Rihm Kenworth, one of the biggest truck dealers in the Twin Cities, is expanding by building two new suburban sites and will move out of the University Avenue location in St. Paul where it's been for nearly seven decades.
The new facilities will allow the company to serve more customers and build revenue, said Kari Rihm, the company's owner and chief executive.
"If you compare it to a restaurant, we're going to be able to turn the tables faster," Rihm said.
The move comes after Rihm earlier this year bought another sizable Midwestern family-owned trucking firm, Red Wing-based Lawrence Nationalease. The deal added 15 service locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota, bringing Rihm's total to 21.
The truck dealership's growth defies industry trends at a time when market conditions are soft for big rigs. Lower values for used trucks have affected the dealership, Rihm said, and it has relied more heavily on its service business as a result.
"We've lost plenty of money because the value has dropped, but we've been able to counteract those losses with improvements in other areas," Rihm said.
Sales of parts over the past six years have increased 75 percent, and service sales have increased 120 percent. J.B. Rihm, Rihm's son and a vice president of the company, attributed those numbers to an increase in service stalls and the hours they are open.
Kari Rihm took the leadership role at the company after the death of her husband, John, in 2010 following a short battle with brain cancer. The firm was started by John's grandfather in 1932 and, in 1949, became the first dealer for Kirkland, Wash.-based Kenworth east of the Mississippi. It is now one of Kenworth's oldest, continually operating dealers.
