Tenvoorde moves to fourth generation next week
By Britt Johnsen •
bljohnsen@stcloudtimes.com • December 24, 2008
A 105-year-old local business has a brand-new owner, but like always, it’s staying in the family.
Dave Tenvoorde of Tenvoorde Ford will retire as owner Dec. 31. He worked at the company for more than 50 years.
“It’s exciting for him,” said Mike Tenvoorde, 37, Dave’s nephew. Mike will replace his uncle next week when he starts his job as the new owner of Tenvoorde Ford.
Dave Tenvoorde could not be reached for comment.
Mike Tenvoorde, of St. Cloud, is the fourth generation of family owners of Tenvoorde Ford. Jack Tenvoorde, Mike Tenvoorde’s father, had been president of the local company until his death in November 2007. He was 68 years old.
Jack Tenvoorde’s grandfather, Stephen Tenvoorde, started the business in 1903. In the 1940s it was passed on to Stephen’s son, Cyril Tenvoorde. In the 1980s it was passed on to Jack Tenvoorde.
Mike Tenvoorde said in an interview at his office that he has been purchasing ownership over the last seven to eight years. Now that Dave is leaving he’ll buy the remaining shares. He would not disclose details of the purchase.
He said he has no plans for major changes, such as new stores or moves. The main goal is to maintain what they’ve always done.
The business was incorporated as a Ford dealership in March 1903, three months before Ford Motor Co. was incorporated, according to a written statement from Tenvoorde Ford. It is the oldest family-owned Ford dealership in the world, according to the statement.
Despite the doom-and-gloom of the auto industry, “Ford is still a strong company,” Mike Tenvoorde said. Ford is among the automakers to lay off workers and ask the government for a bailout deal, which was approved by the Bush administration this week.
“The business will grow as long as you don’t change the founding principles,” Tenvoorde said, citing customer and employee satisfaction as fundamentals.
At the St. Cloud store, they’ve made behind-the-scenes tweaks to withstand the economic downturn. They’ve reduced their inventory by about 30 percent, Tenvoorde said. Instead of keeping as much inventory on site, they have been using an online catalog.
He said they’ve done what they could to not lay off workers, but have still cut 5 percent of their employees in the last few years. They now have about 65 on staff.
Tenvoorde, who started at age 16 cleaning cars and gradually working his way up the company, said his uncle Dave deserves congratulations. Dave’s accomplishments include helping move the dealership from Fifth Avenue to Roosevelt Road, Mike Tenvoorde said. That risk took foresight to move the company to what was at the time an intersection of dirt roads, he said. But he must have known it would become a bustling intersection, Tenvoorde said.
Mike Tenvoorde is looking to the future.
“A place that’s been here 105 years is going to continue to be here,” he said.