- Welcome to Business Forward.

I'm your host, Matt George.

This is going to be a fun show.

Joining me tonight, Michael Benet.

Michael is the president of Kauth & Mayeur.

Welcome, Michael.

- Thanks for having me.

- I appreciate it.

Let's get right down to it.

Are you from here?

- I'm from central Illinois, but been in Peoria since about sixth grade.

- [Matt] Sixth grade.

= Yeah, went through all the district 150 schools.

- [Matt] Did you?

- Yep.

Right up to Illinois Central College.

- [Matt] Nice!

- Yeah.

- [Matt] Well, good to know.

So, let's talk your business.

- [Michael] Sure.

- Hear the name all the time.

- [Michael] I appreciate that.

Kauth & Mayeur's been around since 1977.

- [Matt] Okay.

- They started Peter Kauth and Brad Mayeur, they started in a gas station up on Main Street.

(laughing) which I think now is a sandwich shop.

- [Matt] Really?

- Yeah.

That lasted for about a year.

And they moved down the street to Orange and Main and were there for, well, I think we just recently moved locations here about a year ago.

So, we were there for 40 some years.

- [Matt] Wow.

- Yeah.

Main Street corridor treated us really well.

Still does!

- [Matt] Good.

Yeah.

- [Matt] And so what do you do?

- [Michael] What do we do?

You know, were the dealership alternative.

A lot of people have difficulty sometimes with dealerships or prices, et cetera.

We're an independent shop that does everything the dealer does at a more reasonable rate.

- [Matt] Okay.

- That, that mode works.

That mode works throughout the whole nation.

- [Matt] Do you sell cars?

- We don't sell cars.

- [Matt] Yeah.

You just fix cars.

- Yep.

If we have a customer that is interested in placing a car, we'll give them a referral.

- [Matt] Okay.

- Yeah and we've done quite a bit of that, but we fixed cars as I was telling you earlier, we've got 90 cars on the lot today and every one of them has to be fixed.

- [Matt] And are every one of those cars, foreign cars?

- [Michael] Absolutely.

Well, we have a friend of the shop on occasion when an import owner has a domestic, we will do them a favor because they can't find a place that actually will do the same kind of services we do or have the care that we have.

You know, my guys, my technicians have been with our shop 30 years in some cases, even more than 30 years.

- [Matt] Yeah.

- [Michael] I've been there for at least that long.

So, that's when we'll work on a domestic.

We've got a Ford Mustang and today as a matter of fact, but it's vintage.

- [Matt] Vintage?

- [Michael] Vintage Mustang.

- [Matt] Yeah.

And so understanding repairing cars, but do you let's say a vintage Mustang gets in a wreck, you don't redo that.

- [Michael] No, we don't do any body work but we have done restoration work.

We took an MG, a very early MG, $75,000 restoration from nut to bolt from top to bottom.

It took a couple of years.

- [Matt] Dang.

- and rarely do that but we have a couple of technicians that, that is, that is something that excites them.

They come in and look forward to playing with a car like that and assembling.

It's a very simple process compared to the deep computer processes that today's cars have.

- [Matt] So, do you think the longevity of your staff is because it's not just a job, it's fun and a hobby?

- [Matt] Absolutely.

- It's a hobby.

- [Michael] As a matter of fact, sometimes we'll have cars that, that, that will actually ask the technician.

Is this something that you want to work on?

If the technician says, no, that's a job we should shy away from.

We will, we will.

And vice versa.

If they say that's a job I want, we'll bring it in.

And that keeps morale up.

- [Matt] Do People that, let's say I wanted to buy a 30 year old JAG.

- [Michael] Yeah.

- And the word on the street is you don't want to buy a car like that because they're hard to fix.

Is that, is that correct?

- [Michael] For some, not for us.

- [Matt] But not for you.

- Yeah.

- [Matt] And so is it because parts are foreign parts or is it because there's a specialty or maybe both fixing foreign cars and the parts - [Michael] You're really close.

- [Matt] Okay.

- [Michael] You're really close.

Getting imported parts is a little bit more difficult but we've got supply chains that we've been working for, been working with since 1977.

So, pretty much we can make a car out of a box.

The truth is we can order enough parts in to make a whole car.

That's how good parts have gotten.

But, sometimes they're difficult time-wise.

But, the availability is there.

And then in general, compared to the domestic an import vehicle is more difficult because there's a lot more engineering in an import vehicle.

Not that there's anything wrong with the domestics.

