In most family businesses, children follow
their parents into the company. J.L.E.
Enterprises is a company started by a 16-
year old son who enlisted his mother and
recruited his father plus sisters, uncle, and
an assortment of other family members to
join the business. Gary Enger was determined
at a very young age to spend his time with
wheels whether it was matchbox cars or a
truck and semi-trailer. That self-reliant and
driven teenager has expanded a mobile-unit
power washer and grown it into a multi-state
enterprise of environmentally conscious truck
detailing and washing facilities.
Better, faster, cheaper has been Gary's
motto from the moment he visited the truck
washing facility at his father's office. "I can do
that" said the 14-year old, "when can I start?"
Gary's dad, Jim Enger, told him that the job
belonged to someone else. Never losing sight of
his dream, Gary got his driver's license and a
power washer on his sixteenth birthday. When the truck washer retired, Gary got his
job. For the next few years he washed trucks twice
a week and supplemented his income by working
summers on the graveyard shift at a cannery. Two
summers at the cannery convinced Gary that he
would never work for anyone but himself. During
the day, he knocked on doors selling his truckwashing
services. Eventually, he convinced
trucking companies to give him a chance, and by
his junior year in college, Gary had five
employees.
Today JLE Enterprises, Inc. also includes JLE Truckwash, LLC. as well as JLE Body and Paint.
With the number of employees at well over 100, JLE has become one of the largest Truck Washing
establishments in the country serving hundreds of accounts in four states (so far).
Awards
"New Family Business for 2001" To learn more, please
CLICK HERE
From the OSU Austin Family Business Program
