Tama-Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce

Sandhill Auto Salvage has been in business for over 40 years.  Sandhill came about when an auto dealer, farmer, and a junk man were talking in a bar one night.  The car dealer wanted to know what junk cars were worth.  The Auto dealer didn’t like what he was quoted for a price and stated he would start his own salvage yard.  The junk man and the car dealer soon worked out an agreed price.  The cars were delivered to the farmer’s machine shed on a 2 acre corner.  This was the beginning of Shaller and Tower.

Joe Waterbury worked for the farmer since he was 10 years old. After graduation he work weekends doing repair work and dismantle vehicles.  As time went on we started to sell more parts and cars.

In 1970 Joe bought the business and a forty acre farm from Floyd Tower.  He moved the business from the south side of the road to the north and lived in the farm house that came with the purchase.  The new name of the business was Sandhill Auto Salvage.  In

1976 a new office was built and warehouse with a one dismantling bay.  We participated in circuit lines with what was called a “swauk box”.  This allowed us to hear part request from other yards. This took us from selling to the local market to the Midwest.  In 1982 another warehouse was added.  Technology soon began to become part of the business in the 1990 they implemented the first computerized yard management system.  In 1998 a warehouse and facility of two dismantling bays and inventory bay was built.  In 2005 we joined car-part.com in displaying inventory on the internet thus changing my customer once again from Midwest to worldwide.  In 2008 the shipping department was an addition to Sandhill.

January 2010 the business was bought by Joe’s son Mike Waterbury and his wife Mitzi.  Sandhill has once again gone through changes due to technology from a new inventory system, phone system to production management.  Sandhill continues to transition to meet the new demands of the ever changing customer.