Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007

Schonherr back in tire business in Oskaloosa

by Ken Lassister

Jim Schonherr moved his business to Oskaloosa with a new, laid-back start in mind and, after about 18 months, he has been pleased with his new location.

Schonherr opened his tow garage along with taking over the Oskaloosa Self Storage units in 2006 along US-59 Highway in Oskaloosa just north of Countryside Lanes bowling alley. He had operated a garage in McLouth for 21 years and, after moving to a rural McLouth farm, looked at the move to Oskaloosa as a “semi-retirement.” Schonherr decided he needed more to do, however, so he recently entered the tire sales and service business.

Schonherr sold his McLouth business with an eye on moving his towing business to Oskaloosa for a more central location in the county. He purchased the 89-unit storage facility and had a shop built just off of US-59 Highway with a tow lot behind Countryside Lanes. His plans were to run his towing business there along with the storage units with hopes of perhaps starting an all-terrain vehicle and motorcycle dealership at the location. Unfortunately, the second part of those plans hasn’t panned out yet.

“I’d like to see an ATV or motorcycle dealership here but the companies don’t seem to want a dealership in the country,” Schonherr said. “They seem to want people to go to the cities, and I think this area would be great for such a business.”

While hoping that the climate for an ATV or motorcycle dealership changes in his favor, Schonherr said things were going well at the business, but he decided he needed something more to do, so he purchased the equipment needed to balance and fix tires and signed on with Cooper Tires. Schonherr said the business, which is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, can offer all brands and sizes of tires. At one time he sold tires out of his McLouth business, so he was familiar with the trade. The new venture also ties in well with his towing service.

“Basically, I really cannot sit around all day, so I decided to add tires to the business,” he said. The business also offers tire repairs for flats starting at $8.50. “I plan to keep a variety of tires in stock and can order in wheels or tires and have them in the next day. I really want to have a good stock on hand.”

Schonherr’s other recent priority has been setting up outside storage space for rent. He said the units themselves are about 90 percent filled, and he likes to have that much wiggle room to be able to have open units on hand for emergency cases.

Two months into the tire sales and service business, Schonherr said it is working out well. He said he may get back into doing such light mechanical work as oil changes but hasn’t made a decision on that yet.

“I’d say it’s pretty much worked out how I wanted it to when I moved over here,” he said. “For now it’s fine with just me here but if the tire sales pick up I may hire another person in here to work if I have to go out on a towing call. It’s just like starting any new part of a business. I’ve got to let people know what all is here.”