I own a few as well, but the, the the import make has gone above and beyond on almost every component compared to the domestic.

- [Matt] I gotcha.

Very cool.

So, you probably see Lamborghini, Ferrari - [Michael] Yeah.

Just this week.

McLaren.

Lamborghini Countach, which was a nearly a million dollar car.

That's just our weekly deal.

(laughing) Yeah.

- [Matt] That is pretty cool.

- [Michael] It is cool.

- [Matt] Yeah.

- [Michael] I'm going to tell you it is cool but don't kid around because BMWs is our lifeblood.

Volkswagens are our lifeblood.

Yes, we do see very high level highline vehicles but we also cater to a very domestic or I should say pedestrian car as well.

- [Matt] Okay.

Well, I'm going to switch gears here.

Tell us about your mother or grandmother.

- Oh, sure.

It's funny you say that.

So, here I was knee-high and my grandmother started taking me to the racetrack in farmer city.

Yeah.

And because she lived in, in LaSalle, Peru area.

So we got to get to the dirt track oval and farmer city.

And it just struck a chord with me like any kid does, you know, you're with your Tonka toys you're playing with your hot wheels.

- [Matt] Yeah.

- But it really stuck in me because my mother was a gear head and she had a Jaguar X K, just like you was talking about one of those hard to work on cars.

And her passion led to my passion.

And it has never wavered to this day.

Today.

I was, before we, we came down here I was directing not only on that Mustang that I had mentioned earlier, but on a Porsche that that we're doing for our local customer out in Dunlap.

And I can't get enough of it.

I live it and I breathe it.

- [Matt] So, so I don't want to sound wrong in saying this but this is driven by females.

Usually in a male racing is typically a male dominated sport.

- [Michael] It is.

- [Matt] So, this is a unique situation that your mom had a hand in this.

- Oh, that's right.

So, she was so into it that at the time she would go to the NASCAR races at Daytona and Talladega.

(laughing) - I wasn't with her but she did that and she would call home and tell me about that and bring me that souvenir.

In my home garage, I have got a pennant that my mother brought home to me when I was a child from the Talladega Speedway.

- [Matt] Wow.

That stuff.

That's cool.

That's meaningful.

- Yeah.

- And as much as you like it now it's probably even more meaningful.

- [Michael] Oh yeah and she still does too.

At, at 79 years old.

- I, you know, you you're careful about that, but she's still around and she's - [Michael] and she's still a gear head.

- [Matt] Still a gear head.

I love that - Is Kauth & Mayeur a second or third generation business?

- [Michael] Well, I would, the two gentlemen who I am dear friends with both Peter Kauth and Brad Mayeur, they really, they really got it to where it was a known Peoria name.

- [Matt] Okay.

- I happened to be their best customer at one point.

And I was running another business here in Peoria.

And that business was bought out by a corporate conglomerate on the East coast.

And Peter approached me and asked me if I were willing to purchase the business because he was ready to leave after 25 years.

- [Matt] Okay.

- And Brad had already gone off and and focused on a particular Porsche.

Brad is the nation's, if not the world's expert on 914 Porsche's and Brad's still located here locally.

And in the Peoria area.

Nevertheless, Peter asked me, we went to a couple of lunches.

We made a deal.

There were some other candidates that were interested but ultimately he felt that I would carry the name on it.

That's what Peter wanted me to do was carry the name on, in good standing.

And he had worked with me enough with he and I on cars and the business that I owned, Peter was a customer of mine.

- [Matt] Okay.

- Yeah.

So he knew who I was.

And I knew who he was and it was a real match.

It really was a great land.

- I like hearing that you care about the name and the brand so much, you want it to live.

- [Michael] Yeah.

He asked me, "Would you be into Could you keep the name?"

And I said, Peter you have built a super name, of course I'd be interested.

And I'm not the kind of guy that wants it to say Benet, and I'm just or Mike's or Michael's.

- [Matt] Right.

- I'm just not that guy.

So I was happy to do it.

- [Matt] Yeah.

And it's a brand.

- [Michael] It is a brand.

At least I believe it is.

It may not be a Walmart, but we're strong here.

- [Matt] You are strong here.

So, as president of the company, what is your main role day to day?

Do you try to drum up business, bring in cars?

Is it branding?

Is it marketing?

I mean, what do you do?

What's your specialty?

- You're ahead of the curve, Matt.

You're ahead of the curve.

You know it, I am there, brand awareness.

And that has been my specialty since year 2000.

When I became the president.

