Modern Tire Dealer - October 2021

Toyo all-weather tires provide year-round versatility plus winter weather safety for every kind of vehicle.

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ToyoTires.com/AllWeather

ALL-WEATHER Year-Round Versatility + Winter Weather Safety No matter the conditions, Toyo all-weather tires provide year-round versatility plus winter safety for every kind of vehicle. With better snow, slush and ice traction than all-season tires and longer tread life than winter tires, your customers will love the peace of mind and convenience all-weather provides.

A full range of all-weather tires for cars, CUVs, SUVs, trucks and cargo vans.

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OPEN COUNTRY A/ COUNTRY® A T III

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CELSIUS® CARGO

Mountain Snowflake qualified for severe snow conditions. ©2021 Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp.

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9/22/2021 2:13:09 9/27/2021 9:29:42 PM AM

Off-Road Fun Helps Dealer Grow Wild Road Service Tales Why Losing Great Employees Can Spell Disaster

Dealers Discuss Why It’s Tough to Find Employees And What They’re Doing About It

TOP 25

October 2021 | Vol. 102, No. 10 | $10 | www.moderntiredealer.com

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The Industry’s Leading Publication October 2021, Volume 102, Number 10

18 The labor shortage has forced tire dealers to make significant operational changes. Find out more, starting on page 18.

DEPARTMENTS

F E AT U R E S 18

Help wanted

26

It’s all about LT tires

28

Pit Stop on road to growth

34

‘You have to believe in it’

4 Editorial

Auto service by the numbers From staffing to margins and tickets, MTD survey provides valuable data

6 moderntiredealer.com

News and navigation tools for MTD’s website

8 Industry News

TIA to honor industry legends Littlefield, Barry will enter Hall of Fame

14 Numbers That Count

Relevant statistics from an industry in constant motion

16 Your Marketplace

36

Retail sell-out drops slightly Meanwhile, more buyers pick performance over value

52 DSP Insight

Opportunities to improve your business are everywhere Are you prepared to spot them and take action?

Focus on Industry 60 SRNA talks growth, supply and more during Falken dealer meeting Three new Falken products to launch in 2022

Florida may not be enough for rapidly expanding dealership

Why techs, service advisors need to be sold on ride control service before they can effectively sell it

Commercial Tire Dealer™

Searching for tires and people

40

Top 25 independent commercial tire dealers in the U.S.

42

Wild road service tales

44

Servicing coal mines takes teamwork

Risk management Don’t let delta variant shut down your business Key employee retention enhances business value Why losing great employees can spell disaster

Off-road fun helps Grand Tire Pros grow

Commercial tire dealers persevere — and find silver linings — amid supply constraints

56 Business Insight

58 Mergers and Acquisitions

Dealers discuss why it’s tough to find employees — and what they’re doing about it

Techs learn to expect the unexpected

King Tire partners with OTR tire supplier to maximize tire life

62 Going wide

Pirelli wants more SUV, CUV and light truck fitments

Focus on Dealers 64 Ready to Launch: Tanveer Grewal and Mandeep

46

AG Tire Talk

66 TPMS

47

Brand cultivation

48

Vipal brings retread equipment to North America

Singh are open for business, have big plans Chevrolet Camaro 2010-21

69 Products 71 Power Products 82 Ad Index ON THE COVER: ©GETTYIMAGES.COM

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CEAT builds name, broadens distribution network

Pete’s Road Service, others are using machines

Modern Tire Dealer is a proud member of:

w w w . M o d e r n T i r e D e a l e r. c o m

Ag tiremakers explain product names, technologies

Commercially Viable 3

9/27/21 9:53 AM

Editorial

Auto service by the numbers FROM STAFFING TO MARGINS AND TICKETS, MTD SURVEY PROVIDES VALUABLE DATA By

Mike Manges

E

very couple of years, MTD takes the pulse of our readers’ auto service business through our Tire Dealer Automotive Service Survey. The feedback we receive is always enlightening.

Since many of you derive a big percentage of your revenue from auto service, I thought it would be interesting to share some results from the 2020-2021 edition of our study.

First, to establish a baseline, we asked dealers to provide the percentage of sales that auto service generated for them in 2020.

On average, respondents estimated that auto service made up 48% of their total sales.

We then asked, “Of your estimated total profits in 2020, what was the percentage from automotive service in your dealership?”

Respondents said auto service made up 47% of their overall profit.

We also wanted to know the number of locations and service bays that each respondent had, as well as the number of technicians they employ at each outlet.

Fifty-four percent reported that they have one location. Sixteen percent said they have two locations. At the other end of the spectrum, 14% of respondents said they have more than 10 outlets.

The average number of service bays was seven. Looking at the outliers, 4% percent of respondents said they have one service bay and 7% said they have more than 15 bays. The vast majority of respondents have fewer than 10 bays.

We also found that the average number of technicians employed per outlet is six. Twenty percent of respondents said they employ three techs per outlet. Only 1% reported that they employ more than 15 techs per outlet.

We also wanted to know how many technicians at respondents’ dealerships are ASE-certified. Approximately 35% of respondents reported that at least 50% of their technicians have earned ASE approval.

Ever wonder how you stack up against your peers when it comes to how you pay your technicians?

Nearly 50% of survey respondents — 47% to be precise — told us they pay their techs by the hour. Twelve percent pay on a commission-only basis. Thirty-four percent pay both salary and commission. And seven percent of respondents said they compensate their techs via salary alone.

We also looked at services offered. It came as no surprise that nearly 100% of respondents reported that they offer tire pressure monitoring system service.

Ninety-five percent perform mounting and balancing. Ninetytwo percent offer brake service. Eighty-six percent said they offer both shock and strut work, as well as battery and electrical service.

Eighty-five percent of respondents work on bearings and seals, while 83% do oil changes and 82% offer chassis and suspension service. Seventy-nine percent offer alignments. (This figure caught my attention. I thought more would offer alignments.)

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Respondents to MTD’s 2020-2021 Tire Dealer Automotive Service Survey report that auto service made up 48% of their total sales.

Seventy-nine percent of respondents also replace wiper blades.

(I always use the term “windshield wiper blades,” but it seems like more and more vehicles are coming with rear window wiper blades, too. I have to keep that in mind.)

Here’s the rest of the “services offered” list: ignition and spark plugs (65%), electronic diagnosis (65%), engine repair/diagnostics (61%), cooling systems (64%), air conditioning (59%), chemicals/ injectors/cleaners (55%) and exhaust systems (52%.)

Given the brutal heat experienced in many parts of the country this past summer, I would not be surprised if more dealers add air conditioning service to their menu.

Now for the big question. What are the most profitable services offered by dealers who replied to our survey? That would be alignments, which yield an average profit margin of 75%.

TPMS service has an average profit margin of 65%. Air conditioning service yields a 62% margin, on average, according to survey respondents.

Brake service and engine repair/diagnostics provide the same average margin (59%) and cooling system work, on average, yields a profit margin of 58%.

The service with the smallest profit margin — as reported by survey respondents — is oil/lubrication.

At this point, you might be asking, “What’s the biggest average ticket per service?” That would be $521 for shock and strut work.

Air conditioning service takes the “number two” spot, with an average ticket of $458.75. The service that generates the smallest ticket? Wiper blade replacement — at $27.44.

Do any of the above numbers support what you see at your own dealership? Are they wildly different?

Because this column is limited in space, I’m unable to provide all of the numbers that our most recent survey generated. If you want more, feel free to drop me a line. And let me know if you would like to participate in our next study. Nothing tops feedback from you, our readers. ■ If you have any questions or comments, please email me at mmanges@10missions.com.

MTD October 2021

9/27/21 9:53 AM

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ModernTireDealer.com DIGITAL RESOURCES FOR THE INDEPENDENT TIRE DEALER

Do you enjoy podcasts?

The weekly Modern Tire Dealer Show can be accessed through Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast platforms. Check it out today!

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eNewsletters Sign up now for Modern Tire Dealer eNewsletters. We’ll send you the latest news and most popular articles.

Go to: www.moderntiredealer.com and scroll to The Modern Tire Dealer Newsletter is the Definitive Source for Tire Dealer Success.

Hit Digital Edition at the bottom of our www.moderntiredealer.com homepage.

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www.twitter.com/MTDMagazine @MTDMagazine

Shipping crisis continues to plague dealers Stories about the shipping crisis continue to be among the most well-read articles on MTD’s website. The shipping crisis also is the topic of one of the most downloaded episodes of the new Modern Tire Dealer Show podcast. Price increases also continue to dominate the news. And MTD readers found stories about retail sell-out trends, the benefits of adopting a Monday through Friday schedule and other subjects to be useful.

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When will the shipping crisis end?

Discount Tire CEO: ‘Nothing is off the table’ The benefits of a Monday through Friday work week Goodyear and Cooper consumer tire prices are going up The shipping crisis: Dealers struggle with longer waits, higher fees Slight reprieve? Sell-out trends are tracking positively again Michelin to raise consumer, commercial tire prices next month Cooper line grows with Endeavor and Endeavor Plus Hoosier racing tires prices are going up Is a new segment of CUV tires emerging?

