linda@narsa.org
Surrounded by mountains and cacti, you’ll find Arizona’s second largest city, Tucson. It’s also the home of Red Eye Radiator and DPF Specialists, LLC.
Red Eye Radiator’s owner Nick O’Neil has been around cars his whole life. “I started working here when I was 10 years old cleaning toilets and doing yard work, so
I’ve seen the ins and outs and worked from the bottom up.”
O’Neil’s parents opened Red Eye more than 25 years ago. Back then, it was a truck stop with a single-car garage. It eventually expanded into radiators. And when their
parents retired 7 years ago, Nick and his brother Jake took over. But the business wasn’t just handed to them, O’Neil said. “We worked very hard for it. We’re fortunate for
what we have.”
Red Eye Radiator handles radiators, heat exchangers, intercoolers, oil coolers, EGRs, and AC condensers. The shop also does metal fabrication, specializing in ferrous metal,
aluminum and stainless steel. And in 2018, Red Eye expanded to service fuel tanks for mines. Now in 2020, there’s also a shop in Phoenix. When he’s not in a truck or at the shop, you can find Nick O’Neil at the raceway under the O’Neil Bros Motorsports team. Younger brother Jake O’Neil is currently competing in modified racing events across the country.
“I started working here when I was 10 years old cleaning toilets and doing yard work, so
I’ve seen the ins and outs and worked from the bottom up.”
Nick O’Neil, Red Eye Radiator & DPF Specialist owner
I’ve seen the ins and outs and worked from the bottom up.”
Nick O’Neil, Red Eye Radiator & DPF Specialist owner
As a small business owner, O’Neil has certainly dealt with his fair share of challenges. “When you start seeing the payroll come out every week, you have to try and get the
overhead as low as you can. Taking on most of the responsibility, running a business… it’s an eye opener for sure,” said O’Neil. “We had a couple little hiccups, but that’s just
part of being in business.”
When asked what he loves about the industry, O’Neil said there’s always something new. “It’s amazing what they’re putting in these machinery that we can get to work on or
even heat exchangers. It’s just everything that comes in the door can be something totally different than before. You just never know what you might run into that day.”
“I love what I do,” O’Neil said. “I was born into it, basically. It’s just part of who I am.”
This article was originally published in the January/February 2020 issue of The Cooling Journal