Cheney Chevrolet Dealership Changes Hands Partnership With Experience In Rural Areas Acquires Anderberg Chevrolet

Anderberg Chevrolet in Cheney began operating under new ownership Wednesday as Power Chevrolet Geo.

Ken Wright and Jeff Koehnke, who operate Chevrolet dealerships in Helena, Mont., and Stayton, Ore., acquired the Cheney dealership from Gayle A. Anderberg. She and her husband, Gary Anderberg, founded the dealership more than 25 years ago. Gary Anderberg died in 1992.

Wright, who will be general manager of the operation, said he and Koehnke were among several groups that expressed interest in acquiring the dealership.

“(Mrs. Anderberg) interviewed several prospective buyers, and found us to be the most suitable candidates to carry on the philosophy under which they had operated,” Wright said Thursday. “She had a lot of loyal clients, and she wanted to be sure they were taken care of.”

He said that philosophy centers on service and customer satisfaction.”

The Wright and Koehnke partnership acquired its first dealership in Helena in 1989. They added the Oregon dealership in 1991. Koehnke is president of their corporation, and directly oversees the Stayton dealership, outside Salem.

“We were attracted to (the Anderberg) dealership because of its reputation and the nucleus of people who work here,” Wright said.

Because they have experience in Oregon with a rural dealership that competes with others in a metropolitan area, Wright said they understand how to make an operation like the one in Cheney successful.

“We advertise heavily,” he said. “We get our merchandise out in the market so people can easily identify that we have an adequate inventory. And we make sure prices are attractive enough to draw people out to a rural setting.”

The dealership employs about 25 people, but Wright expects that number to expand.

, DataTimes