HOME OFFICE 3515 Massillon Rd., Suite 350 Uniontown, OH 44685 (330) 899-2200, fax (330) 899-2209 Website: www.moderntiredealer.com PUBLISHER Greg Smith, ext. 2212 gsmith@10missions.com EDITORIAL Editor: Mike Manges, ext. 2213 mmanges@10missions.com Managing Editor: Ron Ledgard, ext. 2216 rledgard@10missions.com Senior Editor & Digital Projects Editor: Joy Kopcha, ext. 2215 jkopcha@10missions.com PRODUCTION Art Director: Zach Pate Graphic Designer: Emme Osmonson Production Artist: Lauren Coleman Production Manager: Karen Runion, ext. 2210 krunion@10missions.com SALES Publisher: Greg Smith gsmith@10missions.com (330) 899-2200, ext. 2212 Midwest: Bob Marinez bmarinez@10missions.com (330) 899-2200, ext. 2217 West Coast: Marianne Dyal mdyal@10missions.com (706) 344-1388 Automotive Aftermarket: Dan Thornton dthornton@10missions.com (734) 676-9135, mobile (734) 626-4950 Sean Thornton sthornton@10missions.com (269) 499-0257 MTD READER ADVISORY BOARD Rick Benton, Black’s Tire Service Inc. Jessica Palanjian Rankin, Grand Prix Performance John McCarthy Jr., McCarthy Tire Service Co. Inc. Jamie Ward, Tire Discounters Inc. CUSTOMER/SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE (800) 260-0562 subscriptions@moderntiredealer.com

EXECUTIVE OFFICE 10 Missions Media 571 Snelling Ave. N. St. Paul, MN 55104 (651) 224-6207 CORPORATE OFFICERS President: Jay DeWitt Vice President: Chris Messer Vice President, Content & Events: Bryce Evans

Modern Tire Dealer (ISSN: 0026-8496) is published monthly by 10 Missions Media, LLC, 571 Snelling Ave N, St. Paul, MN 55104-1804. Copyright © 2021 by 10 Missions Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Modern Tire Dealer content may not be photocopied, reproduced, or redistributed without the consent of the publisher. Periodicals postage paid at St Paul, MN and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTERS Send address changes to: Modern Tire Dealer, 571 Snelling Ave N, St. Paul, MN 55104.

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MTD October 2021

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Industry News

TIA to honor industry legends LITTLEFIELD, BARRY WILL ENTER HALL OF FAME

T

he Tire Industry Association (TIA) has named its longtime CEO, Dr. Roy Littlefield, and the late Martin Barry — former president of the National Tire Dealers Association (NTDA) — to the Tire Industry Hall of Fame.

They will be inducted on Nov. 1 during events that precede the Global Tire Expo and Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas, Nev. Littlefield has worked for TIA and its predecessor associations for more than 40 years, including the past 18 as TIA’s CEO and executive vice president.

As TIA’s top executive, Littlefield stabilized and expanded the association.

Membership now stands at an all-time high of more than 13,000 — up from 2,700 members when he took over.

Under Littlefield’s leadership, TIA’s finances also are the strongest they have ever been.

“As the association’s first full-time government affairs director, Littlefield initiated periodic Lobby Days in Washington D.C., grew the association’s political action committee and expanded its legislative influence at the federal, state and local levels for the benefit of TIA members and the tire industry,” say TIA officials.

“Under his watch, TIA expanded its tire technician training programs to cover all tire types and saw the number of TIA-trained techs grow to more than 200,000.”

Littlefield enjoys the second-longest tenure as the association’s top executive.

Barry was the association’s longestrunning president and was one of only three, triple-term presidents in its history, having been elected to the NTDA in 1931, 1932 and 1933. (NTDA preceded TIA.) TIA officials say Barry played a pivotal role “in helping the organization survive

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and evolve in its early years, guiding it through two evolutionary name changes, the Great Depression and World War II.” During his terms, Barry helped ensure that the association maintained its focus on independent tire dealers.

“He championed a new retail code of ethics for both tire and battery distribution” and continued serving the association as a director through 1945.

A tire dealer himself, Barry owned and operated a dealership in Baltimore, Md., that sold Hood brand tires. The company was founded in 1918 and added auto service 10 years later. It was still in operation at the time of Barry’s death in 1955.

Dr. Roy Littlefield and the late Martin Barry will be inducted into the Tire Industry Hall of Fame during a Nov. 1 event hosted by the Tire Industry Association.

ADDITIONAL AWARD WINNERS

Monte Niemi, the CEO of First State Recycling, has won the 2021 Ed Wagner Leadership Award. It is presented to individuals who demonstrate leadership and innovation in products and services that promote the tire, retreading and/or tire recycling industries.

Wagner, a former director of the American Retreaders Association and himself a Tire Industry Hall of Fame member, died in 2011. (Wagner also was a contributor to MTD from 1959 through the 1990s.)

Niemi was instrumental in establishing the tire-derived aggregate (TDA) market, formulating material specifications and working with civil engineers on various projects. Thanks to his efforts, millions of pounds of scrap tire material have been recycled into TDA. Niemi also is a member of TIA’s Environmental Advisory Council.

And TIA has honored veteran tire industry reporter Miles Moore, who retired last year, with its 2021 Friend of the Industry Award. During his career, which started in 1977, Moore covered

Monte Niemi’s work to create the tire-derived aggregate market has earned him the Ed Wagner Leadership Award.

legislation, regulations and court cases of interest to the tire industry.

Mason Hess, who will take the baton as the next president of TIA at the association’s annual meeting in November, says, “We are pleased to honor these exceptional individuals.”

TIA will recognize this year’s honorees at the Tire Industry Honors Awards Luncheon on Monday, Nov. 1, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Cosmopolitan hotel and casino in Las Vegas. The luncheon is a complimentary-ticketed event. However, advance reservations are required and available via the TIA website.

MTD October 2021

9/23/21 8:56 AM

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Industry News

Bites Pirelli to invest in Mexico Pirelli & Cie SpA has approved a $36 million investment in its Guanajuato, Mexico, plant to boost annual production capacity there to 7.2 million units. The plant’s production is dedicated to the local and North American market.

Black’s Tire expands Black’s Tire Service Inc. is growing again through a partnership with Mason Tire & Auto Service, a retail tire dealership with four stores in South Carolina. Black’s Tire officials say they will continue the legacy that Joe Mason Sr., Mason Tire’s founder, instituted.

More growth for Indy Indy Tire Centers Inc. dba Best-One of Indy has acquired its third tire dealership in five months. On Sept. 1, the dealership took over the operations of Robinson Tire & Auto Service in Lafayette, Ind. Indy Tire Centers has grown to encompass 15 locations.

TireBuyer forms partnership TireBuyer has formed an exclusive partnership with mobile tire franchisor, Tread Connection. Through the partnership, Tread Connection’s operations will evolve to be the builder, trainer and support solution provider for the mobile services division, which will operate under the new Treadsy brand name.

Caterpillar honors BKT Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT) has been approved for Caterpillar Supplier Quality Excellence Process recertification and has been elevated from gold level to platinum level for the year 2021. BKT Chairman and Managing Director Arvind Poddar says his company “is proud of this result.”

Discount Tire offers data Discount Tire and Motorq are offering a connected vehicle data analytics platform to Discount Tire’s fleet customers. The platform will analyze live data streamed directly from connected vehicles.

EPA overhauls standards The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed “robust” federal greenhouse gas standards for passenger cars and light trucks through model year 2026 and also is working to update emissions standards for trucks beginning with model year 2027.

Porsche selects Hankook Porsche has picked the Hankook Ventus S1 evo Z to be original equipment on the latest version of its Panamera. Hankook officials say the tire “was extensively tested at maximum speed on the legendary German Nurburgring Nordschleife race track.”

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K

Kal Tire to buy 18 GCR locations

al Tire and Bridgestone Canada have reached an agreement that will see Kal purchase 15 GCR Tires & Service stores, two retread plants and one OTR tire repair shop from Bridgestone. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2021.Terms have not been disclosed.

The GCR locations and retread plants are located in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario.

“These locations currently serve consumer customers, along with the commercial trucking, OTR, agriculture and mining industries,” say Kal Tire officials.

Their purchase “will allow Kal Tire to serve more Kal Tire will acquire GCR assets in consumer, commercial and mining customers in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New the Canadian markets where it currently operates, Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. as well as expand its footprint to include locations in eastern Canada.”

Kal Tire currently has more than 250 commercial and retail tire locations stretching from British Columbia to Ontario. (The company also services more than 150 mine sites across five continents.)

All 125 GCR employees who work at the soon-to-be-acquired locations “are expected to join Kal Tire upon completion of the transaction.”

“At Kal Tire, we are driven to provide customers with best-in-class tires and service,” says Kal Tire President Robert Foord. “To achieve this, we need to continue to strengthen our network of locations that are staffed by experts in the tire and service industry.”

“This sale is a positive step for GCR employees and customers who have a bright future ahead as part of the Kal Tire organization,” says Scott Damon, chief operating officer, Bridgestone Americas.

“As Bridgestone and Kal Tire evolve for the future, this transaction will enable strategic growth for both companies. We look forward to building on our longstanding partnership with Kal Tire to drive additional growth in Canada for Bridgestone’s products, brands and mobility solutions.”

Bridgestone says it will continue to operate 59 GCR stores and 13 GCR retread plants in the western United States.

“GCR remains an integral part of Bridgestone’s commercial distribution strategy in the U.S. and is committed to serving commercial customers in a best-in-class manner, while continuing to drive growth and support future mobility solutions,” say Bridgestone officials.

GCR stores included in the sale will conduct business separately from Kal Tire until the transaction closes.

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Price hikes continue

iremakers continue to increase prices, with more hikes being effective at the start of the fourth quarter of 2021.

On Oct. 1, Bridgestone Americas Inc. raised prices by up to 8% across its portfolio of Bridgestone, Firestone and Fuzion brand passenger and light truck tires, as well as its Bridgestone and Firestone brand truck and bus tires, its Bridgestone and Firestone OTR tires and Firestone Ag tires and tubes.

A month earlier, the company increased prices of its Bandag products — including treads, cushion and ancillary items — by 10%.

Hoosier Racing Tire Corp, a subsidiary of Continental AG, raised prices on select race and street tires on Sept. 1 The increase of up to 15% varied across specific products.

Continental also raised the prices of its Continental and General brand passenger and light truck tires on Oct 1. The amount varied by product and brand.

Pirelli Tire North America Inc. took similar pricing actions by raising its passenger and light truck tire prices by up to 8% on Oct. 1.

MTD October 2021

9/23/21 8:57 AM

A LONG WAY

TOGETHER

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9/22/2021 1:44:56 PM

Industry News

North Carolina Tire Dealers merge with another group

Bites Hunter adds warranty Hunter Engineering Co. has rolled out an all-inclusive, three-year replacement parts warranty. Any equipment installed in 2021 is covered. Labor retains its original six-month warranty, according to Hunter officials.