I do bring them in and you know, there is natural turnover and we need to continue to keep that customer count high.

Since we've moved out to North Peoria out in the pioneer Parkway area on Detwiler we have been getting 75% new customers a month.

That move from the Main Street corridor, which we really enjoyed, out to that North side, worked to our favor in that type of number.

We still have our core customer.

We still do, which are several thousand here in Peoria of our core customers.

But we have added this abundance because of the let's just say the convenience of being out on the North side.

- [Matt] Well, and if you think about it, a business like this probably attracts customers from other cities maybe even other states because of the specialty of it.

- [Michael] You're right.

That Lamborghini Countach I was telling you was aa million dollars came from Lincoln.

- [Matt] Okay.

- He drives up from Lincoln.

He has a Ferrari, a Lamborghini and the McLaren as well.

And we see that from Galesburg.

We see from Iowa, we see it from Indianapolis.

We do attract basically central, central, Illinois not if not central United States.

- [Matt] All right.

So let's switch gears here, racing.

- [Michael] Yup.

- I saw some pictures of you.

Pretty cool cars.

- [Michael] I appreciate that.

- [Matt] How fast have you gone in a car?

- Over 210 miles per hour is my top but I'm telling you I'm 56 years old.

That doesn't happen as much anymore.

Our normal race lap, 130 mile an hour, you know?

- [Matt] And what type of car, when you say normal race lap - It's called road racing.

And it's not that we're on the road.

We won't do that.

But the circuit is shaped like a road.

It curves left and right.

Not just like an indy track or a NASCAR track.

So this road racing the most competitive car is a Porsche.

So I have a Porsche race car and I campaign against other Porsche's and BMW's and Corvettes.

And were all out there at the same time but I'm piloting the Porsche.

- [Matt] Okay.

And there's sanctioned races all over the country.

- [Michael] All over the country.

This happens all the time.

As a matter of fact, the Mazda commercials cause I raced Mazda at one point and my son's now race Mazda.

Mazda has the most raced car any given weekend.

And that is nationwide and it is happening all the time.

There are so many tracks, so many sanctioning bodies and I've pretty much run them all from top to bottom.

There has to be tens of thousands of of race cars on tracks every weekend.

- [Matt] So I've never raced, but I want to start.

So can I just get in a car and join something or do you have to be licensed?

I mean - [Michael] They do have to be licensed, but there are different levels.

I raced locally at the Caterpillar parking lot for 10 years called autocross.

(laughing) I did.

And that autocross gets you started and that you don't need a license for it.

You can show up, you can race your car.

I think you're in an Acura, correct me if I'm wrong.

- I had a Cadillac out there.

- A Cadillac?

You may not be able to do it with a Cadillac.

(laughing) You show up, you drive around this, do this course.

You get used to the way the car reacts.

And next thing you know, then you go to a racetrack and say I'd like to get my license.

And they put you through a school which takes a day or two.

And when you are, when the, the technicians or I should shouldn't say technicians, when the instructors believe that you've reached the point where they want you out there with others, they give you a license.

- [Matt] Do you have any records?

Like have you gone certain amount of speed or - Yeah.

Yeah.

As a matter of fact, years ago, I was in the SCCA which is Sports Car Club of America, spec racer, Renault Sirius.

We ran with a Renault engine in a tube chassis open cockpit and wonderful car.

I became one with it.

It was just really one of my favorite moments.

And I set the lap record at Road America the last year of that class.

Cause they phase out of the Renault engine and they went to a Ford engine and I set the lap record right before they phased away the Renault.

So it stands forever.

- [Matt] What was the record?

- [Michael] Two minutes, 42 seconds, I think.

And at the time that was a lightning bolt of a lap.

- [Matt] And how much is a lap?

- [Michael] How much of a lap?

It was four miles.

- [Matt] Whoa!

- Yeah, four mile lap.

- [Matt] I was just thinking just a lap around a track.

- Oh no.

It's a long track.

Yeah.

Road America has lots of different elevation changes and four miles where the length is exceptional.

- This has nothing to do with what we're talking about other than the racing piece but why in NASCAR do they go up on the bank?

- [Michael] Oh, that's just to hold them in place?

- [Matt] Is it because they're going so fast?

- They're going so fast.

So I own a NASCAR and its Caterpillar livery.

- [Matt] I saw that.

I didn't know if that was - [Michael] Yeah that's mine.

It was Ward Burton's car.

- [Matt] I love that.

- [Michael] Who has been here in Peoria and that car has such brute strength and so little aerodynamic advantage that you need that curve to be able to hold it.

