Fort’s Industrial Engines, also called Fort’s Auto Supply, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a March 17 open house at 11 a.m.
Shirley Fort, 92, who has worked at the family business at 118 Park Ave. East for decades, still opens the door at 7 a.m., a business now run by third-generation family members. Workers repair everything from vehicles to lawn mowers to snow blowers, full-sized tractors and even miniature Shriner’s cars that delight people at parades.
It’s quite a busy place.
Shirley and her late husband Ned served customers together for years until his death in 1999. Their son, John Fort, is the lead mechanic. Longtime mechanics Dan Elliott and Jon Henry love working on engines. Faith Miller is in charge of paperwork. Cindy, a retired civil engineer, helps out on occasion. The business also operates a small machine shop.
Henry said he’s loved working on small engines, something he’s done for about 50 years now, since he was 19 years old.
Elliott said he loves the work too.
“I work on about everything they drag in the door,” Elliott said. “It’s always something different.”
Shirley taught preschool for The Rehab Center for years and worked at the business after the children were old enough to take care of themselves.
Shirley first spent time at the business when she and Ned were dating. They were married 53 years.
The business has adapted with the changes in technology, she said. Their customers stretch from Mansfield to Ashland and Shelby, and as far away as Columbus.
“We try real hard to keep up with the technology that is coming down the pipe today,” she said. “It’s a lot. We talk about the old cars back in the day, speedometers and all that kind of stuff that’s gone by the wayside, and now we’re getting into the hybrids and battery-operated tools. It takes dedication to maintain that level of competency.”
Shirley said everyone at the business tries to help their customers as much as they can.
“It takes dedication. It takes liking the work that you do and all our guys down here like to work,” she said.
“We do a lot of things other shops won’t do,” John said, including working on Magneto’s, which are ignition systems 60 to 70 years old or older used on tractors and standby generators, and industrial engines that don’t need a battery to make a spark.
John is currently working on a 50-year-old generator for The Martin House in Ashland. The parts are hard to find, he said.
Fort’s is an authorized service center for the DeWalt/Stanley/Black and Decker family of battery-powered hand tools.
One thing that hasn’t changed at the business over the years is helping people solve problems.
Cindy and John’s grandfather and great uncle started the company. The two brothers, George and Warren Fort, founded the business in 1926 at 65 N. Diamond St. as a battery/electrical service store when automobiles hadn’t been in general use for long.
“The current building’s size and shape, built in 1945, is the way it is because the architect knew where the rafters were,” John said. “They built the building to fill up the rafters because ’45 was right after the war, and steel was not available.”
Parts of the shop’s ceiling has glass panels, offering direct sunlight.
No one is planning to retire anytime soon.
John, 66, said the object is to keep moving the business forward.
The family also likes to give back to the community.
Shirley and John continue to teach Mansfield Power Squadron-sponsored boating classes. The business continues to be a sponsor for the North Central Ohio Soap Box Derby. Large trophies won by John’s son when he was younger are displayed in the shop.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Fort’s Industrial Engines celebrates 100 years in Mansfield
Reporting by Lou Whitmire, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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