TireHub opens DC TireHub LLC has opened a new distribution center in Kennesaw, Ga. The company has 71 distribution centers throughout the United States.

Tire Discounters team grows Tire Discounters Inc. has added two executives to its C-suite team: Sheri Harper is taking on the newly created role of chief people officer, and Jeff Rodgers has joined the Cincinnati, Ohio-based as chief financial officer.

Dexstar Wheel turns 50 Dexstar Wheel, which is based in Elkhart, Ind., is celebrating 50 years in business.

Dexstar is the steel rim and wheel manufacturer for Kenda in North America and also serves some of the largest original equipment manufacturers and distributors in the trailer and RV industries.

Tyrexpo Asia goes digital Tyrexpo Asia 2021 has moved to an all-digital format due to ongoing global travel restrictions. The event will take place Nov. 17-19.

In the weeks prior to its start, attendees and exhibitors will be able to schedule digital meetings. Live chats, video conferencing and other features will be available.

T

he North Carolina Tire Dealers Association (NCTDA) and the Independent Garage Owners Association (IGOA) are merging to form a new entity called the Automotive Service and Tire Alliance (ASTA), which will have nearly 800 members combined. “Both associations have carefully considered the merger and believe it is beneficial and logical,” say ASTA officials.

Members of both groups voted on Aug. 25 “and the decision was unanimous to move forward.”

IGOA President Stan Creech says, “Our similarities and mission purposes of the two associations are clear and unmistakable. Both associations will be stronger by doubling member locations and combining assets to promote greater value to our members.”

“Our vision reflects the future needs of reinforcing support to the small businesses we represent,” says NCTDA President Marc Pons, who adds that ASTA will provide member programs, industry training, legislative representation and other benefits.

“We are excited and look forward to joining forces and advocating on behalf of the respective industries we represent.”

J

Jinyu truck tires come to the U.S.

inyu Tire Group’s radial truck and bus tire manufacturing plant in Vietnam has shipped its first container of tires to the United States.

The container was shipped from Ho Chi Minh Port in Vietnam to New York City.

The factory, which began production in March 2021, has the capacity to produce two million truck and bus tires per year, according to Jinyu officials. After starting tire production in in March 2021, Jinyu Tire Jinyu’s Vietnam plant “is the first overseas Vietnam Group’s plant has shipped its first production base of Jinyu Tire Group.” container of commercial truck and The company says it will continue to “optimize bus tires to the U.S. our global supply chain and provide optimal products and services to more customers around the world.”

Nexen extends sponsorship Nexen Tire Corp. and Manchester City Football Club reached a sponsorship deal for the new 2021-2022 season of the Premier League. This is the seventh consecutive season for the two.

Federated adds mobile Federated Auto Parts has partnered with Elitek Vehicle Services to provide mobile on-site diagnostic services for Federated Car Care Center customers. They will offer diagnostics and calibration, plus full mechanical repair services.

Firestone’s McNair dies Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. executive Alexander McNair, 97, has died. McNair worked for Firestone from 1948 to 1983 and led the start of the company’s credit card division.

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AAPEX to require vaccine or negative COVID-19 test

he Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX), held in conjunction with the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show, will require people to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PCR test in order to attend the 2021 event. SEMA officials so far have not announced a vaccine requirement, but say they’ll soon reveal what safety measures will be required at this year’s show.

The owners of AAPEX — the Auto Care Association and the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association — say COVID-19 tests must be administered prior to attendees’ arrivals.

The groups also are evaluating the potential for on-site testing for those unable to be vaccinated or to obtain a negative PCR test prior to the event.

They will use a third-party verification platform.

The state of Nevada is requiring masks for all indoor events held in Las Vegas. The mask rules have been in place since the end of July.

“AAPEX and SEMA are 100% committed to ensuring a great Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week in Las Vegas. As the COVID-19 landscape continues to evolve, health and safety measures will be updated for the respective shows to provide the best business opportunities for those attending.”

MTD October 2021

9/23/21 8:58 AM

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9/30/21 10:25 AM

NumbersThatCount

Relevant statistics from an industry in constant motion

80%

Percentage of new electric vehicle registrations during 2020 that were Teslas.

SOURCE: IHS MARKIT

32TO% 35%

The average cold passenger tire psi level.

SOURCE: CARS.COM

17.5%

Average sales margin for a medium truck retread in the United States.

SOURCE: MTD’S 2021 FACTS ISSUE

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39.5%

Share of the hybrid vehicle service market that new car dealerships enjoy. SOURCE: IMR INC.

5,033

Total number of outlets operated by the 25 biggest independent tire dealerships on the 2021 MTD 100 as of July, when the list was published. Several dealerships, including Plaza Tire Service Inc. (pictured), have added locations since then.

SOURCE: MTD RESEARCH

MTD October 2021

9/23/21 8:59 AM

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9/22/2021 2:04:32 PM

Yo u r M a r k e t p l a c e

Retail sell-out drops slightly

MEANWHILE, MORE BUYERS PICK PERFORMANCE OVER VALUE By

John Healy

O

ur recent conversations with dealers leave us with the view that retail sell-out trends are continuing to improve on a year-over-year basis, while also showing strength over 2019 levels.

However, activity levels did fall slightly from what our dealer base experienced last month.

From a volume standpoint for the month of August 2021, surveyed dealers reported that unit sales were up 10% to 15% versus August 2020.

But consumer demand for passenger and light truck tires fell slightly compared to prior-month levels.

Contacts noted that the fall-off was likely attributable to the unpredictable nature of the tire and auto repair business.

Overall, we believe that August benefited from the continued rebound in driving that has taken place since the initial slowdown in miles driven associated with the early start of the COVID-10 pandemic in March 2020.

As stated in previous columns, we continue to believe that long-term volumes will become more closely aligned with GDP growth.

That said, there is a degree of uncertainty in the months ahead as the delta variant of COVID-19 has taken root.

The bright side, though, is that consumers are expected to continue to drive more, especially when compared to last year.

DRIVING FLUCTUATES

Each month, we look at a number of data points in an effort to accurately assess the

health of automobile travel, which has a direct impact on tire wear and replacement.

While states across the country have been fully open the last several months, we note that the delta variant could cause government officials to reimpose some lockdown measures in the coming weeks and months.

This has already been observed in some states.

The good news is that miles driven trends remain steady.

August 2021 levels were down 1.7% versus August 2019 levels, which compares to a year-over-year decline of 1.1%.

RAWS ESCALATE

Raw material prices — in almost every category — continue to escalate.

Looking at specifics, we note that the price of carbon black continues to increase on a month-after-month basis.

Carbon black prices have experienced double-digit growth over the last several months.

Crude oil prices, which experienced extreme cost pressures at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — with average prices down 37% year-over-year, through the end of the year — continue to spike.

As noted in last month’s column, July 2021 saw a year-over-year hike of 76%.

Natural rubber prices continue to be on the upswing — continuing to show strong, double-digit gains.

And the price of synthetic rubber continues to increase. Last month marked the

Snapshot of Dealer’s PLT Volumes (Year-Over-Year Change) Jun-20

Jul-20

Aug-20

June-21

Jul-21

Aug-21

Average

Increase

22%

75%

38%

24%

65%

61%

41%

Flat

22%

12%

31%

52%

29%

25%

28%

Decline

56%

13%

31%

24%

6%

14%

31%

Total

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

SOURCE: NORTHCOAST RESEARCH ESTIMATES

16

02_MTD_News-Numbers.indd 16

first time this occurred since April 2017.

From a pricing standpoint, the only tire component category that continues to track downward is reinforcement items.

PRICE HIKES DOMINATE

Last month, I wrote that tier-two remains the segment of most significant growth among our surveyed contacts and that trend has continued.

We note that this is typical of what we have seen in our extensive coverage of the tire industry over time, with fluctuations in other directions likely a function of transitory items, such as what happened during 2020 with the start of the COVID19 pandemic.

We note that tier-one brands have been ranked third by respondents to our most recent surveys for the past several months.

But recent trends indicate that consumers are very likely leaning more toward performance than value, which is the opposite of what our contacts observed during the earlier days of the pandemic.

Dealers also note that inventory remains below desired levels.

And the continuation of price increases by tire manufacturers is having an impact on sell-out rates.

We believe that aggregate pricing gains of 20% to 30% have taken place over the past 12 months.

We have seen throughout the pandemic that consumers seem to change their tire preference based on the current COVID-19 situation.

While having significant impact in other ways, we believe the delta variant has caused little change in consumer driving patterns — leading us to believe that sell-out rates will improve over time. ■ John Healy is a managing director and research analyst with Northcoast Research Holdings LLC, based in Cleveland, Ohio. Healy covers a variety of subsectors of the automotive industry.

MTD October 2021

9/27/21 10:05 AM

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9/22/2021 2:15:52 PM

Help wanted

To attract new talent, “we’re having to do things we’ve never done before,” says Jim Baxter (center), owner of Neighborhood Tire Pros & Auto, which has four stores in the Atlanta, Ga., area. “I’m offering a $3,000 sign-on bonus, which is payable $1,500 after the first three months of service and $1,500 after six months of service.”

Help wanted

DEALERS DISCUSS WHY IT’S TOUGH TO FIND EMPLOYEES — AND WHAT THEY’RE DOING ABOUT By

MTD staff

T

he United States unemployment rate has been steadily dropping.

At the beginning of 2021, it registered at 6.3%. By August, the last month for which United States Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers were available, the percentage had dropped to 5.2%.

With the unemployment rate on a downward slide, why are small businesses — including independent tire dealerships — having such a tough time finding workers?

Reasons vary, say dealers, many of whom are rethinking their approach to recruitment — and how to hang onto the people they already employ.

PERMANENT CHANGES?

The difficulty in finding recruits is not due to a lack of available positions, according to Jim Baxter, owner of Neighborhood Tire Pros & Auto, which has four stores in the Atlanta, Ga., area.

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03_MTD_Help-Pitstop.indd 18

“I currently have a service manager position open that pays between $50,000 and $75,000 a year,” he says. “I can hire two service advisors right now in that price range.

