1946 – 2026 Watching Steinbach Grow – J.R. Friesen and Son is a five-man partnership

JANUARY 5, 1972—Western Canada’s oldest Ford dealership has officially become a five-man partnership.

Ed J. Friesen, president and general manager of the 69-year-old company since 1950, told The Carillon News this week he had sold the major portion of the company to four senior employees.

“This partnership has already been in effect for nearly a year,” Friesen explained, adding that all legal proceedings had now been completed.

Under the new agreement, Friesen became chairman of the board and a minor shareholder. Former sales manager Elvin Fast became general manager of the company. Three other directors on the board are Art Baerg, Jac Ketler and Alvin G. Reimer. Baerg is secretary-treasurer and office manager, while Ketler assumed all servicing responsibilities. Reimer is in charge of parts and sales.

Friesen said the partnership agreement had in no way affected the company’s operations.

Established in 1903 by the late J.R. Friesen, the dealership concentrated for the first few years on implement sales and service in the McCormick and Deering lines. In 1910, Friesen bought the first car in Steinbach. The excitement it created prompted him to begin selling cars to the public in 1913.

Every car built by the Ford Motor Company has since been handled by the company. By 1958, when the dealership underwent major renovations, more than 4,000 new cars and thousands of used models had already been sold.

Going to work at J.R. Friesen’s in 1929, after completing his high school education, Friesen entered into partnership with his father six years later. In 1950, he assumed complete ownership of the company, following the death of his father.

In 1956, the company opened a branch dealership in Morris and a year later, built the present B.A. service station and bulk farm fuel installation in Steinbach.

At the time of the new partnership arrangement, J.R. Friesen and Son employed a total of 50 people in its three-fold operation.