- [Matt] I always wondered that.

- [Michael] Yeah 30 degree banking holds it in place.

- What's one of the coolest cars you've raced?

- You know - [Matt] Or most fun, I should say.

- Most fun is that Spectra.

No, but I was testing to be an open wheel race car driver before I, before my saleable youth expired.

So once you hit 30, usually sponsors pull away a little bit.

So I had yet to do that and I was in this car called a pro Dodge and I'm a Chrysler guy, I love a Chrysler even though I own an import repair shop, I do love a Chrysler and this, this pro Dodge, I went down to Sebring, Florida, and I drove that car and they had a list of the 25 top drivers.

And I put myself right in the middle time-wise I wasn't at the top.

And I certainly wasn't at the bottom.

That car was probably the most fun I've ever had.

Open wheel race car with a big V6 engine in it with plenty of horsepower.

I think that was probably my most favorite.

And there was a one moment the instructor had told me, he said, when you go down this short, straight away, you know, you're fast, If you hit the rev limiter while you're just finishing the straightaway.

And I tried and I tried, I finally got it and it was Nirvana to me and I get that pepper and I came inside and I knew, I knew I'm driving this car.

I'm giving it its all.

I really, I still that's probably the number one best memory I have in a race car.

- [Matt] That's pretty neat.

One thing I've always wanted to personally do.

I didn't, I don't care about actually driving the car but I do think it would be fun to get in, like to have Jeff Gordon drive you around and have him do it.

So, you know, you're not going to wreck or have, like I know you can get in an Indy car with Mario Andretti and I've always wanted to do that.

- [Michael] Yeah.

And, and a lot of people do.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, there are lines of people willing to do that.

- [Matt] I think I'd be one of them.

So let's, I'm going to get back to the racing.

Cause I want to talk about a friend of yours and a friend of ours and middle Illinois, but let's talk about Roundo real quick.

What, tell me about what, what this is.

- [Michael] You know Roundo, what we're doing is there's a pretty good car culture here in Peoria.

There is a cars and coffee they do.

And a Friday night lights that they do that's well attended.

And that car culture, I think they're asking for car events and this rally like event I think is going to be the key.

It's a good start to show people.

We can do other things with cars other than just the cars and coffee event, which you roll in, you look at your buddy's car and you go.

This one, you're being an active participant and it's a good time.

It's good for WTVP.

It's good for the businesses that are associated to it.

I know Kauth & Mayeur is, is basically the host and our associates are going to be highlighted.

But in general, it's time to get it started with an event like this and see where it goes.

- [Matt] Yeah.

It's interesting because when I was really doing some research on this, this is, this isn't a car show.

This is a social, it's a gathering.

- I would say it's very social and it's an active, it's an activity.

It's not just a place to go.

You're being part of it.

- [Matt] And it's June 5th - [Michael] Fifth.

That's right.

- And what if someone's interested?

What do they do?

Get hold of you at Kauth & Mayeur?

- [Michael] They can, my son, Sean is actually probably taking more hold of this, which I really appreciate.

He's doing a heck of a job.

- [Matt] I like how you delegated that.

- Oh yeah and Tom Zimmerman here at WTPV is the other contact.

- [Matt] So, get ahold of Sean at your business.

- Sean at my place, which is sean@kauthmayeur.com Or, or Tom here at WTVP.

- [Matt] Sounds good.

It's it sounds like a pretty, it's a clued tour.

There's, you get to have that car experience but it's also it's time to get into these things to where we can get back to some normalcy get back to being friends.

- [Michael] Very well said.

I feel that way with fundraising and some events, you know, I don't you don't have to have 800 people at an event but if you could get a few hundred people there and gather - And it's not hard, you know I need everybody to understand this is easy.

It's for pleasure.

- [Matt] Yes.

- It's for pleasure.

- [Matt] So, you've had a successful career you know your business well.

What, what else do you have Goal-wise, personally, strategic wise initiative wise.

Like how are you thinking right now when you go into this next year coming out of COVID?

- You know, Matt on my mind almost every day is autonomy.

- [Matt] Okay.

- Vehicles that drive themselves.

- [Matt] Hey, explain that.

I mean, I see it.

And I do, but you only see it when they crash or something.

- [Michael] Well, I'm glad you mentioned that.

I'm glad you mentioned it because that actually slowed it down a little bit.

A couple of years ago, it was, it had a real good head of steam as things were happening in Arizona which is the prime location for growth out there with autonomy.