“I have one store where we have a master technician spot open. It’s a $65,000-to $125,000-a-year position.

“This is a large range because I want to provide an accurate depiction of what (master technicians) can make. An entry-level tech might be in the neighborhood of $65,000.

A seasoned guy can make $125,000 with no problem at all.”

Service writer roles have been even tougher to fill, he adds. And general service tire technicians are few and far between.

“I could hire four tomorrow. Those are $35,000- to $55,000-a-year positions.”

Baxter, who has 72 employees, estimates that he spends up to 40% of his time on recruitment, which keeps him from pursuing other things that will move his business forward.

“A good tire tech probably installs anywhere from 30 to 50 tires a week. If you don’t have the people to install the product, it affects your overall ability to grow.

“The number one way it has affected me is when I have opportunities to grow” through acquisition or expansion.

“The first thing I think about is, ‘Will I be able to staff those locations?’ I turned down two opportunities recently because I wasn’t sure if I could staff them.”

To attract new talent, “we’re having to do things we’ve never done before. I’m offering a $3,000 sign-on bonus, which is payable $1,500 after the first three months of service and $1,500 after six months of service.

“We’re marketing our business differently than in the past. We’re trying to give candidates reasons to look at us.”

Traditional recruitment methods, like advertising through Indeed.com, have been less effective, says Baxter.

“With those, we get people who apply, but don’t have the qualifications to come work for us. It’s difficult to train an employee who has never worked in the business, especially when you’re talking about technicians.

“Traditional, vocational tech people who want to work with their hands — that has just dried up. So you have to try to recruit from an existing pool.”

That pool, however, is shrinking, he believes.

“Right now, I think a lot of people are ingrained where they are and aren’t looking to make changes.”

This has forced Baxter to look outside the tire and automotive sectors for candidates.

“We are actively recruiting from areas we haven’t before” — including the mortgage industry.

He’s discovered that people who work in the mortgage business “can become good service advisors.”

They are used to fluid situations “and they have to handle a lot of different steps in order to close a deal. They have to gather a lot of different data from consumers.

“Sometimes there’s friction because something doesn’t go exactly right. They have to navigate that friction and those hurdles to make something work.

“It’s a process you have to walk through.

And it’s the same kind of thing when servicing vehicles. Things might not go perfectly, so you have to go back to the drawing board to come up with another solution to make it work.”

MTD October 2021

9/23/21 9:33 AM

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Baxter also is targeting former restaurant workers, “who are used to working in a fast-paced environment.”

Baxter believes that the COVID-19 pandemic has permanently changed the labor market.

“There are people who might have been in the service industry before who had to reevaluate where they were. Some said, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. I want to do something different.’ Because so many industries came to a grinding halt” during the early days of the pandemic “and then ramped back up, that break gave people a moment to think about what they wanted to do and they’re now doing something different. They’re just gone.”

He believes this will remain the case “until we see another upheaval of some sort — like an economic bubble that bursts and forces people to look outside their comfort zones.”

Baxter says he also is redoubling his efforts to keep current employees happy.

“I’m usually good about staying ahead of the curve in pay. I like to make sure that if someone calls (an employee) and offers a dollar more an hour, they don’t look.

“Our stores are extremely busy. They see up to 60 cars a day,” which he says is different from some of the competitors in his market.

“We tend to be busier than they are, which means we have the opportunity to make more money. We’re not as capped as if we were seeing 10 to 20 cars a day.

“I’m also a big believer in a five-day work week for employees,” he says. “I think they should be able to have at least two days off each week so they can handle their personal stuff and have some private time to enjoy.”

‘EXTREMELY CHALLENGING’

“To say that finding people has been extremely challenging is an understatement,” says Chris Guldalian, vice president of Grand Prix Tire & Automotive Center in Monterey Park, Calif. The single-store dealership is 10 minutes east of downtown Los Angeles.

“Every single business in my area is having the same problem. Everyone is short on labor. They can’t find good help.”

Guldalian attributes the problem to government stimulus money. (Editor’s note: MTD interviewed Guldalian before national unemployment benefits expired.)

“When unemployment benefits are so w w w . M o d e r n T i r e D e a l e r. c o m

03_MTD_Help-Pitstop.indd 19

lucrative, even people who are eager to get back to work have stopped to think twice.

It’s ‘Should I go back to work and give this up or should I ride this out?’”

There are exceptions, he says, including “people who need to stay home and take care of other people, but I can’t think of another explanation.

“A few months back I interviewed a candidate” for a lube tech position.

“He had the experience and we really needed somebody with his skill set. He wasn’t working at the time, so it was ideal.

I called him back the next day and said, ‘You can start the day after.’

“But when that day came, he didn’t show up when he was supposed to. He called a few hours later to thank me for the offer, but told me he simply wasn’t ready to go back to work. And he hasn’t been the only one.”

Guldalian, who pays above-market wages, has six full-time employees and one part-timer.

“Pre-pandemic, we were at 10 full-time people. I have to say we are blessed to have the core group of employees that we have, who have stayed on board.

“Everybody realized that the work is not going to get done unless they work more efficiently and everyone is doing their best to make things happen. But we need more talent to ease the strain on all of us.”

Guldalian has tweaked some policies at this dealership to make life easier for his employees.

“One of the things we did was change to an appointment-only program for our auto service work. We know what’s coming in ahead of time, so that has eased the strain a bit. I’m hands-on, as well, so wherever I see a need, I help.”

He also has become more flexible with employee scheduling. “I’ve never been as lenient as I am now. Everyone has my cell number. I ask for as much heads-up as possible” when it comes to call-offs or schedule adjustments.

“We’re just going with the flow. How am I going to find replacements for employees (who leave) right now? The last thing I want is for my good, core group to say ‘I’ve had it’ and walk away.”

‘UPSIDE-DOWN SITUATION’

Spencer Carruthers owns a single-store dealership, Kenwood Tire & Auto Service in West Bridgewater, Mass, some 30 miles

The challenging labor market has forced Spencer Carruthers, owner of Kenwood Tire & Auto Service, a single-store dealership in West Bridgewater, Mass., to drop several items from his company’s service menu. “We got rid of doing diagnostic work, air conditioning stuff — things I don’t make money on,” he says. “I refer them out. It’s hard to get paid for those jobs. And it’s worked out.

We’re not getting caught up in jobs that we can’t make money on.”

south of Boston. He says the labor market in his area “is very lacking.”

When MTD talked with Carruthers, the state of Massachusetts was providing unemployed residents with an extra $300 a week.

“It’s an upside-down situation because if you’re paying people to stay home, there’s no incentive for them to come work for a place like us.

“It’s an economic thing. ‘Why would I get in my car and drive half an hour to make $17 an hour changing tires when I can collect 60% of what I was making, plus an extra $300?’”

People weren’t easy to find before COVID-19, says Carruthers — particularly those near the bottom of the pay scale.

But the pandemic, he notes, quickly brought existing labor market problems into stark relief.

“We’re still in that space. Companies don’t know if they’re going to get people back. A lot of people don’t want to go back to work.

“Even though we like to think everything is back to normal,” there are a lot of unknowns, he says.

“It’s really hard to make any kind of

19

9/27/21 10:16 AM

Help wanted One-track mind?

Tech shortage exposes bigger problem, says dealer Finding people to fill sales and service writer roles can be difficult, says Jim Baxter, president of Neighborhood Tire Pros & Auto, which has four stores in the Atlanta, Ga., area. Finding qualified auto service technicians is even tougher.

When it comes to skilled trades, “there’s a huge educational gap that pre-dates COVID-19,” he says.

“I first got into this business in the ‘90s. And if a technician wasn’t working out, it wasn’t a big deal because you had three or four people on the bench who could come in and work without any issues.

“That has slowly disappeared over the years. COVID-19 just laid it bare.”

The problem “boils down to (our) education system,” he says.

“There used to be a vocational path. There used to be a college prep path. Now everybody’s on the college prep path” and schools are steering fewer students toward the vocational track, he says.

“It’s not just automotive. It’s plumbers, electricians and heating and cooling people. Those are the most important jobs. If we don’t have people to fill those roles, our economy will grind to a halt.”

Used • Reconditioned • New Take-offs

L o g o n to yo ur o rtal O E M W he el P

Tex t Pic s to

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marketing plan or set business goals because we don’t know how this is going to shake out.”

Spencer, who works the counter at his store, employs three technicians. (At one point, Kenwood Tire had two retail locations.)

“They’re mostly doing tires, brakes, oil changes and alignments.

Those are the four things we focus on.”

One employee has been with him for 18 years. Another has been with him for 15 years. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make them happy and they know that.”

That includes adjusting their schedules.

Before COVID-19 hit, “they were working 48 hours a week,” says Carruthers. “When the pandemic came around, we went down to 38 to 40 hours a week. And they were happy with that. They were happy to have weekends off.”

A shortened work week delivered an unexpected benefit — increased productivity.

“I noticed they were working harder during the week to get stuff done, so I now reward them on their efficiency.”

The situation suits all parties, he says.

“I thought they were going to ask for the hours back after business picked back up, but they haven’t. They’re pretty much making what they were before. They are happier. Morale is better. Quality of work is better. It’s improved our profitability.”

Carruthers also had to “reevaluate” the services his dealership offers.

“We got rid of doing diagnostic work, air conditioning stuff — things I don’t make money on. I refer them out. It’s hard to get paid for those jobs. And it’s worked out. We’re not getting caught up in jobs that we can’t make money on.

“Our forte is tires and alignments,” he says. “That’s why people come here. By cutting out diagnostics, it’s enabled us to be better at (our core) work. I just bought a brand new Hunter lift. So by focusing on fewer things, we can improve our service.”

Carruthers also schedules more appointments, rather than relying on walk-ins. And more Kenwood Tire customers are making appointments by text, “so I don’t have to pick up the phone each time it rings.

“That’s helped us become more efficient, too. But if someone has a nail in their tire and shows up at our door, we’ll drop everything to take care of them.”

