About Our Founders
Jim in his office, working out those first couple big orders at the Pontius Rd. location.
Jim Fitzpatrick graduated from Wayne County High School in Ft. Gay, West Virginia on May 18, 1955. The following day, he moved to Ohio to find work, then returned back home four years later. He stumbled into Lulabelle’s dinner, where he met a cute, blonde waitress, Mary Ellen Fitzpatrick. She agreed to go on a date with him to Flattop’s Rollers Rink. Sixty days later, they were married, and still are to this day. Together, they welcomed a son, James “Bud” Fitzpatrick and a daughter, Lisa Fitzpatrick.
Flash forward to 1978, Bud had graduated from Canal Winchester High School and was headed to college. His father, Jim, had just resigned from working at Grumman Olson as a territory sales representative and became a truck manager for Don Maxwell’s car dealership.
One of Jim’s former customers bought a truck, but needed an interior installed. Jim offered to work on the interior in the evenings out of his garage. When he finished the first, another order came, and more kept on coming! Before long, Jim had to move out of the garage and into a friend’s barn, so he had ample room and another helping hand. From there, they moved into a warehouse in Groveport, and not long after, had their first million-dollar order.
The business went on to extend their services to trucks. Jim and his business partner, Steve, visited Bob Williamson, owner of a local dealership, about renting space to them on the corner of Pontius and London Groveport Road. Mr. Williamson offered a lease-to-own plan, which is how they worked to make the 6353 Pontius Road location, where Fitzpatrick Enterprises resides today.
Jim with a custom Fitzpatrick service truck
As business continued, Jim had a cousin whose wife needed mobility equipment. Jim put his daughter, Lisa, in charge of researching the growing industry. From there, the mobility department grew like wildfire. Lisa became a founding member of the National Mobility Equipment Dealer Association (NMEDA), which set standards across the United States for mobility dealers. She also helped Canada form a similar association. Today, Fitzpatrick Enterprises is proud to be central Ohio’s premier mobility dealer.
The journey did not end with the expansion to mobility services! Fitzpatrick Enterprises is now also heavily involved in the bumper industry. Back when our team would reman trucks, Bud had a client in the bakery industry who asked for Fitzpatrick’s help when he needed a bumper. The request led to Bud developing the Fitzpatrick shock-absorbing bumper. Fitzpatrick Enterprises still continues to perfect the bumper and its full range of services to meet clients’ growing needs.