Krusen Motors enjoys warm reception from community

MT. PLEASANT - Monday evening Mt. Pleasant Chamber of Commerce and community members gathered at the edge of town to celebrate the Grand Opening of Krusen Motors.

In a large car dealership, there was once only a large empty space which served as a reminder of the hardships that too often befell businesses in the midst of the pandemic.

The McKinzie family is more than happy to fill this space with not only vehicles, but life, jobs, and hope.

Sales Consultant Darius Smallwood is not new to this location. He worked for five years as a car sales consultant for the previous two owners of this location.

“It’s great to be back home,” he said.

In the time the lot sat empty, Smallwood found himself working in a factory, but never realized how much he missed selling cars.

“This is my atmosphere,” he said as he took a look around the show room full of people.

The McKinzie family feel the same.

Co-Owner of the Mt. Pleasant location, Kris McKinzie, puts an emphasis on family, employees, and community.

That is what Krusen Motors as a whole company is all about according to their mission which reads:

"[We will] exceed employee and customer expectations by being the best in every facet of our business through consistent and transparent behaviors. With a strong dedication to the community that supports us, we strive to provide 100% satisfaction for everyone that engages with Krusen Motors in a business or personal setting.“

The Kruse Motors’ CEO Keith McKinzie told the community as much.

“This is the heartbeat of America,” he said. “It’s not about the big towns. It’s about the right towns and the right people, and this is the right town.”

“We are proud to invest in this community,” he said.

“Currently, we have about 50 employees and are growing,” Keith McKinzie said. “Our customer satisfaction is above average, and we’re buying homes in this community.”

The McKinizie family wanted to ensure that their employees felt like they were part of the family as well so they were sure to update anything in need of it when they took ownership.

“They were using computers from 2011,” Kyle Kruse said of the technology in the dealership before the updates.

The service department also received a good once-over to make sure everything was up to standards, and a state-of-the-art automatic alignment detecting device.

The updates seem to have paid off as Chamber President Kristi Perry raved about the new dealership’s service department.

“Man, everyone that talks about the service department here says it is awesome, including my husband,” she said, “and he’s hard to please.”

The Krusen Motors family is excited to be in Mt. Pleasant and look forward to continue to support the community.

In the words of Keith McKinzie, “We’re Krusen now.”

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com