Schmidt’s Goes Green

Schmidt’s Auto Incorporated, a leading Dane County towing company, has launched their newest vehicle into their fleet. A battery operated light duty service vehicle they call “Sparky”. “Sparky will operate in and around the downtown area providing motor clubs, like AAA, customers with light duty service calls including battery replacements, jump-starts, lock-outs and tire changes” says John Schmidt, co owner of Schmidt’s Auto Inc.

“We’re very excited about this move by Schmidt’s”, said Nancy Jackman, Director of Automotive Services for AAA Wisconsin. “AAA has been encouraging our contractors to migrate to light service vehicles for both economic and environmental reasons, and Schmidt’s Towing has taken this strategy to the next level. AAA congratulates Schmidt’s on going green!”

With fuel prices climbing over the past year, Schmidt’s Auto was looking for ways to keep our services affordable. “If we can save some money on the front end by introducing a lower cost vehicle, we can keep our pricing stable and avoid adding price increases such as fuel surcharges. At the same time we were looking at an environmentally friendly vehicle,” John says.

Schmidt’s Auto ordered the vehicle in April of 2008, but due to the initial overwhelming demand, customer orders were taking as long as 5 months, states a representative from Columbia ParCar Corp., “Sparky’s” manufacturer out of Reedsburg, Wisconsin. The manufacture has since reallocated resources to bring wait times down significantly.

Lucy Zweep of Ozee Cars, a local dealer for Columbia ParCar, where Sparky was purchased, says “For Schmidt’s Auto, Sparky works because of its size and range on a single charge. Every step we take on reducing our carbon footprint and decreasing our dependency on foreign oil is a step in the right direction”.

This is not the first time this towing company has taken an innovative approach to the towing business. In October of 2003; they launched their dial #TOW from your Cell-Phone, which connects customers directly to Schmidt’s dispatch 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

“As the economy continues to provide challenges and the need exists for us all to review ways to protect our environment, Schmidt’s is happy to do their part. Currently, we recycle thousand of vehicles each year, we market used and rebuilt parts, and now with our battery operated light-duty service vehicle we feel good about our contributions thus far” says Mike Schmidt, co-owner of Schmidt’s Auto Inc.

Schmidt’s Auto Inc has been a family- owned business since 1937.