Rihm Monthly Magazine - February 2025 - Magazine - Page 21
Mr. O’Brien was impressed that J.B. was able to move those
trucks so quickly and returned to Rihm Motor Company
with a contract, making Rihm the
4th dealer in the Kenworth network
and the first east of the Mississippi.
The original contract included
all of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
This year, 2024, marks the 75th
anniversary of Rihm becoming a
Kenworth dealer.
In 1949, J.B. built the building
(pictured to the right) at 2108
University Ave. to house all their brands. In 1955, Rihm
stopped selling the Federal brand, and in 1984, with
the decline of home milk delivery, the Divco brand was
dropped as well.
When J.B. passed away in 1962, his son, Walter, became the
dealer principal afterwards. Walter's son, John, (pictured
below with Walter) was already working at the dealership,
starting with the chore of sweeping
up the service bays after the
technicians, plowing the lots, and
eventually learning all about the
parts and service departments.
Walter led the company through
two wars, the political unrest of
the 60’s and 70’s, and the high
inflationary and recession period
of the 80’s, and transitioned the
business in 1993 to his son, John W.
Rihm. Walter passed away in 2004.
Under John Rihm, Rihm Motor Company began doing
business as Rihm Kenworth. He expanded the business by
adding a dealership in Superior, WI in 1997 and another
in Albert Lea, MN in 2008. He championed the notion
of creating a “website,” something he was reading about
more and more in the Wall Street Journal. As a result,
Rihm Kenworth was one of the first Kenworth dealerships
to have a website. John embraced Kenworth’s Medium
Duty line of trucks and focused on building that business
because those trucks are apt to stay local and create good
parts and service business. His foresight helped lead
the company to receive three awards (after his death)
as Kenworth’s Medium Duty Dealer of the Year. Major
world events also occurred during his tenure as well. The
“dot com” bubble burst, sending the market into bear
territory for several years; Minnesota elected its first “third
party” Governor, Jesse Ventura; the 9/11 terrorist attack
on the US sent the country into a recession and to war in
Iraq; and as the country showed signs of recovery from
the tumultuous decade, the housing finance market
bubble collapsed, catapulting the country into The Great
Recession in 2008. Sadly, by the end
of the decade, John had passed
away of brain cancer.
A Rihm family member has always
been at the helm of the company's
daily operations. Following John’s
death, Kari Rihm became the Dealer
Principal in 2011, and Rihm's fourth
generation family members, J.B. and
Libby Rihm, have since joined the
company as well. There was a lot of
work to be done to modernize the facilities, grow Rihm's
presence in our territory, and expand our services. Rihm’s
footprint has expanded from three dealership locations
in 2010 to seven currently. Rihm added one facility in
2011, three in 2018 (one was a replacement for the 1949
era headquarters), one in 2019, replaced another in 2020
and completed a remodel/expansion at the beginning
of this year in Superior, WI. In 2017 Rihm acquired a
leasing company (a NationaLease
franchise), which added nine
more locations in the region, and
shortly after also added a PacLease
franchise. All this expansion set
Rihm apart from its competition
over the same time period.
The history and family’s hands-on
approach to the business stands out
in the region. The Rihm family has
dedicated itself decade after decade
to customer service and satisfaction;
generations of employing and developing team members
with good-paying jobs; caring for the individuals and their
families; and providing the kind of security that enables
them to pursue their own personal interests, hobbies, and
dreams. We are so proud of our beginnings, and how far
we have come. Thank you for being a part of our journey
throughout our 90+ years of history!
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