June 18, 2003


Company History


In the beginning, NITE was but a dream in the mind of a young man from central Wisconsin named Jim Sacia. He loved anything with wheels and an engine. He loved to drive and he loved to work. He was a real “people person” too. While growing up on a family dairy farm, Jim saw glimpses of someday operating his own company in which he bought, traded, and sold farm tractors and machinery. Little did he know that NITE would become the business it has become today.

After a stint in the U.S. Army, a college degree from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls, and a short career as a police officer, Jim became an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (the FBI). All the while, Jim’s love for equipment and the farming industry never faded. He and his wife Jenny (also a Wisconsin farm girl and River Falls graduate) purchased a farm near Winnebago, Illinois, just across the Wisconsin/Illinois border. There they raised three terrific boys (and Paint and Pinto horses) while operating the family farm. They called their farm “Treasured Times Ranch”, an appropriate name only if a ranch can include basketball hoops, four wheelers, sports cars, and lots of musical instruments.

The few pieces of machinery required to do the work on a small farm just weren’t enough for Jim. And besides, his boys were getting older and one of them might want to buy and sell equipment with an engine and wheels some day. So NITE began to come to fruition in the late seventies. Oldest son Jerry marveled the machinery and he marveled his Dad. He learned the names of all the tools and soon became pretty good with a wrench, a screwdriver, and a hammer.
With Jenny’s assistance, a little help from the boys in between school and sports activities, and the assistance of a handful of good employees, NITE was first operated out of a pole barn on the north side of the family farm. Jim did the buying and selling in his spare time. Used tractors and construction equipment were the items typically offered for sale. Then the decision was made to try to sell “a few trailers” and the business began to steadily grow.

In 1997, as Jim approached his retirement date from the FBI, twelve acres at a prime location on Highway 20 just 8 miles due west of Rockford, Illinois, was purchased. An office and shop were erected and tons and tons of gravel were hauled in. On any given day, nearly 250 trailers of all shapes and sizes, 50 to 60 tractors, nearly as many trucks, and construction machinery are displayed along with farm implements, recreational equipment, lawn and garden equipment, and various other items are offered for purchase.

Today, NITE continues on as a family owned and operated business. Changes continue and more changes are on the horizon. Jim is currently serving as Illinois State Representative from the 89th district. He spends most of his time in Springfield, at his office in Freeport, or out in the district among his constituents. Son Jerry is now the General Manager and oversees the day to day operations of the business. Jerry also does the majority of the buying, trading, and transporting of equipment. Jenny toils for long hours each day and is primarily involved in the accounting and financing side of the business. She also works in the sales/service side of the business and is particularly active in horse and stock trailer sales. (On a more private note, she also prepares lunch for all of the employees each and every working day.) Including both full and part timers, NITE now employs about a dozen highly skilled and dedicated people who work well together to meet customer needs and realize the objectives of the company.

NITE continues to invest in good employees, tools, and programs to improve customer service which we know will result in higher customer satisfaction levels overall. Current plans do not call for any significant expansion or growth. Rather, current plans call for being better at what we already do. We hope you will be the benefactor of our efforts.