Company History Profile
A Tradition of Quality
The city of Memphis, TN is known for many things - Graceland, Elvis, Beale Street and Coleman Taylor Transmissions. In 1961, Larry Coleman and his brother-in-law Bill Taylor, opened a transmission shop and started 44-year history of growth and development.
Coleman, president of the company, completed 2-years of Engineering at Christian Brothers College in Memphis, and explained that his career in the transmission industry actually started when he went to work for a transmission shop in Memphis.
"Before I went in business, I was working for a shop that I considered a bit unethical, and that's one of the things that motivated me going into business for myself. I thought that if someone did this job honestly, they could make a good living at it. I quit smoking and drinking, got married and went into business all on the same weekend."
His faith in the industry certainly was justified. Throughout the years, the operation has grown to 15 retail centers in 5 cities and three manufacturing centers. He noted that the company now builds between 25,000 and 30,000 transmissions a year.
Several events through the years have brought the company to the leadership position it holds right now. Torque Converters Inc, (TCI) was originally part of Coleman Taylor. In 1969, Coleman bought out Taylor's interest in the transmission operation and his brother-in-law kept TCI. It was an amicable separation, Coleman was quick to point out "We married sisters and we still live two doors apart."
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The company's roots were in racing, Coleman said. Both he and his partner had drag racing cars. Later in 1986, Alan Kulwicki won Rookie of the Year honors on the Winston Cup circuit driving the Coleman-Taylor owned T-Bird on the Super Speedways at Daytona, Talladega, Charlotte and Atlanta. Coleman-Taylor hasn't been involved in the racing circuit since 1988, but still maintains a strong interest in the sport.
In the mid '70's a lot of things happened. The company expanded into several markets with many new facilities. "We also made an important decision in retail stores to give our customers an up front price after diagnosis (in the frame). They're not obligated. That's created a lot of goodwill."
"We're very strong technically." Coleman emphasized. "Every manager who operates a store comes through the ranks from the bottom up, so that everyone is a fully trained ASE certified technician. When an employee attains the expertise, we start looking for a location for him to manage. We expand to create opportunities for our employees." The company has tech meetings once a month to exchange ideas and technical information. Coleman-Taylor also works directly with SONNAX developing valve body tech kits.
A relatively new division of the company under the direction of Marty Coleman is Life Automotive Products Inc. Marty started with the company IN 1991 in the converter department. In 1993 Marty Coleman supplied SASCO with supplies and parts machinery that made Coleman Taylor the third largest exporter in Tennessee that year. Life Automotive offers a line of lubricants, flushers, cleaners, and additives for transmission re-builders.
From the first, it has been the company policy to hire employees without any experience and train themfrom the ground up. As a matter of fact, he said that 95% of the people come with no previous experience in the transmission industry. "We train them all the way, which has worked out very well. We have 150 employees and one-third of them have more than 15 years, one-third between five and 15 and one-third under 5. Partners who have managed reman operations are Jimmy Newman, Danny Smith and Doyle Morton, and our office manager is Dolores Little. All have more than 25 years with the company. Most of our managers are co-owners of the stores they operate. The following is a list of current manager partners; including the year they began with the company, the year they became manager, and the year they received manager of the year.
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Wade Throneberry - 1981, 1985, 2002 Ricky Cain- 1999, 2004 Josh Wilburn - 1994, 2001 Jimmy Newman - 1974, 1991, 1994 Cecil Bing - 1974, 1977, 1980 Stuart Mays -1985, 1990, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006 Nick Coleman - 1983, 1990, 1993 Kenny Rogers-1962, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 |
David Reno - 1987, 2000, 2001 Jimmy Reed - 1999, 2004 David Bruner-1981, 1984, 1995 Doyle Morton -1970, 1971, 1988 Roger Woods -1972, 1974, 1982, 2000 Danny Smith - 1974, 1980, 1990, 1993 Sidney Bari - 1980, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998 |
The following managers have received Manager of the Year four times (Eagle Award):
 Nick Coleman |
 Kenny Roger |
 Danny Smith |
 Sidney Bari |
 Stuart Mays Manager of the Year 2004 and Key Personnel |
"Retail shops have a minimum seven bays, the largest have 12 bays. Recently we have updated a lot of them with additional space, new lifts and equipment.
In 1993 Coleman Taylor was selected by a prominent Mid-East operation, to establish a turnkey transmission plant in Saudi Arabia. SASCO owns a large number of service stations, motels and convenient stores throughout Saudi Arabia. This was a move to expand its auto parts division, which had large facilities throughout the kingdom.
 John Zocola, accountant, with Larry and Anne Coleman |
The future looks bright for both Coleman-Taylor and Life Automotive Products. The industry is healthy right now and business has been exceptionally good, Coleman said. "Our company won Small Business of the Year '94 for the state of Tennessee and also completed building 12,000 differentials for the government."
AWARD BANQUET WINNERS
The growth of the company has been steady over the years. One of the reasons for the sustained growth and expansion very well may be the company motto, which was instituted from the very beginning - Whatever It Takes For Customer Satisfaction. " Always give more than you promise." If you do that, they have nothing to ask for." Customer relations is one of our very strong points. You can easily lose a customer and friends over warranty. Don't find a reason to get out of it. "Good competition is healthy. It makes you better and the customer benefits. It is also important to be friendly and get along with competitors."
"You'd be surprised how many people your company comes in contact with that are suppliers. It's our philosophy that when you're dealing with suppliers, they should be treated with the same respect as a customer. They are a vital link to your business. These policies have worked well for us, and we expect it to continue to do so in the future," Coleman said.