Business Pulse

Gateway

to Renovation

For anyone who has made their way out Smithville Hwy. near the Fairgrounds lately, it's hard to not notice there are some changes going on at Gateway Tire and Service Center at 2365 Smithville Hwy. I reached out to Gateway General Manager Katrina Wood this week to find out what's going on.

Gateway's history in Warren County dates back to 1964 when Katrina's dad, Lynn Bouldin, started Gant and Bouldin Tire on Beersheba Hwy. In 1992, Gant and Bouldin became Gateway Tire and Service Center before moving to its current location over 25 years ago. The building hasn't seen a major renovation since opening so, much like tires on your car, it is time for a change.

The current stage of work is mostly cosmetic but Katrina says some expansion plans are also in the works. "We're getting a new look on the outside and inside. There's also the possibility for expansion. We own the lot behind us and we're in the planning process of looking into adding parking and more bays," Katrina said.

"We just want to accommodate our customers more efficiently and update everything. What we're doing right now is just getting the look changed. We're going to get the interior done and then, with possible expansion, we're looking at adding more warehouse space, more bays and more parking," Katrina said.

The familiar gray building is getting a fresh look as well. While Katrina isn't ready to spoil the surprise of just what the new sign and exterior will look like, she did confirm it will get a new color scheme of red, blue and khaki. "The sign is really going to be different. I just want to keep the anticipation up right now," Katrina laughed.

Gateway's services (including free popcorn) are continuing uninterrupted, as the renovation continues, so customers can keep an eye on the progress.

Herzog's legacy

lives on

The recent passing of Todd Herzog has left a large hole in the Warren County business community. It has also left a literal hole in the pages of the Southern Standard. For the past several years, Todd has been the primary contributor to the Standard's monthly two-page business spread, Business Monthly.

His presence will certainly be missed, but his legacy lives on with his company, Accu-Router, under the leadership of his son and Accu-Router president, T.R. Herzog.

On a personal note, I've known Todd for over 30 years as I've been friends with T.R. since junior high school. For decades, Todd and his wife, Kathy, have warmly welcomed me and my friends into their home to hang out with T.R. and made me feel like part of their extended family.

On one of my first visits to their house, Todd and T.R. took us over for a tour of the new company Accu-Router and, although I didn't quite understand at the time what the company did, I was quite impressed. That visit stuck with me so now, over 30 years later, I took the opportunity of the July 4 holiday to catch up with T.R. to learn a little more about the state of the company and hopefully shed a little light on the venerable Warren County-based business for my readers as well.

It was business that brought the Herzogs to Warren County from New York. T.R. explains, "Dad moved our family from Buffalo in July 1976 to become director of marketing for Powermatic. In 1982, Powermatic acquired the CNC router line from C.O. Porter (Grand Rapids, Mich.), and Accu-Router was born. With Dad leading marketing and a national sales force, Accu-Router spread far and wide making parts for many industries, including guitar bodies at Gibson, boat parts at Sea Ray, speaker cabinets at Bose, upholstered furniture at Berkline and Jackson, and airplane wings at Textron. In 1992, Powermatic was moving toward an import model for smaller machines (planers, table saws), making the Accu-Router line expendable. Always wanting to run his own business, at age 48, Dad recruited a group of investors and took 18 original employees with him to a new plant in Morrison the following year,"

For those, like myself, who aren't completely familiar with what an Accu-Router is, T.R. explains. "A CNC (computer numeric control) router is a class of machine tool that was an early form of automation, turning all manner of sheet stock (wood, plastic, composites and aluminum) into assembly parts precisely and repeatably. An Accu-Router is the 17,000 lb big brother to a hand router one can buy at Lowes."

Todd is so associated with Accu-Router that many didn't realize he actually retired from the company at the end of 2014 at the age of 70. T.R. says, "He graciously transferred ownership to myself and four senior managers in exchange for us assuming his liability and establishing our own line of credit. Over 2014, Dad planned and conducted a series of training sessions with the new ownership team, transferring his knowledge on each functional area of the business and industry. Since then, he was our biggest cheerleader and went out of his way to not interfere, staying busy instead with his many volunteer activities. Ten years later, customers still ask about him, and his philosophies still influence our decisions."

Todd leaves a lasting impact in Warren County, not only as a businessman but through his volunteer work and his Herculean efforts in promoting education and skills training. His rich legacy is in good hands with T.R. and his senior managers as they share Todd's love of Warren County and his commitment to innovation. " Forty years is a long lifespan for a tech product, but we’re committed to Warren County and delivering innovation to our customers. Research and development is focused on maximizing speed, productivity, and automating machines to be less reliant on manual labor," T.R. said.

Until next week,

same biz time,

same biz page

I hope everybody had a great Fourth of July week. While holidays are great, I'm looking forward to a normal week so I have an easier time remembering what day it is again.

Thanks to everyone for your continued tips and suggestions. It's been great hearing from businesses I've featured tell me how many new customers they've gotten who tell them they learned about them in Business Pulse. Thanks for reading!