Palmerston Krown celebrates 21st year with new building

PALMERSTON – Palmerston Krown is celebrating its 21-year anniversary.

Owners Fred and Cheryl Donkersgoed are locals and are proud to provide rust prevention services to their small community.

The rust control shop located at 450 Main Street West in Palmerston uses only environmentally friendly products.

Krown helps in extending the life of peoples’ vehicles, reducing the cost of maintenance, while increasing the resale value of the vehicle. The business provides undercoating for vehicles and trucks to inhibit the spread of rust on metal and electrical components. Palmerston Krown provides protection to personal vehicles, work vehicles, work fleets, municipal fleets, farming vehicles, busses, trucks and more.

Cheryl Donkersgoed shared her thoughts on the milestone.

“On June 1, we started our 21st year,” Donkersgoed said.

“It’s a huge accomplishment. When Fred started in 2000, it was just a gas station.”

Donkersgoed said over the past year the business serviced 2,823 vehicles in Palmerston. They also managed to spray 1,069 vehicles at their Listowel location last year as well.

“It’s been incredible to see it grow from a mere 85 vehicles in the first year,” she said.

Last year, they decided to drop their old building, and re-build a brand-new building in Palmerston.

“With the pandemic, it was difficult to hold any kind of re-opening celebration, but that is what we’re looking to do this year,” Donkersgoed said.

The business held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate on June 7. They have continued to operate under current pandemic restrictions in place.

Donkersgoed said she has been proud to see the growth and expansion of the business over time.

“I’ve been a part of the business since 2007. When I joined Fred, it was just him and I. Now we have four employees,” she said.

“In 2010, we actually became our own dealer, and were no longer a sub-dealer of the Arthur shop.”

In 2017 they started operating their Listowel shop.

“We have been splitting our time. We spend three days per week in Palmerston, and two days per week in Listowel.”

From September to November, they open the shop for an additional day, operating six days per week.

“I’m a Palmerston girl through and through,” Donkersgoed said.

“It’s neat to be involved in something that’s growing, and it’s great to be able to provide a service to our small community.”

Donkersgoed continued, “To see something that he (Fred) started turn into this type of facility is pretty phenomenal.”