Tonka Services provides truck repair, parts in Malvern

After spending most of his life working on trucks and heavy equipment, Cruze Giannelli turned a lifelong trade into a business of his own.

Cruze Giannelli and his wife, Krystal Giannelli, own Tonka Services, a diesel and heavy equipment repair business that has grown steadily over the past decade. The couple’s two children, Scarlett and Jimmy, also help out around the shop when they can.

What started as Cruze Giannelli working out of a service van eventually expanded into a shop at their home, then a rented location and now a larger facility they purchased and remodeled.

“We started off just me and a service van,” Cruze Giannelli said.

He said the idea for the business came from watching family members struggle to find honest truck repair work.

“I was watching all my uncles and stuff get their trucks worked on at other places, and they were just getting taken advantage of and I wanted them to have a good place to come,” Cruze Giannelli said.

Krystal Giannelli said the couple always shared an entrepreneurial mindset.

“We both have an entrepreneurial spirit,” she said. “It’s just always been there for us, and we decided to pursue it.”

Cruze Giannelli said he has been working on trucks since he was 11 years old, learning alongside family members involved in trucking and towing.

“I’ve been doing this stuff since I was 11 years old,” he said.

He later served in the Army for approximately five and a half years before returning to mechanical work full time. He attended school for auto body and auto mechanics, though he said much of what he learned came long before the classroom.

Tonka Services works on diesel vehicles, semitrucks and heavy equipment, handling jobs ranging from oil changes to complete engine overhauls.

Tonka Services also offers 24-hour roadside assistance for truck drivers and equipment operators who need help on the road. The shop handles services such as jumpstarts, fuel delivery, flat tire repairs and mechanical roadside repairs to help get drivers back in service as quickly as possible.

“I pretty much do anything but bodywork,” Cruze Giannelli said.

When bodywork is needed, he said the shop sends that work to Jeremy Butler at B&B Auto Body in East Rochester to help keep work in the area.

Over time, the business expanded beyond repairs. The Giannellis are also building up a parts store, something they said was needed in the region so local trucking companies and owner-operators would not have to drive to larger cities for parts.

“We just wanted to give back to our community members and local owner-operators,” Krystal Giannelli said.

Cruze Giannelli said many repair shops buy parts through multiple suppliers, which can drive up costs for customers. By carrying parts themselves, he said Tonka Services is trying to cut down on that extra expense and get customers back on the road faster.

“We’ve really strived to make this a one-stop shop because we know your time is money, and we don’t want to waste your time,” he said.

The business also operates a towing service and a small trucking company, and employs 10 people, according to Cruze Giannelli.

One specialty that sets Tonka Services apart, he said, is spindle repair. The company bought a franchise for the work and is the only shop in Ohio offering that particular repair method.

“We’re the only ones in the state of Ohio that does spindles this way,” Cruze Giannelli said.

Honesty and durability are central to how the business operates, he said.

“We try to be as honest as we can with them about their truck situation,” Cruze Giannelli said. “We try not to sell them crap parts.”

He said the parts on the shelves are products he has used for years and trusts.

“Sometimes cheapest isn’t always the best,” he said. “If you want parts that last you might have to pay a bit more.”

Krystal Giannelli said owning the business has also allowed the family to give back to the community in larger ways. After a hurricane two years ago, Tonka Services became a collection hub for relief supplies. What started as a small effort grew into four semitruck loads of donated goods being sent south.

“We became a hub,” she said.

Cruze Giannelli said local businesses and community members stepped up to help haul food, water, propane, animal feed, diapers, blankets and other essential items.

“The community really pulled together,” he said.

The business also supports other local efforts when possible. Cruze Giannelli, who also serves as a firefighter with the Magnolia Fire Department, said giving back matters as much as making a living.

“As long as my family has a roof over their head, food in their bellies and they can go places every once in a while, help the community,” he said. “What’s the point of having a bunch of money if you can’t help the community.”

For the Giannellis, trucking and repair work are more than a line of business.

“We are very blessed with what trucking has provided for our entire family, just not my wife and kids, but my aunts, my uncles and other family members,” Cruze Giannelli said. “Trucking isn’t just a job for us, it’s in our blood, it’s just how it’s been and this is all we know.”

Tonka Services is located at 7129 Alliance Road NW in Malvern. For more information, call 330-694-1116 or visit tonkaservicesllc.com.