JEGS History / Heritage
Golden Years of Speed and Service
For 50 years, the name JEGS has been synonymous with high
performance racing parts, dating back to 1960 when Jeg
Coughlin Sr. opened the doors of JEGS High Performance
at a non-descript little shop in Columbus, Ohio.
Little did he know at the time, but Coughlin was on the
precipice of something great. Limited by his Midwest location
and unable to find the parts he needed to produce the
desired level of performance in his own hot rods, the
speed hound searched far and wide to unearth what he was
looking for -- the very best parts in the country. Dedicated
leg work and ingenuity quickly established Coughlin as
the go-to guy for high performance in Central Ohio, and
what began simply as building engines for buddies soon
became a full-fledged retail business.
Nearly
three decades after Coughlin's original speed shop was
born, he helped his four sons, John, Troy, Mike, and Jeg
Jr., purchase the operation, and under their collective
guidance the small family business became a mail order
giant. What was once a 4,000 square-foot shop now encompasses
a 100,000 square-foot warehouse, a chassis shop, a call
center, and the original retail store on the very grounds
where it all began.
A second store and two additional call centers are also located in the metropolitan Columbus area, and 10 years ago, a state-of-the-art distribution center and world headquarters were opened. JEGS now employs more than 300 associates yet maintains the founding company culture of a small, family-run speed shop while continuing to preserve a one-on-one relationship with each customer.
Knowing your product
Family patriarch Jeg Sr., who still regularly attends
the races to assist his four sons and ever-growing number
of grandchildren, reflected on the company's growth with
pride.
"It's been a phenomenal ride," Jeg Sr. said.
"When you think about starting out as a little project
all these years back and then look at our facilities now,
it humbles you. I credit the boys with so much of our
success. I ran the thing for 27 years and then sold it
to them and they turned around and took us from a $20
million-a-year shop to a $200 million-a-year company.
That speaks volumes to the work they've done.
"I'm especially proud of the fact we've taken this
business and used it to make our family closer than most.
Between the family aspect of what we do and the good decisions
we've collectively made along the way, to me that's been
the difference."
Jeg Jr., the youngest of the four brothers who run JEGS
Mail Order, has watched it all come together.
"Like most businesses that do well, we've been fortunate
enough to have great people working with us through the
years," Jeg Jr. said. "I think we now have 25
or so employees that have been with us for at least 20
years with a few of them in the 40-year range. They're
all a big part of this and they're as much a part of the
equation as anyone in the family.
"We're now starting to see a third generation of
Coughlin's and multiple generations of associates coming
into the business and that's exciting too because you
can see that this deal is going to continue on for many
more years."
Five decades of product familiarity
A good portion of the 50 years of success for JEGS can
be attributed to the quality of the products they offer,
and the knowledgeable associates identify firsthand with
what they are selling the customer because they use those
same parts themselves.
The Coughlin brothers, all four deeply involved in drag
racing, proudly use JEGS products in their racecars, with
six world championships and 15 divisional titles to their
credit. Their familiar yellow and black JEGS transporters,
seen at every national and many divisional events, are
packed with a host of spare parts for their racecars,
which are all available through JEGS.
Though Jeg Jr.'s Pro Stock car isn't generally used for
experimentation in the name of product sales and development,
the Sportsman-level and bracket racing cars of John, Troy,
Mike, Jeg Jr., and Troy Jr. are frequent test beds for
new parts under evaluation. JEGS also carries a line of
Jegster suspension parts that are designed, developed,
and manufactured at the original 11th Avenue shop.
Getting the Product to the Valued Customer for
50 Years
In keeping with the comfortable "walk in and buy"
theme established so many years ago, JEGS has several
retail stores throughout Columbus, but the bulk of the
business happens at their headquarters in the Columbus
suburb of Delaware, Ohio. The expansive main building
is over 200,000 square-feet and is divided between offices
in the front and an enormous, automated warehouse in the
rear.
The impressive front area includes all of the administrative
offices, a bank of knowledgeable sales associates, and
a unique cafeteria that looks like a racing-themed restaurant,
and the warehouse and order-processing layout is exceptionally
efficient and effective.
An automated shipping department is filled with well-organized
parts racks that run the length of the enormous warehouse
and stretch to the top of the 50-foot ceiling. All parts
are stored in very specific locations to ease the shipping
process, and the computer-automated retrieval system,
packaging, and shipping assembly lines are enhanced with
modern technology for heightened efficiency.
Once a customer places an order online or over the phone,
the order is processed and instructions are sent electronically
to the warehouse to pick parts off of the shelves in a
three-level flow rack system, the automated retrieval
system, and the large VNA racking area. Everything funnels
down onto a conveyor so that all the parts for one order
end up at the same place at the same time. Your items
are then boxed, weighed to make sure everything is accounted
for, labeled, and sent to the out-bound shipping area
to be loaded onto the trailer of the assigned logistics
carrier.
Racing into the Golden Era
In recognition of the company's 50th year, the 2010 season
will feature all Team JEGS racecars and transporters proudly
displaying a special "JEGS 50 Years 1960-2010"
design.
"We're all very excited about the 2010 season and
celebrating 50 years of JEGS being in business,"
Jeg Jr. said. "This milestone is something we're
all extremely proud of and we plan on having a fun year
both at JEGS headquarters and at the races.
"In today's day and age I think it's pretty impressive
to reach 50 years of being in business. It speaks to the
hundreds of wonderful associates we've had over the years
and the consistency of product and service we've provided
to our loyal customers over the years.
"Dad started this little speed shop 50 years ago
in downtown Columbus with two employees and a big dream
and now 50 years later we catalog thousands of parts and
deliver millions of packages overnight worldwide. It's
pretty incredible to stop and think about how far we've
come in the last half century."
Media Contact:
Scott "Woody" Woodruff
JEGS, Director of Media & Motorsports
Office: 800.345.4545 (3.412)
Mobile: 614.595.1820
Fax: 740.362.4385
Email: jegspr@aol.com -or- scott.woodruff@jegs.com
