TAN Driver Blog - Jeff Ashwell - TAFC

Well, since things didn’t quite go as planned for us at the recent Lucas Oil Regional in Woodburn I want to take a few minutes to talk about our longtime sponsor, Wilson’s NAPA Auto Parts - TWGW, Inc. We are very fortunate to have been associated with this great family run entity for so many years now and I want to take the opportunity for everyone to read about this 10 time recipient of NAPA Auto Parts Five Star Excellence Program, which is awarded to independent owners based on sales and customer service criteria. Wilson’s NAPA is one of only 4 independent store owners nationally to have won this prestigious award consecutively since its inception back in 2001. Read further to learn how Tony and Gail Wilson started this great company to now celebrating their 25th year with NAPA Auto Parts in 2012.

It all started back in December 1987 when Tony Wilson and his wife Gail purchased their first store in Newberg, Oregon – sold their house, cashed in all profit sharing, and went for broke. Against all odds, they survived their first year and sales at that first store are still strong today.
They have been expanding their operation, and more family members have purchased shares to help run what has become a 14 store operation.  Here are some highlights of their expansion:
January 1996 they purchased their second store in Wilsonville, Oregon which now also serves as TWGW, Inc. corporate headquarters.  
December 1999 Tony and Gail purchased 2 locations in South Lake Tahoe, a town where Gail was raised.  They enjoyed owning these stores until 2006, when expansion in Oregon required more of their time.
December 2000 they purchased Salem, Oregon. The first thing they did was move to a more retail friendly location in April 2001 and then kept this store for 5 years until they sold it back to Genuine Parts Company (NAPA Corporate).
April 2001 TWGW, Inc. purchased both the Albany and Corvallis, Oregon stores and in April 2002 they moved the Albany store into a 6000 square foot building where they still are today.
September 2001 Tony’s cousin Eric Wilson and his wife Tina moved from Idaho to Oregon, bought shares of TWGW, Inc., just in time to acquire another store in the Keizer, Oregon area.
May 2002 brought another expansion with the purchase of the Canby, Oregon location.  They expanded the store in June 2007 from 4500 square feet to 6000 square feet allowing for a larger sales area for retail customers.
July 2002 TWGW, Inc. went a different route and opened their first IBS or Integrated Business Supply in Canby, Oregon. This is a national program that NAPA rolled out.  TWGW, Inc. supplies the inventory inside their customers’ place of business, provides their customer with computers and employees, and manages their inventory.  The IBS then is able to save both time and money by having the NAPA jobber obtain all of their parts at a greatly reduced rate, and only pay one statement.  It is a win-win situation for all involved.
September 2003 The Wilsons purchase the Molalla, Oregon store.
July 2004 Tony’s sister Marcia and her husband Jerry Schaecher purchased stock in the company.  Marcia had been a long time employee-since 1990, and Jerry since 1999.
December 2005 The company purchased two new locations, one in Silverton, Oregon and the other in Mt. Angel.
January 2008 They purchased the Sandy, Oregon store and moved to a retail friendly location, with new inventory, furniture, fixtures, and computer equipment. The Sandy location saw sales increase 20% in their first 2 years open.
March 2008 TWGW, Inc. opened the Sherwood, Oregon location under a new program that was being offered by NAPA. Sherwood had been an open market for the previous 10 years, so the company received incentives to open the doors in the Sherwood location by April 1^st.  NAPA Headquarters realizes that it is difficult to invest so much money in a ground-up store, and then have to wait so long for ROI (return on investment). The Wilsons felt very fortunate to be considered for this special program, and they could not pass it up!
April 2010 saw the Wilsons open their first “Heavy Duty NAPA Truck and Trailer Parts Store in Aurora, Oregon. Customer base comes from the truck stop locations nearby right off Interstate 5, and the farmers in the area. The store also serves their heavy duty customers in all of their other locations, with one central location for inventory.
September 2010 saw the acquisition of the “Hood River Group”, consisting of 3 stores in the Columbia River Gorge area – Hood River, Stevenson, and Bingen. There is now the Valley Group (12 stores) and the Hood River Group (3 stores), with separate accounts receivable and inventory ordering. In 2012 they decided to merge the two groups to keep part numbers and account numbers consistent at all locations.
March 2011 TWGW, Inc. opened their second IBS location in the fleet maintenance shop of a large construction company in Woodburn, Oregon. The Wilson’s are looking forward to growing this business as they did with their first IBS back in July 2002.
December 2011 The second generation of Wilsons’ begin purchasing shares-Robert and his wife, Katie move back from the Hood River Group and expand their responsibilities as new owners
February 2012 Earlier this year TWGW sold the Silverton and Mt. Angel stores back to the previous owners, who are also good friends of the Wilsons, they wanted to get back into the NAPA business.
April 2012 Company website Wilsons-NAPA.com  is born, thanks to a second generation contribution from Jeff Wilson.  
One thing the Wilsons have learned over the years is that they truly value owning stores in smaller communities, where they can tailor the inventories to the specific needs of each market, and grow not only business relationships, but friendships as well.  
Ashwell Racing has been associated with Wilson’s NAPA for a very long time now and we hope the partnership can continue for years to come. You can follow them on Twitter @WilsonsNAPA and on Facebook.

Next up for us is the 2nd Annual Night of Fire at Woodburn Dragstrip July 27-28th and the NHRA Northwest Nationals August 3-5. See you at the races.

Jeff Ashwell is the driver of the Wilson's NAPA/Ashwell Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car. Follow him on Twitter at @AshwellRacing.