Towing business owner shares family, community values with his favorite financial

Nick Van first became a credit union member at age 16. Now that he has two kids of his own, he’s glad that his favorite financial has remained a great partner in his life and his business.

As a proud father, husband and community supporter, Van points to Community First Credit Union for helping his business, Fox City’s Towing – and his family – thrive.

“Community First helped me find a way to provide for my family and allowed me to not only grow my business in a way that overcame recent economic challenges but also allowed me to provide for my employees, family, and basically find a way to be successful.”

Nick’s business started 11 years ago on a kitchen table in his apartment with one storage unit, a couple tow trucks and a dream to build a towing company.

Fast forward to today and Fox City’s Towing has five locations and 75 trucks. Van credits Community First, John Nygaard (Senior VP Business Lending) and his original loan officer for the advice and guidance that he credits with being instrumental to the growth of his business.

 “Before Community First gave me my first loan, I was at like 12% interest,” Van recalled. By securing a loan for less than 5%, “Community First was able to find a way to save me a huge amount of interest.”

Those savings were beneficial in many ways and helped the small business move forward on a solid financial footing.

Top of the market loan rates at Community First has been important for his business and its fleet of vehicles. Due to a low-rate loan, Van was able to expand his towing capabilities with the purchase of its first heavy-duty wrecker, the largest in the area. “It's a specialized piece of equipment for semis tipped over on the highway or, to pull something off the side of a bridge, with the strength of a crane in a tow truck,” he said.

Local Lending, Easy Access

“When it comes to business banking, Community First is incredibly easy to deal with and they care enough to make it an easy process from the beginning to the end,” he said. “I strongly believe that Community First is one of the powerhouses in the area as far as commercial lending today.” Driven by local decision-making, the Community First team understands the local economy enabling prompt loan decisions that allow businesses to capitalize on opportunities or more easily navigate challenges.  

As a Community First member since 2007, Van was especially pleased to lock in an affordable mortgage with his trusted financial partner. For him, it’s a point of pride to be able to provide his family with the lifestyle he enjoyed while growing up, a life lesson “of living a good, honest life and working hard to be successful at what you do.”

Van is grateful for the convenient access to all his accounts via digital banking at Community First using his smartphone or a computer anytime day or night. “I also love the fact that there are branches throughout the area and I how friendly everybody is,” Van said. “It doesn't matter what your status is financially, they treat you the same.”

“It's been amazing to see the growth and development of Community First, whether it's the new location on CB or just the changes they've made within the credit union. Community First has definitely made a large impact in the community,” he said.

Similar Organizations

Van draws a parallel between his favorite financial and his favorite NFL team up the road.

“It kind of works well with the whole Packer scheme, community-owned team and community-owned financial, right? It's a really cool feeling to know that I’m a member-owner. In this area everybody takes a lot of pride in what we believe in and I think that Community First by far follows that pride value system compared to any other financial.”

“The name has community right in it,” he said. “I feel like Community First’s integrity and values follow that to a tee.”

“I believe that I matter to Community First – that's the biggest thing – feeling like you're not just a number and feeling like you matter. The Community First way is the relationship.”

If you are looking for flexible financial products, creative, individualized solutions, and local market expertise, contact Community First’s Business Services Team. Its professional staff is well-equipped to serve your company, non-profit organization, or municipality with expert guidance as you pursue your dreams.