W.A. Jones has been in business since 1880, starting off as a cattle and fur trading company that has grown and evolved into the truck equipment powerhouse it is today. In 2001, W.A. Jones joined forces with Monroe Truck Equipment as a distributor of Monroe’s complete line of municipal snow and ice equipment, and since then, that partnership has only grown stronger as the years have gone by. Today, W.A. Jones proudly holds the title of the oldest continuously operating business in Indiana’s Whitley County.
Matthew McNeal, Director of Municipal Sales at W.A. Jones, attributes the enduring success of the partnership to Monroe’s commitment to developing new business strategies and new products. “They’ve earned our business throughout the years by partnering with us on product and service needs,” he says. “That allows us to grow our businesses together.” In fact, this collaborative approach led to W.A. Jones’ request for Monroe to develop the FFDS body, and Monroe worked to integrate input from W.A. Jones during development.
Standing Behind the Products
Because W.A. Jones has been offered multiple municipal fleet deals and developed strong partnerships with various local municipalities, its large customer base has made it possible to utilize the full breadth of Monroe’s product lines. W.A. Jones values partners that exhibit the same values it strives to exude, like high quality products and unparalleled customer service. Monroe aligns perfectly with those values, enabling a strong relationship with the W.A. Jones team, as well as their customers.
One of those customers is Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). INDOT has been utilizing Monroe equipment since 2010, initially through W.A. Jones’ purchase to fulfill their contract. As a company that prioritizes local municipal business, W.A. Jones recently secured another 4-year contract with the State of Indiana, reaffirming the State’s reliance on Monroe equipment for the foreseeable future. “We rely on Monroe equipment because it’s tried and tested in our own backyard,” says Matthew. “We stand behind what we sell, and Monroe does the same.”
Weathering Challenges Together
With a partnership spanning so many years, both W.A. Jones and Monroe have weathered challenges together, including recent supply chain issues, purchasing limitations on chassis allocation, as well as two consecutive years with little snowfall. In response, W.A. Jones and Monroe proactively pursued creative solutions, like fixing and retrofitting equipment on existing trucks rather than new ones. Keeping aging equipment running and upfitting trucks not specifically designed to be solely “snow fighting machines” was a successful way to adapt to the ever-changing needs of customers.
This enduring partnership between W.A. Jones and Monroe Truck Equipment has stood the test of time, thanks to shared values of quality and customer service, as well as efforts by both companies to adapt to current market challenges and develop creative solutions together. Here’s the to the next decade, and beyond!