SCHMIDT'S AUTO MAY TAKE ITS #TOW ON THE ROAD THE MADISON FIRM HAS TRADEMARKED A CELL-PHONE NUMBER THAT THEY HOPE WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME NATIONAL AND PART OF A FRANCHISING SETUP.(BUSINESS)

Byline: Marv Balousek Business reporter

Schmidt's Auto, now operated by the family's third generation, has been in the auto repair, towing and salvage business for 66 years, removing vehicles from accident scenes and illegal parking zones.

Schmidt's, 1621 Beld St., which currently operates a fleet of nearly two dozen trucks, has towed nearly every kind of vehicle, rescued a horse stuck in the mud and once hauled a dead rhinoceros from Milwaukee to Madison.

Now, brothers Mike, 43, and John Schmidt, 41, hope to crank up Madison's oldest towing company to new heights.

They've trademarked a simple three-digit cellular phone number - #T-O-W - that people can use to call a tow truck. They've worked out agreements with U.S. Cellular and Cingular Wireless, the area's highest volume cellular providers, to offer the number …