PRODUCTS

The History of Mountain Adaptive

Mountain Adaptive is the third child, so to speak, of Tom and Peggy Ferguson. In 1976, Tom Ferguson left his job working at a local factory to start his own business and be his own boss. Ferguson Auto Sales was born, with its humble and meager start as a body shop, and then later as a used car lot. Hard work came second nature to Tom, and he supplemented the used car stock on his lot with vehicles that he himself rebuilt from insurance totals. He took great care in turning insurance totals back into clean, affordable cars, guaranteeing that each car he rebuilt would be reliable enough for his own children to drive. In 1980, with more and more "chop shops" putting a bad name on the insurance rebuilding business, Tom began doing conversions on full size vans. Thus The Van Shop was born, a name by which many of our customers still know this business. The Van Shop's original conversions consisted of the "Leisure Van" variety, with such amenities as raised roofs, custom seating and audio/video systems. One of Tom's customers, Linda Harding, was a young lady who happened to be in a wheelchair. She asked him several times to consider installing a wheelchair lift for her, since she had in the past been forced to have the installation done in Raleigh, which at the time was the closest location to have such work performed. Finally, after wearing him down, Tom conceeded and installed a wheelchair lift for her in 1985. This one install job began the legacy that has grown to become the business that it is today.

In 1997, two major changes occurred for The Van Shop. The first change was the move from a small basement shop on Patton Avenue to its current three acre location at 35 Dogwood Road. A new shop was built housing a showroom, more office space, and three large bays to service and install mobility equipment in vehicles. The second change was the addition of Brett Ferguson, Tom and Peggy's son, to the business. He started out as most ambitious sons joining the family business do, wanting to incorporate change in to the business in what he saw was a vastly under serviced field. From the introduction of computers in the office to providing wheelchairs and scooters, change came fast and furious, and with those changes also came expansion and growth. Reflecting the growth and direction of the business, The Van Shop became Mountain Adaptive in 2000.

Ten years since the move, and Mountain Adaptive is still growing and expanding. In May 2006, Mountain Adaptive first offered dropped-floor minivan rentals to allow our customers more options and flexibility in their mobility needs. The rental service has now expanded to include a full-size commercial van in our rental fleet, as well as offering rental mobility equipment such as scooters and wheelchairs. Also, in late 2006, realizing the need for mobility services for customers in eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, western Virginia, and even parts of southern West Virginia, a second location of Mountain Adaptive in Johnson City, Tennessee, was opened. Located in the hub of the tri-cities, Mountain Adaptive in Johnson City seeks to serve customers who previously would have had to travel several hours to have their lifts installed and mobility vehicles serviced.

Today, Mountain Adaptive remains committed to assisting our customers in their mobility needs; helping to make their mountains accessible. Whether it be hand controls, wheelchair lifts or fully modified vehicles, our customers drive us.

Vision Statement

Every person is endowed with special gifts, talents and abilities, given from God. We will always remember these gifts, talents and abilities in our customers, as well as appreciating our own gifts, talents and abilities.

Mission Statement

We will do all that we can to help our customers become more mobile. We will treat all customers with respect. We will conduct all business with honor and integrity.