Perhaps most importantly, Carruthers says the pandemic changed how he views his business.

“I had plenty of time to figure out what my bottom line was and what I needed to do to make this work. It was kind of like a bottom-up approach. I never would have done that before.

“You always go from the top down. ‘I want $1 million in sales.

That way I can make so much and pay everybody else so much.’

“But to me, it was more about figuring out what I needed and then making the business work for me. The pandemic forced me to do that. It was fortunate. I’m happy with how things have turned out.”

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03_MTD_Help-Pitstop.indd 20

Like Carruthers, Jim Melvin reports that business at his dealership, North Kingstown, R.I.-based Melvin’s Tire Pros, is up.

“It’s been great, but the biggest problem we have now is employees. We have four retail locations and generally, we have about 75 employees. Right now, I am at about 59.”

Melvin says that during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, MTD October 2021

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Help wanted he did not lay anyone off. But he reduced hours.

“Last year, I had too many employees and not enough customers. This year, we have way too many customers and not enough employees.”

He says business is up about 31% year-todate in both sales and “gross profit dollars” versus 2019. And sales are up 41% over 2020 levels.

“We are gangbusters both in tire sales and auto service,” he says.

But the staffing dilemma remains.

“We are desperately trying to hire employees,” he says. “I tell my store managers, ‘If you want to be up an additional 15%, hire four more guys in the shop.’ But they are nowhere to be found.”

Melvin, who has been in business for 37 years, says the current situation is way beyond

the usual ebb and flow of the market. “I look at some of the help wanted sections, whether it’s online with Indeed.com or Craigslist or the Providence Journal classifieds. I just thought we needed to drop out and use other avenues of recruiting.”

Melvin also is not afraid to do some recruiting himself. He recently spotted a man at the local deli who was wearing another tire dealership’s shirt. Melvin hired him.

“We have resorted to some unusual tactics,” he says. “Failure is not an option.”

Employee retention has been another priority. Melvin makes sure he pays his employees well so he won’t lose them to someone else.

“Leave no low-hanging fruit,” he says.

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At Elk River Grove, Ill-based Tredroc Tire Services Inc., the search for employees involves “trying anything and everything we can,” says CEO Larry Jeffries. That includes wage increases and $1,000 and $2,500 hiring bonuses.

It also means taking the search for workers to all kinds of platforms, from LinkedIn to Craigslist. And sometimes, it means trying to attract a good worker from another company.

“Never in my 30-plus years in this industry have I seen the hiring situation like this,” says Jeffries.

“Good people are always hard to find.

You can’t even find bad people right now.”

OTR tire service has always required a special skill set and Jeffries says few of those trained or equipped for that job are searching job ads on LinkedIn. He’s trying to fill Tredroc’s OTR tire technician pipeline with existing employees.

Jeffries says the dealership will work with “a good service tech who wants to make this their career.”

It’s not always an automatic fit, as he says comparing an OTR tire technician to an emergency roadside truck technician “is like comparing a brain surgeon to a foot doctor.”

But it can work.

Tredroc will pair a truck tire technician with an experienced OTR technician and pay that OTR-oriented employee a premium.

It’s not a quick process. Jeffries says it takes no less than six months and can require a year of hands-on training, depending on the application.

“The most difficult part is finding that person who wants this to be a career path.

It’s a lucrative job. It’s a $100,000 job.”

MTD October 2021

9/23/21 9:50 AM

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Help wanted Being short of workers is affecting Tredroc’s production.

Jeffries says the dealership isn’t turning existing customers away. But it’s prioritizing those customers over others who need an emergency fix.

“If you’re not one of my committed customers and you call me — and you’re just calling me because you’re committed to someone else and they can’t help you

(right now) — we’re telling that customer, ‘If I get time, I will do the job.’

“But I’m not going to put you in front of my other customers.’”

Lack of manpower also is hampering efforts to drum up new customers, says Jeffries.

“You’re not really going after new business — because you can’t.”

He tries to refrain from blaming the tight labor market on politics, but he says

that during a recent dinner conversation with other tire dealers, they concluded that the employment situation isn’t likely to change until late-2022 — after the midterm Congressional election.

He points out that with extended unemployment benefits, some people have taken in $600 to $900 a week. And that’s made it hard to convince the unemployed to take a physically demanding job and make $1,000 a week.

He tells applicants to look at things through a long-term lens and think about the security that a job in the tire industry affords. But it’s sometimes a tough sell.

“When the (unemployment stimulus money) music stops, you’re going to be scrambling for a chair,” he tells them.

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Mick Pickens, president of Royal Tire Inc., a 15-location commercial tire dealership that’s based in St. Cloud, Minn., says he’s never seen a labor market like this one before.

“There are open positions in all industries.

It’s very difficult to find people — probably more difficult than I’ve ever seen.

“We’ve made the commitment to pay whatever we have to, but then have to make sure our pricing is aligned with our cost structure. So far, this has worked fairly well.”

Royal Tire employs around 250 people.

And while they are working hard, the dealership has tried to keep workloads similar to what they normally would be.

Pickens has leaned on his managers to keep staff engaged.

“My observation is that where we have good managers who care about their employees, morale has been less affected,” he says.

However, time dedicated to finding new employees has been out of the ordinary, he reports. “We collectively spend more time than we ever have” on recruitment.

“I can’t put a number on it. However, it’s now a topic that’s (brought up in) every meeting with our human resources staff.”

Royal Tire is paying more money to existing and new employees. And that has worked. In fact, Pickens believes productivity at his dealership has gone up and the quality of new employees has improved.

“We’ve found that by paying our direct labor people more money, we are attracting a higher caliber of employee and these employees are more productive. In the end, we find we are better off with higher-paid people in these positions.” ■ MTD October 2021

9/23/21 9:51 AM

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Light truck tires

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It’s all about LT tires

OFF-ROAD FUN HELPS GRAND TIRE PROS GROW By

Joy Kopcha

F

or Grand Tire Pros in Moab, Utah, it used to be that the entire sales year revolved around a single event: the Easter Jeep Safari, a nine-day, off-roading bonanza that attracts tens of thousands of people to this remote desert town and the breathtaking national parks that surround it.

For years, the tire dealership’s founder, Chip Brox, talked about how his small dealership in Moab would ring up 40% of its annual sales in the days surrounding the popular event.

Store manager Jeff Edwards says in those days, Brox talked about the business running on two seasons — spring and late spring.

“Anything else was icing on the cake.”

But now the popularity of off-roading and rock climbing has blown up to create a nine-month season. Some years, when the weather cooperates, it can stretch into 11 months.

As a result, Grand Tire Pros, which has been known for its light truck tire expertise for decades, has only tightened its grip on that market.

The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out a few months of off-roading activity in early-2020, including the historically critical Easter Jeep Safari. But it has come roaring back.

“The first part of June 2020, it exploded in this town and we ran non-stop for the rest of the year” — resulting in the tire dealership’s best year on record.

26

03_MTD_Help-Pitstop.indd 26

“When someone walks in, the first thing we ask them is, ‘What do you do with your car or truck? Are you taking it to the backcountry?’” says Jeff Edwards, manager of Grand Tire Pros in Moab, Utah, which specializes in light truck tires.

Edwards says consumers found offroading to be a safe, socially distant activity.

People flocked to Arches National Park and in a matter of months, the town of Moab, which depends on tax revenues to balance its budget and provide city services, went from fearing a deficit of $5 million to being back in the black.

During those rough months, Grand Tire Pros maintained its entire staff.

Edwards says he also worked to expand the business’ foothold in the commercial tire market.

He describes commercial tires as “a growing business for us.” As it stands, the store has a 60%/40% mix of retail and commercial.

Edwards has worked at the dealership for nearly 30 years and stepped into the store leadership role after Brox retired.

Before that, Edwards was focused on Grand Tire Pros’ commercial business, and it had always been on his list to place a greater focus on commercial clients.

The early months of the pandemic gave him the bandwidth to do it.

Brox died in 2018, and Edwards is proud to say he runs the business the same way his friend did.

Grand Tire Pros doesn’t offer the typical menu of automotive services — no oil changes and nothing under the hood. “It’s from the top of the tire down — shocks, struts, brakes, alignments and lift kits.”

While not every independent tire dealership performs automotive services,

the vast majority — 83%, according to MTD research — provide oil and filter changes. But Edwards says he isn’t — and Brox wasn’t — worried about that.

“I question how tire dealers can survive doing oil changes. Chip embedded that deep in my brain.”

He remembers Brox telling him that “there is somebody better at that than we are. You do what you do, be the best at what you do and let somebody else be the best at something else.”

ON A RECORD PACE

What Grand Tire Pros is great at is selling tires. The store’s doors open at 8 a.m. and a half-hour later, Edwards says there are typically 30 tickets on the counter and half a day’s worth of business ready to go.

The dealership’s 12-person staff works from three “official” service bays, but does just as much work outside in the parking lot as indoors. Most of the company’s growing commercial tire business work is completed off-site.

Managing tire inventory is always a tricky art, says Edwards. The shortage of supply from tire manufacturers has added another layer of difficulty.

Moab is located in a remote area. As Edwards puts it, “Moab isn’t the end of the earth. It’s just where you go to look off the edge!”

The closest tire distribution center is owned by American Tire Distributors Inc. (ATD) and is about 120 miles away MTD October 2021

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Edwards says it then becomes harder to hit program numbers with any of the brands.

But so far this expansion has worked.

“We’ve been lucky enough that we’ve had two banner years.”

Grand Tire Pros is already on track to beat its record sales year of 2020.

By late-August, the company’s sales were closing in on $2 million, well ahead of the $1.8 million it recorded as of the end of September 2020.

LT TIRE TRENDS The Easter Jeep Safari is the main event in Moab, Utah, each year. Off-roading has almost turned into a year-round sport here and that’s providing more opportunity for Grand Tire Pros, which enjoyed its best year in 2020.

