Family business has seen it all in 100-year history

By: SHANNON WINGARD - For the North County Times | Tuesday, January 2, 2007 9:05 PM PST ∞

OCEANSIDE -- Although Richer Auto & Truck Electric Co. has evolved since it first opened in the days of horse-drawn buggies, the fourth-generation family business has kept the same values and principles, its co-owner said recently.

James Richer Jr., who owns the shop with his father, said while the Richer Auto & Truck Electric has changed names and locations, the business has retained its expertise, despite ever-changing technology that has transformed the kinds of vehicles its customers use to get around.

The company has been in business for roughly 100 years: Richer's great-grandfather opened the then-named Richie Electric Co. in Escanaba, Mich., around the turn of the century to service generators.

Now the business, which relocated to Oceanside nearly 14 years ago, specializes in alternators, generators and starters from cars, boats, trucks, waste management vehicles and, most recently, "sand cars," a kind of high-performance dune buggy.

"You have to be able to do all vehicles," Richer said. "That sometimes can be a challenge."

In a given week, Richer said the company may service a range of vehicles, from a 1945 Massey Ferguson tractor to a new firetruck -- variety that keeps the job exciting, he added.

Still, the basic know-how of how starters or alternators "interface with the vehicle" has not changed, he said. To stay on top of the latest information, the shop's owners regularly attend seminars and study trends in technology, Richer said.

"Technology has brought so many changes to us," he said. "It will be exciting to see what comes down with the hybrids."

While the owners have kept the scope of the business consistent, Richer Jr. said each family member has brought something different to the table. His grandfather began servicing pressure washers and generators when he owned the store, and his father opened it up to a variety of land and marine vehicles.

When Richer became an owner, he decided to get involved in a challenging area -- servicing sand cars that race in desert events such as the Baja 1000.

He attributes the business's longtime success to his family's philosophy.

"My father always taught me if you are going to do it right, then do it right the first time," he said, adding, "We build it as if it was going on our own car."

Although "we're just a little family business competing with the big boys," he said he believes the "quality of service" will keep Richer Auto & Truck Electric around for generations to come.

"Who knows, my son could be working on hover vehicles someday," he said.