The Fort Meigs Advantage
In 1954, Howard Masters purchased Fort Meigs Auto Electric, an automotive repair company in downtown Toledo, Ohio. Later that year, his son William joined the company and began calling on fleet repair garages and gas stations, offering repairs and selling wholesale parts. By 1970, Fort Meigs had ceased performing service repairs and was able to concentrate on distributing wholesale parts, after reaching an agreement with Delco Remy.
Michael Masters, William’s son, got involved with the family business from a young age. After familiarizing himself with all phases of the business, he implemented technologies and inventory management systems and led the company to rapid and sustained growth. Mike expanded the Fort Meigs footprint into new markets, and eventually led the company to move from their downtown location.
In 2003, a new warehouse facility was developed from the ground-up, in order to meet the changing needs and demands of the company. With a new facility, Fort Meigs was able to expand their footprint again, this time by adding the Motorcraft product line to the existing ACDelco product line. With additional product, an expanded customer base, and new facility came greater managerial duties. Mike’s son, Kristopher, began taking over the daily operations, and the evolution of the company continued.
On Jan 1st 2018, Kris, the fourth generation of the Masters family, became president and now owns and operates Fort Meigs Auto Electric. Following in his father’s footprints, Kris has brought new ideas and a new culture to the company, which he hopes will allow for additional growth and market share for many years to come.