Grand Tire Pros has trained locally-owned rental car companies to swap tires whenever they buy a new vehicle. The P-metric tires come off and light truck tires are installed. Vehicles from local fire, police and sheriff’s departments all do the same, says Jeff Edwards, the dealership’s longtime manager.

in Grand Junction, Colo. ATD provides the store with daily delivery and Edwards augments that with his own warehouse and inventory that ranges in value from $1.5 million to $2.2 million.

He believes that the warehouse — which is just as large as his retail store — has been a key to succeeding in the last year.

He’s had tires shipped to him via Federal Express, only to have them land in a rural route pile in Salt Lake City and take a month to deliver.

Edwards says his best inventory management tool is the company’s sales protocol and good-better-best recommendations. “If you stick to the tire companies that you do business with, they’ll take care of you. At least they have with me.”

Grand Tire Pros is a longtime Michelin and BFGoodrich dealer and Edwards says he can count on Michelin North w w w . M o d e r n T i r e D e a l e r. c o m

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America Inc. to provide him with the products he needs.

Every year before the Easter Jeep Safari, Michelin scours warehouses and ships the light truck tires he needs to have in inventory.

The store also sells a lot of Cooperbrand and Hercules-brand tires. He participates in both of those brands’ programs Because of some supply issues, Edwards says it’s been harder to stick to the company’s sales process. So when he sees products available in his online ordering portals, he buys them.

“I get online and if see 285/70R17s are available, I better buy 24 of them.”

He’s also added two more brands to the list — Yokohama and Falken — and has seen growth with both.

Widening the net of tire brands can shift units from one label to another and

Light truck tires account for half of the company’s retail sales on a monthly basis.

Edwards says he sells twice as many light truck tires as passenger car tires in any given month.

Much of that has come as more consumers have turned trucks like the Ford F-150 into their daily drivers.

More recently, he’s seen a boom in Subarus with lift kits and light truck tires.

The Falken WildPeak A/T Trail is big there, but other brands have followed suit with all-terrain offerings for CUVs. (MTD covered this trend in its August edition.)

“Last year, I would keep one or two sets in stock. Now I stock three tires in every size I can get my hands on because that is a booming market I see in my neck of the woods.

“Colorado is a hop, skip and a jump from Moab and you go to Colorado and all you see are Subarus. We see tons of them. That market is exploding.”

All-terrain tires are his biggest seller, though he does sell a fair share of mudterrain tires. He doesn’t do much business with rugged-terrain tires.

Proximity to Moab doesn’t automatically mean Edwards’ consumers are hypereducated tire buyers.

He says some drivers come in thinking they know exactly what they want or need.

But the problem is their research has been confined to an internet forum thread, so the Grand Tire Pros sales team has to re-educate these customers.

One trend that his area has largely avoided is what he calls the “mall crawlers” — those drivers who never venture off the highway, but want the beefiest-looking tires they can buy.

“When someone walks in, the first thing we ask them is, ‘What do you do with your car or truck? Are you taking it to the backcountry?’” ■

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Pit Stop Auto Repair

Pit Stop on road to growth

FLORIDA MAY NOT BE ENOUGH FOR RAPIDLY EXPANDING DEALERSHIP By

Mike Manges

I

n 2005, Joe Ramsay was turning wrenches at Pit Stop Auto Repair — at the time a three-store dealership headquartered in Venice, Fla. “I was a general service technician — changing tires and changing oil,” he says. “I always teased management that I was so bad at that, they would have to put me in the office!”

Sixteen years later, Ramsay is “the office.”

As Pit Stop’s owner and president, he operates a string of seven stores, starting in the greater Sarasota, Fla., area and stretching south to Fort Myers. (An eighth Pit Stop store will open this month.)

Plans to expand into other parts of Florida — and beyond — are in the works.

“It’s been a great couple of years,” says Ramsay, age 38. “It’s been exciting. It’s been nerve-wracking at times. But overall, it’s been good.”

Joe Ramsay, owner and president of Venice, Fla.-based Pit Stop Auto Repair, cuts the ribbon at another new store. The dealership has seven outlets along the southwestern coast of Florida. An eighth store is scheduled to open soon. And stores outside of the state are a possibility.

CROWDED MARKET

The south Florida market is ultra-competitive, says Ramsay. “We have chains like Tire Kingdom. We have Bridgestone — both Firestone (outlets) and Tires Plus stores. Sometimes they’re almost next door to each other.

“We also have the Monro group with Tire Choice. We have Pep Boys. There are a lot of chains and it seems like there are always more” entering the area.

Pit Stop competes with other established, family-owned independents, too.

“And we have competitors who are working out of storage units, charging 1980s prices,” he says.

The general economy in southwest Florida “is booming.” Residential construction, in particular, has been robust.

“They’re building houses faster than they probably should.”

Other than construction, there’s “very little traditional industry” in the region, according to Ramsay.

“We’re a service industry market. We’re heavily reliant on tourism. We’re heavily reliant on retirees. We’re heavily reliant on snowbirds — especially at our island location and (others) that are close to the water.”

DIVERSE CUSTOMER BASE

“An island location?” Ramsay has heard that question on more than one occasion.

Pit Stop has a store on what locals call “Venice Island,” a section of the mainland connected by bridges built across a man-made intercoastal waterway.

Another Pit Stop location is located in Venice, near the coast.

The two stores’ customers are radically different, says Ramsay.

“Our Venice stores are three quarters of a mile apart on the same

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“Before we started our latest round of growth — going back to July 2019 —I hired all of my managers for all of my next stores,” says Ramsay. “It’s really been a blessing as we’ve gone forward. because I now have managers going into brand new stores who have been with me.” (Pictured, Pit Stop’s Punta Gorda, Fla., location, right before it opened.)

road. But one is on the island on one side of the bridge and the other is on the mainland on the other side of the bridge.

“On one side, we’re working on high-end Jaguars and BMWs and on the other side, we’re working on rusted-out pickup trucks,” he explains.

“You would be surprised at how people on the island don’t want to deal with the mainland people and people on the mainland who say, ‘I just don’t have enough money to buy tires on the island.’”

Other Pit Stop locations are “out by the water,” too, says Ramsay.

“Our Fort Myers store is only three blocks from the water. Those (stores) are the most seasonal.”

Ramsay admits that finding affordable real estate in growing areas is “tough” at the moment.

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Pit Stop Auto Repair ‘No fancy vision statements — just give and grow’ Good works are part of the ‘Pit Stop way’

“I bought a piece of property on Venice Island right next to our store so I could expand the parking lot. And what I paid for that property, I could have bought an entire store — with parking and everything — in Fort Myers.”

POISED TO GROW

Personnel and capital present additional challenges, according to Ramsay.

“We have people who are really phenomenal. Some have been with us for 20-plus years — longer than I have.”

But staffing new stores “can be tricky,” he notes.

“When a store seems to run itself, you say, ‘Well, that’s a given.’

But with a new store, it’s not.”

Finding qualified candidates has become tougher, which has forced Ramsay to adjust the compensation packages that he offers.

But wages and benefits aren’t the only factors workers consider, he says. A good, supportive culture is equally vital.

“We have two core values -— give and grow. And that’s our attitude toward our people. We want to be a company that’s generous. We also want to see our people grow on a personal level.

“One of my goals is to get to the point where we’ve become a company that people want to work for.”

Ramsay encourages employees to give back to their communities during off-work hours.

“We have ‘volunteer time,’ where we pay employees to take a week off and volunteer at a non-profit. We also match gifts (donated to) any non-profit.”

“I want Pit Stop to be listed on the side of companies that people are lining up to work for — to where we’re turning candidates away.”

Capital is an entirely different nut to crack, according to Ramsay.

To date, Pit Stop’s expansion has been funded by profit that he has plowed back into the operation, as well as a few Small Business Administration loans.

“As we look at our financial models, there is a point where there will only be so much we can do before we restock the war chest.

“To take that next big step to put us on a more regional level, we’re going to need a large capital investment of some sort — whether it’s loans or investors or partners. It’s something we’re certainly cognizant of.”

Ramsay has been eyeing acquisitions “to the north of us and on the east coast. We’re looking to add several more stores across a more geographically spread-out area.”

He also is looking beyond “The Sunshine State.”

“The next step is the southeastern U.S.,” he says.

“We have two core

Pit Stop Auto Repair offers all the usual tools and programs to keep employees excited about their work.

“We push training,” says Joe Ramsay, the dealership’s owner.

“We take advantage of just about every training opportunity we can. We help techs pay for their tools.

“We try to look at what the everyday sticking points are for our people and we try to get ahead of them.”

Ramsay has discovered that another effective way to build enthusiasm is to “connect our employees’ passions and what they enjoy outside of their work with their work.”

Pit Stop’s employees are civic-minded, which matches the company’s philosophy, he says.

The dealership intends to donate a million dollars to various charities and causes this year.

“We partner with a lot of non-profits,” says Ramsay. “One is a crisis pregnancy center in Venice. Fla.” Pit Stop has hired several fathers of expecting mothers.

“One of the things that worries them — in terms of having a new baby — is how they are going to support it. Well, now they have a stable income. They’ve learned a skill or a trade.

And now they can support their families.”

The seven-location dealership also partners with The Salvation Army. “We split the bill on some things.”

And Pit Stop fixes needy peoples’ cars at no cost. “Sometimes it’s just a family who has come into one of our stores with a car that’s in bad shape. We say, ‘This one’s on us.’”

Ramsay is quick to point out that his dealership’s vendors are enthusiastic contributors to the Pit Stop Charitable Foundation, which he set up in December 2020.

“We don’t just want to help somebody once and wish them the best,” he says. “We want to see their families grow and succeed.”

When Ramsay gets together with his store managers, “we always talk about those things ahead of our sales and other financial measurements. That’s one way we keep our focus where we think it should be.”

values — give and grow,” says Ramsay. “And that’s our attitude toward our people. We want to be a company that’s generous. We also want to see our people grow on a personal level.”

‘THE MEASURING POINT’

In the meantime, Ramsay has been methodically developing Pit Stop’s back-office infrastructure.

“One of my philosophies has always been to build it stronger than it needs to be — even though my finance director doesn’t like it sometimes!”

