Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
This is Chris Redgrave for Zions Bank Speaking on Business.
Farming wasn't the only thing on Kathel (Kay/Thell) Tischner's mind while growing up .... He knew he wanted more..... And so, in the 1930s, he helped run a Chevrolet dealership. He enjoyed being in Santaquin and didn't want to go back into farming, especially since he'd met the girl he wanted to marry.
Right about that time, World War II broke out; however Kathel (Kay/Thell) didn't get sent to front lines because they discovered he was color blind .... Well, one thing lead to another and pretty soon, he found a new opportunity in the form of a Ford dealership, now known as Tischner Ford ... That's where it started — all while his family continued to run their Texaco service station.
The service station is where current president Kay Tischner started. He left the business to work in other industries, including Texaco, then came back in 1969 and has been running things ever since. And it's a family affair — four of his children are involved and will take over Tischner Ford when it's time.
Fact is, the auto industry changes, sometimes so fast it's hard to keep up .... But Kay still remembers when a new car model was introduced every year ..... It was like a birthday where they spiffed everything up and kept cars and trucks under wraps. And the celebration included cake and ice cream .... He also remembers when an automatic transmission was a novelty when today, over 90 percent of the cars produced come off the assembly line with one.
Tischner Ford has 14 employees, many who've been with them for years .... They're proud of this tradition of long-term employees and enjoy being a family-oriented business. They're an important contributor to Utah's unemployment rate of just 5.8 percent.
And not only does Tischner Ford pride themselves on stable family ownership — they've also served generations of customers ..... It speaks highly of a family that doesn't just talk about excellent service — they live it every day.
For Zions Bank, I'm Chris Redgrave, speaking on business.
Tischner Ford 118 W. Main St. Santaquin, UT 84655 801-754-3281 www.tischnerford.com