And there was a crash just like you said and it put the brakes on it, it put brakes.

I was ready to watch it explode.

You know, we're going to be the next Microsoft.

We're going to be the next Apple whatever.

Autonomy was going to take off like a rocket.

And they had to take a breather.

And then obviously with the COVID, which has slowed down the nation, including us, it's slowed us down too.

However things are getting back on their feet.

And I think autonomy will come rolling back.

And what is it?

It's our next big disruption.

That's what it is.

- [Matt] I like that word, disruption.

- Yes, here it is, Matt.

It's going to start with semi trucks and they they've already got, you know Tesla's making a semi-truck.

What's going to happen, and I'm, I'm kind of an expert on this, What I've seen is that these semi-trucks are going to transfer goods all over the nation.

They're going to stop at a Depot.

Then there's going to be a truck driver who will have their own little rig.

That'll take it the rest of the way.

But the long halls will be done autonomously.

- [Matt] Wow.

- And now think of this Matt, the largest small business in the United States are truck drivers.

They're their own business.

You know, their LLC.

And they, they were going to take a hit on this.

And that worries me.

That worries me because where are they going to go?

I know a lot of truck drivers, good people.

What's he going to do?

What's she going to do?

When they're not driving those trucks anymore?

It's going to be a disruption and I'm trying to figure out what are those people going to do?

Cause I want to help.

I want to be part of it.

I want to be involved.

But at the same time, I'm thrilled about autonomy.

I can't think of a better thing than my mother jumping in an autonomous vehicle, having it take her to the grocery store and bring her back home.

And she doesn't even need to own a car anymore.

Now you wouldn't think that a car guy would like that.

- [Matt] Right.

- But there'll still be purposes for us to have cars but this autonomy will help the younger groups.

You know, they are not interested in cars.

These, these 14, 15 16 year olds really don't have the car theme in mind like I did.

So that group and the older group right now are prime autonomy customers, the middle group, like you and I we can continue on our way but let's keep in mind that the future is autonomous.

It really is.

- Yeah.

And I think about dealerships in, in that.

So you're talking about different sectors that are you know, there's going to be a disruption.

- [Michael] Yep.

- That's a big one.

Is it going to be safer?

- That's why I said earlier I'm glad you mentioned the accident.

My brother was anti autonomy and he was talking to me one day and he's like why are you so pro autonomous vehicles?

And I said, John, an autonomous vehicle has a 90% better chance of not being in an accident than a human being occupied vehicle.

I said 90%.

And he says, well what happens when that autonomous car still hits somebody?

And I said, you're right.

That could happen.

10% of the time versus a hundred percent of the time with, with a human driver.

I said, our gain is 90% less accidents.

Yes.

There'll still be some accidents.

So you're right.

That'll still be a fear.

But we have to understand that if it's 10% accidents compared to how many accidents we have now with human drivers, it's a gain.

Yes.

There'll still be some accidents and there still be some death but it'll be considerably cut by 90%.

It's much safer.

- [Matt] So, you've got, Amazon's probably a player in this.

- Yep, they are.

- You've got Tesla.

- That's correct.

- Is Microsoft a player in this?

- [Michael] Every one of them are.

- [Matt] Every one of them.

- Yep.

Including with our new neighbor.

Rivion up in Brimington.

Absolutely, the orders have already been placed.

Amazon, Google cars, they've already been placed.

All we have to do is build them.

It's happening.

There is no stopping it.

It is, it has happened.

- [Matt] And you know this could be a whole different show by itself.

Because if you think about it, the Uber Eats, the Door Dash.

Those could be - You know, Domino's is delivering autonomously now.

- [Matt] I didn't know.

- They have a module it's not big enough to put a person in.

It fits pizzas.

And that module drives around and delivers pizza.

- [Matt] Oh, that's crazy.

- That's what's happening right now.

And you know that they're delivering Amazon products or grocery products by drone.

Absolutely.

So here's my fear.

And I hate to call it a fear, but it is we may skip right over the autonomous car and have the autonomous flying module and that they just pick a person up and take them to another spot that can happen too.

- [Matt] Wow I'll tell you this.

So this is going to turn into another show.

I think I say that a lot lately because I really get into these conversations but you're in a really, really neat business.

And I know you do a lot for the community.

- [Michael] I appreciate that.

- And so we appreciate this.

This was a great interview.

This wraps another show.

Thank you, Michael Benet, Kauth & Mayeur.

I'm Matt George.

And this is another episode of Business Forward.