THE NEXT GENERATION TAKES OWNERSHIP OF AUTO BODY SHOP

“Everything is going to stay the same,” remarked Tyler Johnson, owner of Johnson Auto Body & Glass (formerly Steve’s Auto Body & Glass) in Slayton. And though the next generation has assumed full ownership, the location and services of the downtown shop have remained the same for over fifty years.

In 1969 the original body shop was built by Slayton Auto.

In 1973 former owner Steve Wynia began working in the body shop and when the dealership closed in 2001, Steve purchased the body shop from Gerald Bennett and remained in the same location. Steve worked alone until his nephew, Tyler Johnson, joined him in 2006. “I grew up here, graduating from MCC in 2003,” said Tyler. “When I was in high school, it was always in our minds that I would come back and work for adding an additional year for custom painting, fabricating and interior work. It’s been a great fit through the years, and Tyler admires his mentor. “I learned so much from Steve. On-the-job training is the biggest part.” The feeling is mutual for Steve. “We feel fortunate that Tyler joined us when he did and stayed working in the auto repair industry. In the early years the older guys would come into the shop and want to see me for their estimates and the younger guys would want to see Tyler for their estimates. But it did not take long before Tyler was doing the majority of the estimates.” In 2010 Manderscheid Construction built an addition which doubled the size of the shop, allowing for three additional work bays. And in 2019 Tyler became a partner and co-owner until Steve retired and sold his share to Tyler a few weeks ago.

Though Steve worked alone for the first few years, he recalls times when a job required another man. “I’d go across the parking lot and get Steve Illg to help out. Illg had also worked for Slayton Auto and then started an alignment shop next door.” Tyler’s second man is Trey Ackerman, another Murray County Central graduate who completed his auto body degree at Ridgewater last spring. “Trey has really been picking up on things quickly,” commented Tyler. Of course businesses also require administrative work, and for both Steve and Tyler that work stays in the family with their wives. Rhonda Wynia manages the bookkeeping from her home office and she’ll train Tyler’s wife Nikki in the coming months.

Tyler stated that deer collisions and icy roads make this a busy time of year for auto body work. Both Tyler and Steve have been motivated to provide the best service possible, and Steve commented that when a customer said their repaired vehicle looked “just like new” he felt great satisfaction. Steve and Rhonda are thankful for all of their dedicated and repeat customers over the past twenty-one years and they are confident excellent service will continue under Tyler’s leadership. Rhonda remarked, “We chose the slogan ‘Where We Meet By Accident’ because we really met a lot of new customers by accident!”

Johnson Auto Body & Glass is located at 2419 27th Street, just west of Broadway. Tyler and Trey look forward to many more years of meeting customers “By Accident”!