JEGS Heritage
Golden Years of Speed and Service
For more than 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 small, non-descript shop in downtown 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
legwork and ingenuity quickly established Coughlin as
the go-to guy for high performance parts in Central Ohio,
and what began simply as building and tweaking 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. The original 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 massive state-of-the-art distribution center and
world headquarters were opened. JEGS now employs more
than 350 associates yet maintains the founding company
culture of a small, family-run speed shop that continues
to preserve a one-on-one relationship with each customer.
"It's been a phenomenal ride," Jeg Sr. said
as he reflected on the company's growth. "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 30 and 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 Coughlin 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."
A good portion of the decades of success for JEGS can
be attributed to the quality of products they offer, and
the knowledgeable associates identify firsthand with what
they are selling the customer because they use those same
parts themselves.
A third generation of Coughlins is expanding the JEGS brand into new markets. John's son Cody already has earned a title in USAC .25 Midgets and now drives a Late Model Stock Car in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour. Several other younger Coughlins enjoy competing in NHRA Jr. Dragsters, reaching fellow drivers that begin racing as early as 8 years old.
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.
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 more than 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.
It seems that 50 years is just the beginning for JEGS
and Team JEGS racing as the second and third generations
of Coughlins are racing straight line and circle tracks.
"In today's day and age I think it's pretty impressive
to reach 50 years of being in business," Jeg. Jr.
said. "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.
"Dad started this little speed shop 50 years ago
in downtown Columbus with two employees and a big dream
and now 50-plus 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
