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In the shadow of a small westside car wash, an automobile rental company was born that has motored through nearly four decades, surviving an onslaught of national competitors and industry consolidation, two serious economic downturns and a terrorist act that turned the industry upside down.
Ace Rent A Car has not only traveled the bluffs overlooking economic boom times and valleys during fiscal swoons, but also has spawned an innovation that gave rise to what industry sources call the world's largest global affiliation of independent vehicle rental companies.
What started as a side business for Bob Sorensen and Ken Ostrand at their Speedway Auto Laundry in 1966 has grown into a company with more than $18 million in annual revenue, 170 employees, and a sparkling image in the competitive local auto-rental market. Revenue including auto sales is near $30 million, but Ace officials said sales revenue is plowed right back into the company.
"We're just flying beneath the radar and taking care of business," said Dick Radzis, who, along with Charlie Mullen, is now majority coowner of Ace. "We've never had the brand identity, even in our own back yard, of companies like Hertz and Avis."
Added Mullen: "We've had to be savvy, focus on core customers and be creative to survive."
Creativity drove Ace founders to design a computer-based reservations system akin to what is now an industry standard for airlines. Long before most people had even heard of the Internet, Ace officials were devising ways to use information technology to drive traffic to...