Obituary: Fred Thul Of New Jersey-Based Thul Auto Parts
By Gary Molinaro | May 7th, 2010 | Category: Obituaries | No Comments »Frederick “Fred” Thul, who helped lead the growth of his father’s New Jersey-based auto parts business into three companies bearing the family name, died May 1 at the age of 88. His sons Jim, Larry, Nick and Rick run Thul Auto Parts, Thul Engine & Parts Warehouse and Thul Machine Works. He also is survived by his wife, Louise.
After serving in World War II, Thul returned from Europe and joined his father Nick’s auto parts and repair enterprise. “We were doing manufacturing operations, we were doing engine rebuilding, and we were doing auto parts,” said Thul Auto Parts President Rick Thul. “After the war, things started growing quite a bit, and … it got too complicated to keep it all together.” The triad of separate enterprises was established in the early 1960s, and, although founder Nick Thul worked until “the day he died,” according to Rick, “My father (Frederick) and my uncle drove the business mostly through the engine rebuilding and the automotive sectors.”
John Aniunas, regional manager with Raybestos/Affinia, knew Thul for 40 years. He said Fred never stopped asking: Where does the future lie, and how do we stay ahead of that curve? “He had an insight of that metro market and how to compete and grow and service his customers extremely well,” Aniunas said. Thul’s dedication to the industry also was evidenced by his status as a founder of the New Jersey Automotive Wholesalers Association and his time as president of the Mid-Jersey Automotive Wholesalers Association. “His association … not only grew his business, but also helped develop other area companies,” Aniunas said.
Al Tobin, division sales manager at Champion Laboratories, echoed those sentiments. “He was always thinking before his time, and he was always trying to make his business better, along with all of his suppliers,” Tobin said. “Guys like Fred … were the leaders in the New York and New Jersey area that really helped guys like me come aboard and learn the business. They were great teachers.”
Rick Thul said that the business lessons he learned from his father, who retired in 1991, were the kind that last. “Quality was more important than just about anything else,” he said. “Quality lasts a lot longer than the value of a cheap price, and that was a legacy passed from my grandfather to all of us.”
