In 1984, Tom Lorentz transformed his grandfather’s Brownies Service Station in Depew, New York, a suburb of Buffalo, into a van conversion and accessory center. As business began to grow and Tom’s reputation as a creative individual spread throughout the Buffalo, NY area, he was asked by a new client if he could come up with a way to make his family’s van wheelchair accessible.

After embarking on some research Tom was put in touch with Ralph Braun, a creative entrepreneur. Ralph designed and began building custom wheelchair lifts originally to overcome his own physical mobility challenges. Tom arranged a meeting with Ralph and received a private tour of the first Braun facility. Today, BraunAbility is the largest manufacturer of accessible vehicles in the world!

Excited, Tom brought back a Braun Swing Out wheelchair lift and anxiously installed it in his client’s Chevy van. Soon the word got out that Tom was able to install devices in vehicles that made wheelchair accessibility a reality. Many years later, and now with a team of nearly 30 employees, Main Mobility has become Western New York’s premiere headquarters for accessible vehicles and mobility modifications and mobility equipment.

As time passed, Tom’s company quickly outgrew its facility, and in 2003, the former General Motors Training Center, located in Clarence, New York, was purchased as the company’s new home. With the help and dedication of his employees, this building, situated on a 5-acre park-like setting, was transformed into a state-of-the-art retail, service and manufacturing center.

That same year, the United States Small Business Administration recognized Main Mobility’s position in the community and its accomplishments by selecting Tom Lorentz as “New York State’s Outstanding Small Business Person of the Year,” for which he was honored at a national conference in the Nation’s Capital.