Thompson Diesel

By C.M. Frederick

Tennessee’s scenic Highway 52 travels east to west across the northern portion of the state. The highway itself runs through many small towns and an abundance of natural sites. However, one business specializing in diesel repairs on this thoroughfare is Thompson Diesel, situated on the eastern outskirts of Lafayette, Tenn., at 3948 Highway 52 East.

This once-lost section of the highway is now a busy route for all types of vehicles, including pickups being used as daily drivers, semi-trucks hauling equipment, and farming implements going to, as well as from, the farms. Thompson Diesel takes advantage of its location in order to provide flexible, experienced service to diesel vehicles of these types and many others. Not only does it service diesel engines, but it also repairs or replaces mechanical parts bumper-to-bumper.

Owner Jeff Thompson began working on diesel engines as a teenager, tinkering on his friends’ vehicles in the early 1990s. Darren Walrond, one of Thompson’s employees and one of his long-time friends, recalled Jeff’s teenage years and his boosting the output of a Cummins engine in a Dodge Ram. According to Darren, the truck was one of the first in the rural community to billow out black smoke and outrun most other automobiles, sometimes even racing Corvettes.

Right after high school, Jeff started working in the automotive shop of a large dealership in Middle Tennessee. There he improved his mechanical skills, along with developing new ones. Eventually, he gained a reputation as an expert on diesel engines, inspiring many customers to request Jeff’s service by name at the dealership. People brought diesel vehicles in from the surrounding counties to seek Jeff’s expertise.

Moving his talents to a different dealership’s shop, Jeff was pushed into working as a member of the night shift, even though customers still asked specifically for his services. This change in work hours forced him to think about his inability to spend time with his then girlfriend, Hope.

“I started my business because of a woman,” Jeff said.

Already using a small building for side projects and the occasional odd job at night, Jeff decided to strike out on his own as a diesel technician and small business owner. In regards to this undersized building, Darren said the shop was so small that large trucks would not even fit inside for fear of scraping the vehicles.

By 2006, Jeff had saved enough money to build a bigger shop, building the majority of the current building that now houses Thompson Diesel.

“After we finished the building,” he said, “I had only $350 left in my bank account.”

But customers came quickly, turning the business into a successful venture. Thompson Diesel has since grown so much that it completed a new expansion in January 2017.

The need to expand is directly related with the shop’s expertise and staff. One would think that Jeff, being the owner of a business with six employees, would manage the operations of the organization. Instead, he continues to work as a technician and supervisor of his other employees. Hope, now his wife, manages the business end by balancing the books, as well as ordering supplies and parts. Darren functions as a customer specialist, greeting customers in addition to providing some estimates for services.

Concerning Thompson’s staff of technicians, the team’s experience and enthusiasm for the job combine to make up for the use of advanced electronic equipment. Though very young, Jeff’s technicians have many years of experience. Colby Williams, a 24-year-old technician, has worked at Thompson Diesel for six years already, starting at the business when he was 18 years old. Two technicians, brothers Jim and Andy Langford, grew up working on automotive projects with their father, who worked as a professional mechanic. Jeff uses their basic experience and pushes them to learn new things, helping them troubleshoot unfamiliar repair problems to finish necessary repairs.

Utilizing its youthful staff and in-depth knowledge, the business caters to the rural community by providing needed services for farm equipment and various government vehicles, working on everything from bucket trucks to tractors. Furthermore, it sells diesel maintenance supplies to the general public, which provides convenience to farmers in the area.

Although the building itself is not large enough to accommodate semi-trucks, Jeff stated that if the issue can be solved outside of their building, they are more than willing to help. He spoke of an incident when a truck broke down on the side of Highway 52, and the diesel shop provided parts and expertise in helping the trucker resume his travels.

In addition to general services, the shop takes on engine conversion projects from time to time. Darren explained that he purchased a 2001 Jeep Wrangler a few years ago. With a determined modification vision, Jeff and his crew installed a 4BT diesel   engine out of a road construction vehicle to replace the stock motor. The staff also replaced many other mechanical parts, including the suspension.

To accompany their maintenance and repair services, Thompson Diesel is an installer of Jasper remanufactured engines. When needed, the shop provides customers with options of a complete rebuild of the original engine or the installation of a Jasper engine. This allows customers to choose the most cost effective and practical route for their vehicle.

“We install quite a few Jasper engines,” Darren said. “So much so that a Jasper representative stopped by and grilled steaks for us a couple of weeks ago.”

Jasper also lets any certified Jasper shop in the country repair issues under warranty if the customer is traveling.

“We love using Jasper engines, because they stand behind us,” Darren said. “Jasper takes care of the parts and labor costs for issues under warranty also”.

The successful business does not operate without its own problems, particularly when ordering and receiving parts. Since Lafayette is a small town in a very rural area, Jeff has to order supplies and other needed items from distributors in either Nashville or other areas of Tennessee. Sometimes shipments are received missing parts, only to be discovered that they have to be sent separately due to weight restrictions or other issues. Because of this, Thompson Diesel employees must track down the missing item, causing Jeff and his team to devote precious man-hours to locate needed parts. This in turn can negatively affect repair-completion dates and hurt business. They surmount this problem by offering great service to their customers.

Knowing all of this, Jeff states that Thompson Diesel enjoys a lot of small community perks, including being able to charge lower labor rates to customers while offering top-notch service. As a result, the business has built a reputation as a leader in quality repairs for all customers. People still travel from all over Middle Tennessee to seek Jeff’s expertise.

On a normal day at Thompson Diesel, one can find each of the technicians, including Jeff, working on various vehicles and pieces of equipment. The lot at the auto shop will be filled with diesels of various ages, conditions, and sizes. Some are worn-out daily drivers or beat-up farm trucks looking for new life, while others are expensive, top-of-the-line current models with intentions on increasing performance.

And if you stop by Thompson Diesel after 5 p.m., you may be greeted by George, a friendly Great Dane that is the business’s unofficial mascot.   •