Nicholas L. M. Allen
Nov 9, 2022
“We just recently had a customer with a smaller, prop engine plane."
Servicing various types of engines and machinery from light to heavy, Rocky Mountain Mechanical in Pincher Creek has more than just repairs in mind.
In addition to being an automotive and powersports service shop, the business started out selling Kawasaki. They dealt with ATVs and sport bikes starting in 1996 and sold those until 2004. In 2004 they dropped Kawasaki as a franchise. After that, they dealt with Yamaha from 2004 until December of last year. Even though they are no longer a franchise dealer for power sports, they still have access to all the aftermarket parts.
“We still repair ATVs and side-by-sides, pretty much anything that has an engine,” added Dan Kuftinoff, an employee at Rocky Mountain Mechanical.
The business also sells both Stihl and Traeger brands. They are a franchised dealer for Traeger, one of the most prolific smokers on the market currently.
“We do whatever we can to try to help no matter what, even if it's a little bit out of our scope,” said Kuftinoff, "Usually when it's a repair situation, whoever walks through the door doesn't want to be here. Nobody wants to spend money on their vehicles or their equipment.”
According to Kuftinoff, they will repair anything as long as it doesn't float or fly. Since he has worked there, he has found they still do those as well, on occasion.
“We just recently had a customer with a smaller, prop engine plane. [They took] the engine out of the unit and wanted us to install a turbo from a snowmobile on that engine. We did that last year sometime,” he said.
They don't like to work on boats because they will usually need a test tank, but they service them occasionally as well. The business has also faced adversity in their more than two decades in business. At one time the shop burned to the ground and was a complete loss. The work was quickly re-established out of the back of a truck to help customers, while dealing with insurance claims.
This has led to the building they are currently in. The business has changed over the years according to Kuftinoff, so the new building allowed for a lot bigger shop space.
"We started to see a lot more heavy-duty road customers, [such as] highway tractors and trailers,” he said.
During the wintertime they send their mobile repair truck out with increasing frequency. They also deal with Pincher Creek’s emergency vehicle maintenance and repair. They also offer commercial inspections, including out-of-province inspections on vehicles, not including motorcycles.
Visit Rocky Mountain Mechanical at 1088 Main Street in Pincher Creek or call them at (403) 627-2127.