Automotive Fleet, February 2018

CELEBRATES TH ANNIVERSARY AUTOMOTIVE FLEET I FEBRUARY 2018 28 Sixty years ago Mike Albert Fleet Solutions began as and continues to be a family owned and operated business The name Mike Albert goes back a long way in the automobile business history of Cincinnati Ohio where the company was founded Mike Albert pioneered the used car business in Cincinnati In 1928 Mike Albert established a used car dealership on Gilbert Avenue in Cincinnati In those days automobile needs were pretty basic and the local market offered Mike Albert enough opportunity to succeed The business operated at the Gilbert Avenue location until 1941 when the company moved to 712 Reading Road The company operated as a sole proprietorship until 1945 when Mike Albert Autos was incorporated Bob Betagole currently chairman of the board for Mike Albert Fleet Solutions joined his uncles company in 1949 Betagole served as president until 2000 when his daughter Marty Betagole succeeded him In 1952 Mike Albert went into semi retirement That same year Ray Nathan who was later to become treasurer of the company joined the firm Nathan was Bob Betagoles uncle his mothers brother With the post war boom still on the used car business continued to grow Two additional locations were opened The post war demand for used vehicles permitted Mike Albert to relocate to a larger lot and then to add two more locations By 1955 Mike Albert Autos Inc led the city in the sale of used cars Late in 1956 the company explored other ways to expand the business Automobile leasing was in its infancy and adopting this new concept of automobile use seemed the appropriate method to help the corporation grow The plan was for all vehicles returned from lease to be sold through Mike Albert Autos Inc In January 1957 Bob Betagole leased the first automobile to a friend whose family owned a jewelry business They had a small chain of stores that used three cars for the executives of the company We leased them their first car and over the next several years we increased it to 20 leased vehicles for use by their executives said Betagole The average fleet vehicle in 1957 cost a little over 2000 In the early days we leased to lawyers doctors and acquaintances It was a full service lease Back then cars had snow tires during the winter months in the Midwestern states As part of our full service arrangement we would take the snow tires off in the spring store them and put them back on again in the fall said Betagole Mike Alberts first true fleet account Evans Grocery was also signed as a client later in 1957 Evans Grocery was located in Gallipolis Ohio which is 100 miles from Cincinnati At that time Evans Grocery leased six 1957 Ford station wagons Eventually Evans Grocery branched into the restaurant business and operated under the name of Bob Evans Restaurants A new corporation Mike Albert Leasing Inc was formed in November 1958 When Mike Albert Leasing incorporated they divided the business with one third to Nathan one third to Albert and one third to Betagole A new location dedicated to leasing sales and service was opened on Florence Avenue in Cincinnati The leasing company operated at that location until 1961 when growth forced another move to a new larger location at 2300 Reading Road where the business remained for the next 11 years The Reading Road location included 10000 square feet of building space on one acre of land The business continued to grow and in the summer of 1972 Mike Albert Leasing moved to its present location on Evendale Drive converting a 25000 square MIKE ALBERT FLEET SOLUTIONS R BETAGOLE Mike Albert M BETAGOLE Mike Albert In 1972 Mike Albert moved to its present location on Evendale Drive in Cincinnati OH converting a 25000 square foot truck terminal on six and a half acres of land into a major sales leasing and service facility Today Mike Albert Fleet Solutions offers a comprehensive suite of fleet management solutions and operates on a national basis with vehicles on lease in all 50 states plus Puerto Rico and Canada BY MIKE ANTICH