By Ashley Reyes
The SEMA Truck & Off-Road Alliance (TORA) named Ernie's Custom Shop as the council's newest member spotlight company. Get to know their story in the SEMA News interview with Ernie Vole, Ernie's Custom Shop's owner, below.
SEMA News: Tell us the story of Ernie's Custom Shop. How did the company start?
Ernie Vole: In 2010, Rok Industry, now known as Ernie's Custom Shop (ECS), began designing and building themed vehicles for corporate companies and events.
In 2011, we built and designed a truck that was on display for the SEMA Show that year and it was a huge hit. It was a unique build--a Ford F-350 standard cab where we cut the frame and converted it to a short bed. This build brought us a lot of attention, and before we knew it, we were receiving lots of requests from local residents for custom builds and vehicle modifications.
Since then, we have slowly grown to be a tiny-but-mighty shop for the Chicagoland area, and we have continued to build SEMA Show vehicles every year since.
SN: What's going on these days? What projects are you most excited about?
EV: Every day we are busy with customer upgrades, modifications and full custom builds. There is never a dull moment in the shop and we like it that way. We had three vehicles go to the SEMA Show in 2024:
- A custom Jeep Gladiator on tracks.
- A custom, three-row Jeep Wrangler JL on 42-in. tires.
- A '97 two-door Jeep Wrangler TJ.
Did we mention that this Jeep is a right-hand-drive manual and was recovered from the jungles of Okinawa, Japan?
SN: What's the best piece of advice you have for professionals getting started in the aftermarket?
EV: At one point, we were that kid looking at cool rides. We all had dreams. Shoot for those dreams, and never grow up!
Fill out a TORA-member spotlight form to highlight how you or your company are contributing to the truck and off-road specialty-equipment industry. Selected candidates are eligible to be featured on TORA's social media, SEMA News and future TORA member updates.