mechanic is very cut & dry. Most of the time the car is either broken or not, and it seems like some repairs are repetitive. But with collision work, no car damage is the same. “Every day is a new challenge; every car is a new challenge. There is never a dull moment,” Scott adds.
When Scott first started in his building, it had not yet been acquired by West Herr. He mentioned within the first month or so into his new job, his place of employment had been acquired by West Herr, and at first, he didn’t quite know what that meant.
When asking Scott what made him stay, he simply said, “Well, it was West Herr,”. He says he felt confident in this company because of its reputation. “It was very intriguing to work for a company with the financial backing, success, and for a company that actually puts an emphasis on collision work,” he adds. Scott mentions his favorite thing about working for West Herr is being with the best. “If you are in the auto industry, there is no better company to work for than West Herr,” he says.
When Scott isn’t working, he loves to spend time with his wife & his dog! They are a very outdoorsy bunch as they live on a 20-acre horse farm. Scott’s wife trains horses full time, so Scott maintains the farm and property year-round. They love to visit local wineries and watch their favorite Buffalo sports teams.
Scott mentions that in his job, there are a lot of tools that he uses daily, but one tool that he cannot live without is his own to hands! He also mentions that he still has some of his original tools from almost twenty years ago that he still uses to this day!
One of Scott’s favorite parts of his job is the problem solving. He mentions that he always has been a problem solver in both his professional life & personal life. He says he loves that he is at a point in his life that his knowledge can now spill over and help some of the newer technicians who are just starting out.
Scott is such an asset on #TeamWestHerr and we cannot wait to see all that he accomplishes! Keep up the amazing work, Scott!
Posted in Collision, Employees