CARLYLE - After a seven-month renovation, Merit Ford is back in operation using their completely refurbished offices and showroom.
For the past 230 days, Mryglod and his experienced staff have operated Merit Ford through both a pandemic and working under the roofs of five different buildings. Every 15 years, Ford of Canada requires a complete and thorough renovation to its premises, upgrading everything to meet the company’s highest quality standards and uniform branding.
“We were really excited to work with such talented people and infuse our local economy with this investment into our dealership,” said general manager and shareholder Joel Mryglod. “Darren and Kayle Swanson, owners of Rococo Construction, were the general contractors for the project. Local subtrades were utilized, including Jason Johnson and Logan Trippel of Faber’s Electric for electrical, CT Flooring for tiling and Country Drywall for painting.
“Amped Welding, Bedecs Ready Mix, Tuff Exteriors, Chimo Building Centre, Moose Mountain Woodworks, Billy Slykhuis and Integrity Maintenance were some of the other locals whose services we used. The list could go on and on.
“The local talent pool here in southeast Saskatchewan is incredible. Although the square footage of the building did not increase, entire walls were gutted and has provided the business with a much better usage of space. In the back shop, there are now seven different bays which include two new hoists, a 12,000-pound and a 15,000-pound two posts.
“All sales offices have been completely renovated and entirely new computer systems have been installed.”
He added, “I grew up in a family run business (parents Garth and Donna Mryglod with Dairy Queen) and we are like family here at Merit Ford. We have a young energetic group of employees that are fun to work with. We are really looking forward to working from our new offices.
As for how business has been during the pandemic, Mryglod repeatedly said “adapt and pivot.”
“Many of our customers think that the lack of vehicles on our lots is because of a chip shortage. That may be true, but it isn’t the full story about how the entire supply chain was put to a halt. Like all surviving businesses, we have all had to learn to adapt and pivot.”
Mryglod also provided some interesting information previously unknown to most about how they pivoted during these trying times.
“Both sales managers, Dustin Boutin and 15-year veteran Faron Biesenthal, have taken on the finance role in combination with their sales role,” he said. “If you want to buy a vehicle at Merit Ford from Dustin or Faron you go through the entire sales process with them as individuals. Over the past year and a half, both Dustin and Faron have not only been cross trained in product knowledge of the vehicle but also in warranty, insurances, finance rates and programs. Their offices are a one stop shop.
“Pick a vehicle and sign it up. It’s really simplified the sales process for the customer. People really seem to like it.”
He added, “While gas and diesel vehicles still account for the majority of our sales, hybrid cars and trucks are becoming more and more popular. In addition, the 2022 fully electric Ford Mustang Mach - E is being mass produced and we expect one to be in our showroom sometime this summer. This week, Ford has also announced that their 2022 F150 Lightening EV Trucks will be assembled and available to dealerships by year’s end. As part of our franchise commitment, an EV charging station is being installed just south of the main showroom in the next few weeks. This will be the first electric vehicle charging station in Carlyle and we are really excited about this.”
Mryglod is 38 years old and with the assistance and mentorship of longtime family friend Garnet Goud, he was promoted as general manager to Merit Ford in 2016. He finalized his partnership agreement in 2021 which is exciting for him and his young family. Another item of note is that Merit Ford separated from its satellite store in Esterhazy in 2018. It is now truly Merit Ford Carlyle.
