Built on Grit and Gold

By George L. Nitti 

In northeastern Wisconsin, Nick Van, the 35-year-old owner of Fox City’s Towing, has crafted a bold, recognizable brand and a growing fleet of 30 trucks that turn heads wherever they go. 

Take, for example, the company’s flagship 2023 Kenworth T880 with a 50-ton Jerr-Dan wrecker, which is wrapped in firetruck red and adorned with real gold leaf. 

“I design all my trucks,” Nick said. “The graphics are simple but bold. I’ve always stuck with red, black, and gold. The gold leaf on this truck is true gold leaf, just like what they use on fire trucks. My dad worked at Pierce , and every fire truck had gold leaf. That stuck with me.” 

The company’s logo is crisp, clean, and built for visibility. “I race super late models, and I wanted something you could read at 100 miles per hour,” he said. That logo—featuring a swirling stripe and used in a variety of colors like neon green, yellow, and traditional gold—appears across the fleet. Many of Fox City’s trucks also support causes such as autism and breast cancer awareness, helping further reinforce the brand in the minds of the community. 

Nick’s path into towing wasn’t straightforward. “I was in school to be a dentist,” he said. “I’d come home on weekends to help my dad, who ran a little two-truck shop. Eventually, AAA started calling us. I decided I didn’t want to do dental anymore, got my master’s in business, and started the company in 2016 with a $40 checking account and a storage unit.” 

Fox City’s Towing takes its name from the Fox Cities region—a cluster of northeastern Wisconsin communities. “I wasn’t into naming the company after myself,” Nick said. “The Fox Cities name gave it a local feel and geographic reach.” Today, the company provides service to more than half a million people across Green Bay, Appleton, and Oshkosh. 

Safety is a visual priority, too. Fox City’s vehicles incorporate Chevron striping on nearly every truck. “Every truck has Chevrons,” Nick emphasized. “They’re astronomically expensive, but at night they’re critical. The way your emergency lights reflect off a good Chevron pattern—it’s sometimes more effective than lights themselves. Some of these new light bars are so bright they can blind you. But Chevrons warn without distraction.” 

Nick’s approach to business blends grit, heart, and community visibility. Whether it's a themed truck supporting autism awareness or a neon-colored logo that catches the eye, it all serves a greater purpose. 

“We’re not the firefighters, we’re not the Police Department, but we’re at the scene of these crashes,” he said. “We’re at National Night Out, we’re at Touch-a-Truck events… and people recognize us. I think it really has an impact on kids when they go to those events and see that connection.”