Our dealership's story began in 1965, when brothers Murray, Les and Loris learned that Ford was interested in opening a Lincoln-Mercury dealership in Edmonton. The boys approached their uncle Frank, who had just retired, for some start-up cash and the dealership emerged from a former garage on 103 Street (Calgary Trail) and 57 Avenue.
In 1968, the Koch Lincoln-Mercury dealership was booming and warranted a move to our current location at 51 Avenue and Gateway Boulevard. But as business was taking off, co-founder Les Koch passed, leaving behind his four boys Duane, David, Dwight and Rick. They've all worked at Koch in some capacity.
When a new Ford franchise opportunity opened up in Leduc in 1992, the second-generation of Koch brothers grabbed it, mortgaging their homes as well as their mother Marie's to open up DK Ford.
In 2001, Murray and business partner Wayne Chesney sought to retire, and the “boys” sought to buy Koch Ford Lincoln outright, once again mortgaging their homes (but not Marie's) to ensure Koch Ford Lincoln stayed in the family. Ford agreed, but on one condition – that DK Ford win the prestigious President's Choice award for two out of three years. DK won two years in a row, and the deal was finalized to buy Koch Ford Lincoln in 2003. Landing Ford in Athabasca was purchased in 2005 by the Koch Automotive Group to become Koch Ford Athabasca.
Despite all the changes through the years, a few core values remain the same. Koch has served many generations of customers, sticking to their "can-do" and "no bull" slogans of the past. Koch is one of the oldest family-run dealerships in Edmonton and is proud to have a third generation working at the dealership, with Jeremy Koch as the Lincoln Sales Manager. Today, Rick, Dave and Duane are fully involved in the dealership, and Murray still has an office upstairs to keep an eye on operations.
