With more than 25 years of experience in the automotive industry, Todd Hill knows a good opportunity when he sees one. The St. Joseph man opened Tri-State Ford Lincoln Mercury in Maryville, Mo., on Monday.

“I thought I could take all my experience and put it to work for me,” Mr. Hill said. “This is a great community and very progressive. It was the right opportunity.”

Maryville, he said, has a good economic base with the steady industries, a university and a relatively low unemployment rate.

“It’s one of the rarities in the rural areas in Missouri that has actually grown or at least not retracted,” he said.

The new and used car dealership is located at 2017 S. Main. The dealership that was once in that location had been closed for more than a year.

“I hope the repeat customers I have in the St. Joseph and Kansas City areas help me,” Mr. Hill said.

He chose the name Tri-State because the dealership will cater to folks living in Northwest Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska.

Mr. Hill resigned from Rolling Hills Auto Plaza in July. Since then, he has partnered with his younger brother, who has been running a dealership in Platte City, Mo., for years.

Tri-State has 14 employees, about 50 new and used vehicles on the lot and a goal to maintain an 80-car inventory. When the dealership reaches the potential Mr. Hill hopes for, he said they’ll carry even more on the lot.

“We had a lot of registrations in Maryville, but most cars there weren’t sold there,” he said. “This community has been just thirsty for a franchise.”

The dealership will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. The service department will open next week. For more information, contact Tri-State at (660) 582-3677.

Business reporter Jennifer Hall can be reached at jennhall@npgco.com.

Correction: A reporter included wrong information in a story about an automobile dealership in Maryville that appeared on Page D6 of Friday’s newspaper. Rusty Eck Ford has no affiliation with Tri-State Ford Lincoln Mercury. Also, people were misidentified in a photo caption with the story. Todd Hayes is the sales manager. Kenneth and Erika Shewey were the first customers. The News-Press apologizes for the errors.