The idea is to place the right talent in the right positions “so there will never be a structural problem that holds us back.”

This forethought also applies to Pit Stop store managers.

“Before we started our latest round of growth — going back to July 2019 — I hired all of my managers for all of my next stores,” he says.

“It’s really been a blessing as we’ve gone forward because I now

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MTD October 2021

9/23/21 9:52 AM

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Pit Stop Auto Repair

Rapid rise

How Joe Ramsay came to lead Pit Stop Joe Ramsay had worked for several other auto repair facilities before joining Pit Stop Auto Repair in 2005.

After six months as a general service technician, he moved into an office role.

By 2011, after earning an MBA, Ramsay became the manager of the dealership’s largest location in Venice Island, Fla. In 2017, he took the reins of Pit Stop’s Sarasota, Fla., store.

“It was our first expansion in 20 years and the owner, Ron Perry, said, ‘Go up to Sarasota and see what you can do.’ I poured my heart and soul into that place for a good year-and-a-half.

“Almost two years later, I went back and bought the original three stores” from Perry.

“And that’s what I really wanted — the whole company.”

From there, Pit Stop’s growth “catapulted,” says Ramsay.

“We took those three stores and my store and now we’re at seven stores. And we’re confident we can keep growing.”

“To take that next big step to put us on a more regional level, we’re going to need a large capital investment of some sort — whether it’s loans or investors or partners,” notes Ramsay. “It’s something we’re certainly cognizant of.” He has been eyeing potential acquisitions in other areas of Florida, including on the state’s east coast.

have managers going into brand new stores who have been with me for more than two years.

“I’ve had two years to kind of indoctrinate them into the ‘Pit Stop way’ before they ever hit the ground inside a new store,” he says. “I felt that was really important. There’s only been a handful of people we’ve brought in who haven’t caught the vision and jumped in with both feet.”

Those individuals tend to rotate out of the system on their own, he says.

The ultimate “measuring point” for Pit Stop is how well store managers treat customers, according to Ramsay.

“That’s easy to do with one store, two stores or three stores. With seven stores, we’re doing pretty well.

“But when it gets to the point where I can no longer influence the culture of the guy at the front counter who’s interacting with our customers, that’s when growth kind of needs to stop.” ■

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Auto service

‘You have to believe in it’

WHY TECHS, SERVICE ADVISORS NEED TO BE SOLD ON RIDE CONTROL SERVICE BEFORE THEY CAN EFFECTIVELY SELL IT By

Ron Ledgard

S

elling ride control components can be a big revenue generator. It keeps tires performing at their best and provides the best ride possible for vehicle owners.

And at the end of the day, it’s just good business.

But for too many customers, thoughts of ride control often don’t enter the picture unless there is an obvious problem.

What’s the best way to move ride control service to the forefront?

According to suppliers, it starts with conversations, customer relationships and both technicians and service writers who believe in selling ride control services.

“As with any service need that is not obvious to the consumer, it is vital to help vehicle owners feel confident that you have their best interests and safety in mind,” says Denis Recker, brand manager for Tenneco Inc.’s Monroe line.

“If there is a need to replace their ride control components, you need to make them aware of this fact, explain the benefits of replacing worn units and ask for authorization to complete the repair.

“You would be amazed at how often we hear from consumers that their service providers have never informed them of the need to replace worn shocks and struts. This is a missed opportunity.”

Aaron Shaffer, director of marketing for KYB Americas Corp., points to the role technicians and tire dealers themselves play when it comes to making the sale.

“It’s not that hard if you believe in” the service “and are disciplined,” he says. “Unfortunately, that is where challenges occur. And when I say ‘believe in it’, that is where the biggest difference is.

“There are shops out there that are selling 100 shocks a month and then there are the shops out there selling four a month. And the only difference is that the guys selling 100 shocks a month believe in it.”

Shaffer says that when he visits dealerships and auto repair facilities, he hears from technicians that people don’t buy shocks or struts and cite their price tag as a reason.

“They have all of these excuses,” he reveals. “And the first thing I say to them is, ‘Tell me about the last time you put shocks on your truck.’ They look at me like I’m from Mars. ‘No, I haven’t done it,’ they say. I then ask, ‘How many miles are on your truck?’”

Some have provided totals that exceed six figures.

“I’ll say, ‘The problem is pretty evident here. You don’t believe in it.’”

Shaffer often recommends that tire dealers secure a new set of shocks and struts from their distributor and install them on their own vehicles.

“And rather than just put them on, drive it — and drive it aggressively. Give it a real road test. When you can feel the difference on your own truck or car, it’s like a light switch goes on.”

Two people, in particular, need to “believe” in the value of shock and strut service, he says — the service writer and the technician.

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A technician installs ride control components on a car.

“It’s not that hard” to sell ride control service “if you believe in it and are disciplined,” says Aaron Shaffer, director of marketing for KYB Americas Corp. Here a KYB representative talks with technicians about selling ride control.

“The tech needs to believe in it. And then the service writer again needs to sell (the service to) the motorist. If both people are not on the same page, it will probably never be suggested.

“Not suggesting it is a little bit like making decisions for the customer and that’s not right.”

Brad Wiechelman, West Coast sales account manager for Ride Control LLC’s Gabriel brand, believes tire dealers are missing an opportunity as they are in the best position to sell these parts.

“Tire dealerships are the best customer centers where (customers) actually can get someone to look at their front end and do an inspection,” he says.

“It’s good for the service bay and good for the customer. The more you look, the better job you are doing for the customer.”

A very simple tool — the humble tape measure — comes in handy, too, he adds. Measure each corner of the car for ride height.

Then refer to a chart that tells you the correct ride height for that vehicle and you are off to a great start, Wiechelman explains. ■ MTD October 2021

9/23/21 9:53 AM

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Commercial Tire Dealer™

SEARCHING FOR TIRES AND PEOPLE

COMMERCIAL TIRE DEALERS PERSEVERE — AND FIND SILVER LININGS — AMID SUPPLY CONSTRAINTS By

Joy Kopcha

W

hat’s more scarce at your tire dealership — tires or people? If you can’t pick one, you’re not alone. The nation’s largest commercial tire dealerships have been grappling with shortages on both fronts.

On the tire side, dealers are doing everything they can to secure the tires their customers need. They’re working closely with tire manufacturers to communicate needs, sourcing new brands to fill in gaps and paying sky-high shipping rates to secure orders.

At the same time, tire dealers are educating their customers on these supply chain challenges.

As for the shortage of people, the tire industry is part of a universal call for help.

Dealers are searching for workers in any number of ways and are offering sign-on bonuses, higher wages and more benefits to attract workers. They’re dedicating cash to retain workers, too.

It sets up a challenging backdrop, to be sure — sell tires, which aren’t readily available, with people, who aren’t readily available. Not to mention, the costs of tires and people have both accelerated.

But dealers have found a way.

Also in CTD Top 25 Independent Commercial Tire Dealers in the U.S. list .......................40 Wild road service tales: Techs learn to expect the unexpected..................42 Servicing coal mines takes teamwork: King Tire, supplier team up....44 AG Tire Talk: Ag tiremakers explain product names, technologies ...........46 Brand cultivation: CEAT builds name, expands distribution network ..........47 Vipal brings equipment to NA...........47 Commercially Viable .........................48

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Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based Tredroc Tire Services Inc. says it is experiencing supply issues not only with medium truck tires, but with some OTR tires, as well. “In many cases, it’s not necessarily the product itself, but lack of transportation options” that are causing problems, says Tredroc CEO Larry Jeffries.

INVENTORY ADAPTATIONS

Commercial tire dealers are facing supply issues at every step of the process.

Brian Chase, regional sales manager at Frederick, Md.-based Rice Tire Co., says, “We rely heavily on our purchasing team to keep the tires we move in stock. While they do a tremendous job, several tires and sizes are out of our control.

“We’ve had to sit down with customers and make them aware of what’s happening in the tire world and let them know even if we don’t have the specific tire they like to run, we will make sure to always have a way to keep their fleet up and running.”

Kevin Good, vice president of Good Tire Services, says his Kittanning, Pa.-based dealership has been forced “to stock some products we haven’t before and/or stock slightly heavier on some items.”

Don Mead, CEO of Bradenton, Fla.based Callaghan Tire Inc., says supply is tight across the board.

“Fill rates run in the 25% to 35% range, with the remainder on back order.

“The majority of back orders are filled within two to three weeks in most critical sizes and applications, but overall, it’s hand to mouth.”

Rick Benton, who runs the wholesale division of Whiteville, N.C.-based Black’s Tire Service Inc., calls the lack of top-brand medium truck tires a “major issue,” which has been compounded by multiple price

hikes. (Some tiremakers have raised prices four times in 2021.)

“It costs dealers so much more now to stock and carry the inventory. A $300 truck tire now costs 25% more. Imagine all the cash flow it ties up.”

And on top of that, import tire prices have gone up, too, due to freight and container surcharges. Those imports — and the still-rising fees associated with them — continue to be a pain point.

John Ziegler Jr., vice president of Ziegler Tire & Supply Co., which is based in Massillon, Ohio, says pricing and supply issues have forced his company to adapt its inventory strategy.

“We have hedged our orders more aggressively to try to keep product coming in the pipeline.”

LOOKING ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

The inventory situation has revealed a few silver linings. At Callaghan Tire, Mead has identified at least three.

The first is that tiremakers have been good about sharing what’s coming down the pipeline, “giving us line of sight to their expectations for the next four or five months.”

That gives the dealership the time to talk to customers about switching to another option if their preferred product isn’t immediately available.

And at times, says Mead, “we have used our retreading capability to ease their pain.”

MTD October 2021

9/23/21 9:57 AM

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A NEW GENERATION OF CONSTRUCTION TRUCK TIRES

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9/22/2021 2:21:05 PM

Commercial Tire Dealer™ With fewer tires available, inventory also is turning faster. “Our inventory levels are understandably lower. To a certain extent, this has been good, as our turns have gone up and we have been able to move some excess and slower-moving stock.”

