William (Billy) Austin

I come from a family of auto mechanics. I have five brothers and six sisters. At the age of 16, my brothers began teaching me the auto repair skills that I needed to become a mechanic. My first job was at American Transmission. While there, I gained a wealth of knowledge beyond the “backyard” basics. I worked on cars and light trucks for a number of years and in 1991 began working on Semi trucks. I attended the Hunter Engineering Alignment school and became certified in 1995. In 2003, after working with Mark Krebs at a Goodyear Truck shop in the 90’s, he and Coach approached me about helping them open JAM Tire. In September 2003, I was proud to become a partner and we opened.

The first nine months I worked here our “shop” was a dirt floor warehouse and two semi-trailers for storing tires. For heat, Mark bought the other service tech and myself a heat lamp. We had no running water at all. We had only two service trucks and Mark and Coach ran the office off a generator. Part of my job over the winter was to make sure there was diesel fuel in the generator every morning. Once I was out on a service call and Mark said he would fill the generator; he filled it with gasoline by mistake. Coach wasn’t happy because the construction trailer we were using as our “office”, didn’t have heat or phones that day. We had to drain and repair the generator.

We’ve obviously come a long way since then! I’m very proud of what JAM has become and how I have helped make it happen. I am also proud that I have many customers that bring their trucks and trailers to me from all over the country, to have me align them. I love making sure their vehicles drive straight and the tires don’t wear out prematurely. I’m only happy when they leave with a smile on their face!

I am married to Renee and have a son and grandson. I plan to work hard for JAM for the next ten years or so and then retire and travel the world with my beautiful wife.