Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/946299
16 I t is rare to fi nd business owners who have given more of their time and expertise to their industry than Harman Heavy Vehicle Specialists' Jay and Ian Johnston. Through various advisory councils, trade groups and leadership initiatives, the father-son duo has spent decades working for the better- ment and prosperity of the independent aftermarket. Such willingness to give is eternally laudable. But in recent years, while also managing a comprehensive revolution within their own business, it's downright astonishing. It's a commitment that deserves acknowledgement. It deserves acclaim. It's a commitment that has helped a company dedicated to giving to receive the 2017 Truck Parts & Service Distribu- tor of the Year award. But Harman's climb to the top of the aftermarket is about more than just its devotion to the industry. It's a story 80 years and four generations in the making. The company known today as Harman Heavy Vehicle Specialists was fi rst opened as a single-location automotive jobber by Roy Harman in 1938 as Harman Sup- ply Company. The business started in the categories Harman knew well, like brake linings and springs, and grew over time. By the late 1940s, the company's steady growth facilitated its fi rst of many expansions, and Roy Harman purchased an adjacent lot to build the company's earliest state-of-the-art location. The company's growth period con- tinued into the 1950s, allowing Roy to sell the successful business to employees Gordon Everett and Ralph Johnston when retiring in 1955. It was an owner- ship transition that defi ned the business for decades to come. Under the new duo's leadership, Har- man deepened its commitment to the transportation industry, adding product categories and machine shop services with regularity. Another growth-necessi- tated expansion followed in 1969, as did the introduction of Gordon and Ralph's sons, Rob and Jay, in the early 1970s. It was also during this period the younger generation began turning its attention to the heavy-duty trucking industry. T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 8 Invested in the aftermarket The unending commitment of Harman Heavy Vehicle Specialists By Lucas Deal, Editor lucasdeal@randallreilly.com 2017 Distributor of the Year Winner