Steinmetzes reflect on 30 years with Havre Ford and on the future

Editor's note: This is the fourth in a series of long-standing locally owned businesses. Anyone who has a business they think would be appropriate for the series can call Tim Leeds at 265-6795 or email him at [email protected].

Havre Ford is a long-time community business owned by the Steinmetz family for the past 30 years.

"One of the neat things about working in a family business is you get to work with your family," part owner and General Manager Charlie Steinmetz said. "Sometimes that can be one of the challenging things, too, but we get along pretty good."

His dad, Pete Steinmetz, and his family, moved to Havre from Park City outside of Billings, when he bought Havre Ford in 1989.

Charlie Steinmetz said he was a junior in high school and his brother, Steve Steinmetz, was in sixth grade.

Steinmetz said that after high school he went on to college then moved to Spokane, Washington. In Spokane he worked at an accounting firm and then as a CFO for a construction company, he said. He added that his last job before returning to Havre was working for a construction company in Great Falls.

He said he has been working at the Havre Ford dealership for the past 10 years, and his brother, Steve, has been working there even longer. They've had some fun along the way, he added.

Steve Steinmetz said he has been working for Havre Ford since he was 14 years old, working originally as a part-time car washer for his dad, who is now retired. He said that throughout high school he worked part-time for the dealership and after graduating college decided to come on board as a full-time employee for the past 20 years. He said after he was a car washer, he has worked as a detailer, worked in the parts, service and sales departments.

Working with his father could be rough, he said, especially as he got older, but over all he still loved working with him.

He said that when working with family, it is always hard to separate work and home and, after he got into management, he had a conversation with his father about how they could make sure they separate the two.

Charlie Steinmetz said his father was very dedicated to making the business work, dedicated to his family, dedicated to his employees and their families. His father had a strong work ethic, he added, and was a success because of it.

Steve Steinmetz said that he loved being able to soak in all the knowledge his father had to offer and the over all conversations they had over the years.

He added that he enjoys working with his brother, as well. Although, he said, they don't hang out together outside of work as much as he would like.

Charlie Steinmetz said he got involved in the business after his father called to tell him he was ready to retire, and offered to sell the business to him and his brother. He added that his father is enjoying retirement, depending on the weather, with hunting, fishing or spending time down south where it is warm. Even though his father has retired, Steinmetz said, he still is a part of the business.

Steinmetz said that is one of the great things about people retiring, they are able to have some fun and not have to worry about the business as much.

He added that when he first started working at Havre Ford he got a crash course in the business, being "thrown to the wolves," but with his father's help and influence he is comfortable and confident in the future of the business.

His wife, Lynn Steinmetz, also works at Havre Ford, as office manager.

"Not a lot of people get to do that, some people don't want to, but it has been good for us," Charlie Steinmetz said.

He added that the business is a challenging environment, and one of the biggest surprises to him was the cost of operations. Some people are shocked by the sticker prices of a vehicle, he said, but from an internal perspective a surprising amount of capital is needed to have the fleet of vehicles they do. The cost has gone up, especially in the past five to 10 years, he said.

Every town used to be have a Ford dealership, he said, but now the closest ones are in Fort Benton, Great Falls, Glasgow and Cut Bank.

Steinmetz said Havre Ford will keep moving forward and working together.

Steve Steinmetz said everyone at Havre Ford always wants to keep growing, make their customers happy and have them leave with a good experience, serving their customers the best they can. He added that Havre Ford also recently experienced some good personnel upgrades.

The Steinmetz brothers agreed that their favorite part about Havre Ford is working with the customers.

People get excited when they look at and buy a new vehicle, Charlie Steinmetz said. It is always an exciting time when people get something new, he added.

Steve Steinmetz said he enjoys working in the sales department, although he is always surprised by the choices people make for their vehicles.

He added that, one time, Havre Ford received a bid from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation's Forestry Division for vehicles and they managed to get a bison hunt in the deal. He said it was a fun and interesting experience, in which he learned how long it would take to cut up and clean a bison. Steinmetz said one of their customers shot the bison.

One of the coolest vehicles they sold, Steinmetz said, was a Shelby Mustang which was sent to Carrol Shelby, American race car driver and father of the Shelby Mustang design who died in 2012, to have the Super Snake Package put on the car. Shelby signed the vehicle.

In the future, Charlie Steinmetz said, Havre Ford will hopefully expand and continue to serve communities on the Hi-Line.

He added that he has two children, Chris, 20, and Myles, 18, who have moved out and gone to college. He said he doesn't know if his kids will eventually work at the family business. The most important thing for him is that they find their own way and find what they want to do, he said.

Steve Steinmetz said he and his wife, Krystal, have two children, Moriah, 8, and Sam, 5, and he hopes they grow up to do something that makes them happy. If they end up at Havre Ford great, but he will be happy as long as they grow up to do something they are passionate about, he said.

Charlie Steinmetz said that his kids grew up in Havre and he is happy to be part of the community.

"Havre's one of those interesting places. You either know it and love it or you kind of look at it and say, 'Why would anybody go there,'" Steinmetz said.

Havre Ford has contributed to many different community organizations, Steinmetz said.

"I like to think we are involved," he said.

Steve Steinmetz said it is nice to have a small community where people know people. He said no matter where he goes in town, even if he is meeting a group of new people, someone he knows and feels comfortable around is always there.

Charlie Steinmetz added that it is surprising how much Havre has to offer, the arts and culture and different programs available for people to be involved in.

"Always considered Havre home," he said.