Rick Hughlett, president of Rick’s Automotive, likes to add a spin to a famous line from the movie “Field of Dreams” when he talks about his company’s recent $2 million, 14,000-square-foot expansion, which doubled the shop’s square footage.
“It wasn’t ‘Build it and they will come,’” says Hughlett.
“It was ‘They came and we built it.’”
The company was founded in 1980, and its staying power is just one reason it was chosen by the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce to receive the 2012 W. Curtis Strube Small Business Award at a Small Business Week luncheon May 2.
The award, named for the late W. Curtis Strube, who was the director of Breech School of Business at Drury University and founder of the chamber’s small business council also recognizes responseto adversity, innovative products and services, business philosophy and community contributions, according to
SpringfieldChamber.com.
At the award luncheon, Hughlett said the Strube Award was a tremendous honor.
“To show how important it is, my daughter is at (Mercy) giving birth to our fourth grandson,” Hughlett said during the event.
“There was a little window where I could sneak over here, and I really appreciate the honor.”
In 2011, Rick’s Automotive posted revenues of $5.1 million, and Hughlett expects a 20 percent increase in 2012.
He said some of the company’s 35 employees have been with the company for 25 years.
The expansion created six positions to be filled this year, and four hires already have been made, Hughlett said.
Rick’s Automotive uses local vendors and suppliers for 95 percent of its tools, equipment parts and supplies and hired local contractors for its recent expansion project, Hughlett said.
He also invests in the future of the automotive industry work force as an advisory board member for Ozarks Technical Community College’s automotive department.
“I can help set the curriculum to the industry’s needs. I also meet the students and see them as they grow through the program,” said Hughlett, who also serves on the board of the OTC Foundation.
Earlier this year, Rick’s Automotive was honored by the Better Business Bureau of Southwest Missouri with a BBB Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics, presented to companies that promote ethical business practices.
Web Editor Geoff Pickle contributed to this story.
Click here to read more about the 2012 W. Curtis Strube Small Business Award.
