Tires still the main focus, but expanded services are driving their business forward

BY TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR

MLD Auto Repair at 805 N. Center Ave. in Merrill, owned by Mike and Lynn Dettmering of Merrill, is located in what many locals will remember as Willie’s Tire Center.
The Dettmerings acquired the business in June of 2020 and have been doing a lot of work on the building, including painting inside, painting the building’s exterior a more modern gray/blue color, and a new blue metal facade. The changes are a visible announcement to the community that something different is happening in the business on the corner of Eighth Street and Center Avenue, and the Dettmerings are planning an open house event on Aug. 12, 2023, to invite the community to stop and see those changes and the new expanded services that are driving their business forward. The open house will feature special sales, food and refreshments, and drawings for raffle prizes, and they’re hoping many area residents will stop in to meet them and to see all that MLD Auto Repair has to offer.
While the former owners of the business in the building were completely focused on tires, the current owners provide a wider range of services, as well as tire sales and service.
“Our main focus is still the tires,” Mike Dettmering said, “but we do other stuff, too: shocks, struts, brakes, alignments, diagnostics, trailer repair. If we don’t do it, we’ll tell you.”
“We also offer Boss snow plows,” he said, providing “plow installation, sales, and service” for trucks, four wheelers, UTVs, and side-by-sides.
MLD Auto Repair currently has one full-time employee, in addition to Mike and Lynn who work full-time at their three-bay shop.