Watson Street Works: Behind The Scenes Shop Tour

History

Even if you have not heard of Watson’s Streetworks, you’ve probably seen their products. Watson’s Streetworks has been producing custom parts for hot-rodders for thirty years. The company started it’s life in Connecticut, and has since moved to Nashua, New Hampshire when it was purchased by Harvey Richardson, 6 years ago. With the move came larger digs, in the form of a five-thousand square foot shop, which houses parts, projects, and employees. Since the move Watson’s has done very well, winning multiple awards for new products and safety. Below you can see Harvey Richardson accepting the NSRA, New Product of the Year, and Safety Product of the Year award for the Third time in four years.

Harvey Richardson accepting the NSRA, New Product of the Year, and Safety Product of the Year award at the 2017 Louisville Street Rod Nationals.

Parts

Watson’s Streetworks produces hundreds of custom products, from switches, lighting, remote entry systems, power windows, to interior trim, latches, and hinges. All of their products are of their own design, which are machined for them, and assembled in house. The shop is where they perform rigorous quality checks as well, which is why their products come with a one-year warranty.

We recently had a chance to sit down and speak with Paul Pappas from Watson’s Streetworks, where we posed the question, “What has been the main factor that has contributed to the company’s success?” To which Paul replied, “We seem to have the hard to find things, and thats why people like watching Streetworks.”

The hard to find things are exactly what make Watson’s Streetworks a household name in the custom community. Being innovative and creating trends in the marketplace has set Streetworks apart. Take for example, one of their newer products, their, “Backup Monitor Console Camera.” As Paul put it, “39 Fords don’t have backup cameras, so we introduced one last year and people loved it!” Part of that comes from 30 years of experience, and part of it comes from listening to their customers. Most hot-rods have notoriously small windows, and with that, a copious amount of blind spots. So, why not make a back up camera for the custom community?

Watson’s Streetworks backup camera only requires 1 inch of backspacing and installation is a breeze. If you’re having trouble backing your Street Rod in, pick one up.

Another great product Watson’s Streetworks produces are their switches. Specifically their newest SS switch line. Available in several finishes, the SS switches can be had in brushed aluminum, polished aluminum, or raven black anodized aluminum. Customers can even mix and match the finishes used on the baseplates and switches themselves. The switches can be used to accommodate whatever the customer needs them for, be it power windows, door locks, air-bags or anything else they can think of.

If a customer wishes to get really fancy, Watson’s Streetworks can help them too. Let’s say a customer wants some switches, but not just any switches, they need them to be a specific finish, and be illuminated, and engraved. Watson’s Streetworks can do that. All a customer need do is call and speak to one of the many talented employees there and they can walk them through their custom order. Like Paul says, “We bring peoples projects into the 21st century.”

Watson’s Streetworks new SS switch line offers next level customization with mix and match finishes, illumination, surface machining and engraving options.

Any of these guys could make it in the circus, because they’re constantly juggling multiple tasks at once. – Paul Pappas

Employees

The backbone of any great company is it’s employees, and Watson’s Streetworks is no exception. They’re the one’s that create the excellent quality products that Streetworks is known for. Not only that, but the employees that work at Watson’s Streetworks wear many hats. Paul explained that each employee is not only assembling parts, answering phone calls, taking orders, performing quality checks, or troubleshooting problems customers may be having, but they are doing all of those things simultaneously. “Any of these guys could make it in the circus, because they’re constantly juggling multiple tasks at once,” said Paul. He also stated that one thing they are constantly praised on is their level of customer service. The technicians putting these parts together make it a point to ask customers as many questions as they can to ensure they get what they need. When you’re dealing with a company like Watson’s Streetworks, that level of care is expected. These parts are custom, after all.

Technicians Kramer and Kevin hard at work assembling parts, performing quality checks, and assisting customers all at once. Everyone at Watson’s Streetworks eadeavors to ensure customers get the products they want, and their customer service is unmatched.

Customers

Watson’s Streetworks is steeped in hot-rod culture. Their customers know quality when they see it, and that is why they continually come back. For most people, a window switch is just a window switch. For car people, it’s the details like a high quality custom window switch that are going to make the difference between standing out, winning a show, or being featured in a magazine, and simply looking like everyone else. This is when customers reach out to Watson’s, because they know they have the hard to find products that will take their builds to the next level. In fact, Watson’s Streetworks recently had an open house, and customers from all over showed up to be a part of what goes on at Watson’s Streetworks. Below are several customer projects that feature Watson’s products.

A great turnout of customers and hot-rodders at Watson's Streetworks open house.

Projects

What’s worse than being the same as everyone else, or having old, tired, and outdated parts? Well, there is always something new being churned out at Watson’s Streetworks. Keep an eye on them to see what they’ve got cooking, or place a call and put your custom order in today to make your wheels stand out among the crowd. They’ve got the experience and know-how to take your ride from run-of-the-mill, to show-winner. Just check out the ride built by prior owner Steve Watson below.