Our History
In April of 1940 Charles Thompson began Thompson Motors as a general
repair shop. An operation which grew from a general service garage to a
worldwide service. Please read on if you would like to hear how we
started.
Thompson Motors began when a group of truckers from the LaCrosse, WI
area were so pleased with the work done by Charles Thompson that they
persuaded him to open a shop in Wykoff, MN. In LaCrosse Charlie had done
repair work on their fleet of trucks at the ford garage, that group of
truckers purchased the Wykoff Elevator and moved their trucks to Wykoff
and asked if Charlie would come with them.
In April of 1940 Charlie, his wife Gert and son Dick, left LaCrosse and
moved to Wykoff to open a repair business. Charlie leased a building and
set up shop as a filling station and general service garage.
The advent of WWII and gas rationing brought an end to the grain trucks.
However, the war created a need for mechanics who could patch vehicles
together without new parts, Charlie was good at that. After the war
Charlie became a Hudson car dealer and sold cars as well as farm
machinery including Ferguson, Massey Harris, Belle City and later
International Harvester. Hudson went out of business and we went out of
the car business.
In 1956 Thompson Motors acquired the International Harvester truck
franchise and sold pickups and two ton trucks. In 1958 Dick, who had
worked part-time in the business while going to school, joined the firm
full-time after marrying Judy and starting a family. In 1959 Thompson
Motors sold its first new diesel semi tractor to George Wagner of Wykoff,
a Ruan owner operator. This truck, a model DCOT-405 Emeryville, had a
220 Cummins, five speed transmission, two speed drive axle and a belt
drive tag axle. The truck weighed 13,000 pounds full of fuel and with
driver and power takeoff pump. This sale got Thompson Motors started in
the growing heavy duty truck market. With the sales of new heavy trucks
came used trade ins and then lesser value trade ins on those that seemed
to have more value as parts than as trucks and a second business of
truck salvage was born at Thompson Motors. In 1989 International was
trying to downsize the number of International dealers and the decision
was made to sell only used trucks. The salvage parts business as well as
the rebuilt parts and service market had already become a bigger part of
the business so it was full steam ahead into these businesses.
Thompson Motors entered the export market in 1979 and it remains a large
part of our business today. By 1982 Dick and Judy's sons, Chris and Rod
had joined the firm full-time. In 1983 Thompson Motors established our
branch facility in South St. Paul, MN to better serve our customers in
that area.
Today our business sells about 300 used complete trucks,500 salvage
trucks each year. The sales of new International and Cummins parts, used
parts from the salvage trucks and components that we rebuild have set us
apart from your traditional truck dealership.
The first building that Charlie moved his business into is no longer
standing. The building that now houses Thompson Motors was built in 1959
and has had many additions since. The salvage operations have moved to
new larger accommodations on the edge of town where we have 10 acres of
parts storage and processing facitilies.
The Thompson family and its employees would like to thank it's customers
for making it a successful business and appreciates greatly the ability
to be here for you today and tomorrow.
