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Get Your Engines Started: Joe’s Engine Shop Handles Lawn Equipment Sales and Service
Joe’s Engine Shop Handles Lawn Equipment Sales and Service
Writer / Angela Cornell Photography Provided
It’s been one the strangest years in living memory. Nonetheless, nature continues as it always has. That means as long as the sun shines and the rain falls, the backyard honey-do list will continue to grow, and at the same speed as your grass. Typically, that list is nothing more than a few mundane tasks. That is, until the lawnmower breaks or the chainsaw refuses to start. At that point, the list is not only daunting, but also infuriating.
Joe Kuhns, owner of Joe’s Engine Shop in Bremen, and his team have made a name for themselves by selling and repairing small-engine lawn and garden machines, parts and accessories. Since opening in 1998, they’ve won several awards, including the Hustler Diamond Dealer award for being one of the top sellers in Indiana.
Throughout the years, Joe’s Engine Shop has grown from a small, rented shop to the retail and service shop that it is today. In the beginning, it was only a part-time gig for Kuhns until he decided to take the plunge into full-time self employment in 2006.
“My brother decided to get out of the business,” Kuhns says. “He stopped in and asked if I wanted to buy the business. Then I decided to buy part of his business and stop my parttime job. From there, it just kind of kept on growing.”
On the retail end of the business, Joe’s Engine Shop sells brands like Husqvarna, Honda, Mantis and Hustler. Despite being a relatively small shop, Kuhns sells a variety of products like generators, tillers and mowers. He also offers hand-held devices like chainsaws, hedge trimmers, weed eaters and leaf blowers.
Kuhns also sells a variety of battery
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equipment from DeWalt, Makita and Husqvarna, which he believes is a benefit to his customers.
“If somebody has Makita tools at home, then they can just get the bare tool because they already have the batteries,” he says. “It’s the same way with DeWalt.”
In his 48-by-96-foot showroom, Kuhns has several kinds of lawnmowers on display, including zero-turns, small
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tractors and walk-behinds. Although he mostly sells Hustler mowers, he carries some of Husqvarna’s batterypowered mowers as well.
The backbone of the business is the service garage.
“We work on any two-cylinder and smaller engine in the lawn and garden stuff,” Kuhns says, adding that his business offers chainsaw and lawnmower blade sharpening.
“We can do overhauling engines or replacing the engines or transmissions - just about anything on a lawnmower.”
During the summer, the shop typically has around 50 to 60 engines and pieces of equipment, for both residential and commercial customers, in various stages of repair. Each engine is serviced by Kuhns’ talented team members, each of whom have their own specialties.
Despite the number of jobs typically in the works at the business, customers can typically expect a turnaround of two to three days for repairs on machines purchased directly from Joe’s Engine Shop.
“All equipment purchased from Joe’s Engine Shop gets priority service, and to ensure quick turnaround on repairs, we stock a lot of parts for the brands of equipment that we sell,” Kuhns says.
For machines purchased elsewhere, the wait can be up to four weeks, depending on how long it takes for Kuhns to obtain the necessary parts.
At the end of the day, customer satisfaction is what makes the job fulfilling for Kuhns.
“My greatest satisfaction in running the business is [the customers’] surprise at how quick we can do it, and at a fair price,” he says.
Joe’s Engine Shop is located at 1319 Plymouth Goshen Trail in Bremen. For more info, call 574-546-4413.
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