Walter Dealtrey, CEO and president of Bethlehem, Pa.-based Service Tire Truck Centers Inc. says inventory levels are helping his company’s financials.

“The good news is we have less inventory to carry, which helps the balance sheet. While it’s difficult to obtain everything we need, our sales are still up a lot over both 2019 and 2020.”

A STRATEGY FOR RECRUITING

Tire dealers are no strangers to working hard to find good employees.

Historically, there’s been a shortage of automotive technicians and other mechanically-minded workers entering the industry. And the skill set for the commercial business is even more pronounced.

But the search has been exacerbated by the larger condition of the U.S. workforce as the economy rebounds from the pandemic.

Dealtrey boils down the long-term effect at STTC. “If we had more people we could grow even more,” he says.

“We are doing more with less people, but we are paying more for the ones we have.”

As for recruiting, Dealtrey says the company is offering a bonus to employees who recommend a new worker, plus signing bonuses for new employees.

The search spans social media, physical signs and personal offers to people his team encounters at other businesses.

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Callaghan Tire has a similar approach.

Mead says wages for service technicians and retread technicians have increased up to 25%.

“Recruiting efforts have been a struggle,” he reveals. “We have concentrated our search on people who are currently employed, as they have already made the decision to work. Being the employer of the unemployed is a futile strategy.”

Bauer Built invested in a robotic Earl Colvard, presiwheel painter that will help the dent of Deland, Fla.tire dealership produce 50% more wheels with the same labor force. based Boulevard Tire The painter applies a consistent Center, says he’s still coating, which is verified during having trouble finding the quality control process. Each piece is labeled so customers can and retaining workers, verify and track their wheels. “despite the fact we have increased wages.”

On top of higher pay, Good Tire and Rice Tire have both expanded their offerings of benefits for employees.

The cost of not just wages — but also those benefits — has increased. Benton at Black’s Tire points out that “the opportunity for careers in the commercial service business are tremendous.”

John McCarthy Jr., president of Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-based McCarthy Tire Service Co. Inc., says his dealership is doubling down on its motto that “McCarthy Tire is a great place to work.

“Our focus has been to get ahead of losing a great teammate and to take care of them before they consider leaving us.

“Although we regularly review wages to ensure consistency and competitiveness, we were more focused on this task during the past year. We increased wages of many teammates and rolled our bonus incentives for their dedication to McCarthy Tire.”

ADDING MECHANICAL SERVICES

One area that several dealers are tackling is the expansion of truck mechanical services. St. Cloud, Minn.-based Royal Tire is doing mobile mechanical repair in several locations and mobile alignments at each of its locations, says President Mick Pickens.

Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based Tredroc Tire Service Inc., Ziegler Tire and Boulevard Tire are expanding their service options.

Updating tools and equipment is a regular part of the process for most dealers and on the commercial side, that, too, has been affected by the nation’s resurgence from the pandemic.

Dealers report that service trucks and other pieces of equipment are on back order.

Even though Bauer Built Tire & Service says its biggest investments in the last year were in its people, the company also purchased a robotic wheel painter for its home base in Durand, Wis. Mike Weber, Bauer Built’s vice president of operations and manufacturing, says the device “allows us to produce 50% more wheels with the same labor force.”

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T o p 2 5 I n d e p e n d e n t X Cx ox m x xm e r c i a l T i r e D e a l e r s

Points based on number of outlets

(in millions)

Rank based on 2020 estimated commercial sales

Service trucks

Retread plants

Truck tire brands

Commercialonly outlets/ commercial-retail outlets*

Chief Officer

Rank, company, headquarters, website

2021 Modern Tire Dealer Top 25 Independent Commercial Tire Dealers in the U.S.

1. Southern Tire Mart LLC Columbia, Miss. www.stmtires.com

Jim and Tommy Duff, owners

119/38

Bridgestone, Continental, Dayton, Double Coin, Firestone, General, Gladiator, Toyo, Yokohama

24

1,035

$1,850

330

2. Best-One Tire Group Monroe, Ind. www.bestonetire.com

Larry Zurcher and Mark Zurcher, CEOs

91/59

BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Continental, Firestone, General, Goodyear, Mastercraft, Michelin, Roadmaster, Toyo, Uniroyal, Yokohama,

16

600plus

$501

238

3. Snider Tire Inc., dba Snider Fleet Solutions, Newton, N.C., www.sniderfleet.com

Marty Herndon, chairman and CEO

80plus

BFGoodrich, Continental, General, Hankook, Michelin, Sailun, Sumitomo, Uniroyal, Yokohama

9

500

$500

169

4. Pomp’s Tire Service Inc. Green Bay, Wis. www.pompstire.com

Jim Wochinske, CEO

43/78

Bridgestone, Continental, Double Coin, Firestone, General, Gladiator, Goodyear, Hankook, Kelly, Michelin, Yokohama

15

500

$410

218

5. McCarthy Tire Service Co. Inc. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. www.mccarthytire.com

John McCarthy Jr., president

37/15

BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Continental, Firestone, General, Gladiator, Michelin, Westlake, Yokohama, Zenna

10

672

$379

113

6. *Les Schwab Tire Centers Inc. Bend, Ore. www.lesschwab.com

Jack Cuniff, CEO

0/443

Bridgestone, Continental, Double Coin, Falken, Firestone, Michelin, Toyo,

1

1,500

$330

178

7. Bauer Built Inc., dba Bauer Built Tire & Service, Durand, Wis., www.bauerbuilt.com

Jerry Bauer, chairman and CEO

23/12

Ameristeel, BFGoodrich, Continental, Cooper, General, Hercules, Kumho, Michelin, Uniroyal

6

116

$279

69

8. Service Tire Truck Centers Inc., Bethlehem, Pa. www.sttc.com

Walter Dealtrey, CEO and president

50/3

BFGoodrich, Cooper, Goodyear, Kelly, Michelin, Roadmaster, Yokohama

5

265

$256

110

9. Purcell Tire & Rubber Co., dba Purcell Tire and Service Centers Potosi, Mo. www.purcelltire.com

Roger Lucas, CEO

30/47

BFGoodrich, Continental, Dunlop, General, Goodyear, Hankook, Michelin, Yokohama

8

248

$216

142

10. Earl W. Colvard Inc., dba Boulevard Tire Center Deland, Fla. www.boulevardtire.com

Earl Colvard, president

28/4

BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Continental, Dayton, Firestone, General, Gladiator, Michelin, Roadmaster, Uniroyal, Yokohama

4

286

$215

64

11. Parkhouse Tire Inc., Bell Gardens, Calif. www.parkhousetire.com

Jim Parkhouse, CEO

14/0

BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Continental, Firestone, General, Michelin, Yokohama

3

140

$186

31

12. T&W Tire LLC, Oklahoma City, Okla. www.tandwtire.com

Kane Russell, John Theissen and Steve Theissen, owners

0/28

BFGoodrich, Continental, Hankook, Michelin, Uniroyal, Yokohama,

4

60

$156

49

13. Bob Sumerel Tire Co. Inc. Erlanger, Ky. www.bobsumereltire.com

Bob Sumerel, CEO

17/9

Bridgestone, Continental, Firestone, General, Goodyear, Roadmaster, Yokohama

6

110

$145

56

14. Ziegler Tire & Supply Co., dba Ziegler Tire Massillon, Ohio www.zieglertire.com

William Ziegler, president

0/21

BFGoodrich, Continental, Firestone, General, Hankook, Michelin, Navitrac, RoadX, Samsun, Sumitomo, Uniroyal, Yokohama

2

140

$130

41

15. Commercial Tire Inc. Meridian, Idaho www.commercialtire.com

Bob Schwenkfelder, CEO

15/24

Bridgestone, Cooper, Firestone, Galaxy, Giti, Roadmaster, RoadX, Yokohama

3

143

$126

64

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MTD October 2021

9/27/21 11:46 AM

T o p 2 5 I n d e p e n d e n tX xC xo xmxm e r c i a l T i r e D e a l e r s

105

$125

27

17. Tredroc Tire Services Inc. Elk Grove Village, Ill. www.tredroc.com

Larry Jeffries, CEO

19/0

Bridgestone, Continental, Cooper, Dayton, Falken, Firestone, General, Goodyear, Hankook, Roadmaster, Yokohama

4

185

$123

42

18. McGriff Tire Co. Inc., dba McGriff Tire, Cullman, Ala., www.mcgrifftire.com

Barry McGriff, president

12/0

BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Continental, General, Michelin, Yokohama, Uniroyal

2

80

$122

26

19. Jack’s Tire and Oil Management Co. Inc. Logan, Utah www.jackstireandoil.com

Bob Feldbauer, president/CEO

4/12

BFGoodrich, Continental, Falken, General, Goodyear, Hankook, Michelin, Sailun, Sumitomo, Toyo, Uniroyal, Yokohama,

6

88

$112

36

20. Pete’s Tire Barns Inc. Orange, Mass. www.petestire.com

Peter Gerry, CEO

0/25

Ameristeel, Bridgestone, Continental, Double Coin, Firestone, General, Michelin, Nokian

3

160

$100

41

21. Black’s Tire Service Inc. Whiteville, N.C. www.blackstire.com

Ricky Benton, president

0/50

Cooper, Double Coin, Dunlop, Falken, Goodyear, Hankook, Kelly, Roadmaster,

1

160

$90

51

22. Nebraskaland Tire Co. Inc., dba Nebraskaland Tire, Kansasland Tire and Coloradoland Tire, Lexington, Neb. www.thetirestore.com

Gary Wright, president

5/25

Aeolus, Dunlop, Goodyear, Kelly, Roadmaster

3

65

$81

48

23. Sullivan Tire Co. Inc. Norwell, Mass. www.sullivantire.com

Robert Sullivan, president

15/1

API, Bridgestone, Double Coin, Dunlop, Firestone, Goodyear, Kelly

2

90

$70

33

24. Royal Tire Inc. St. Cloud, Minn. www.royaltire.com

Mick Pickens, president

15/0

Bridgestone, Continental, Double Coin, Falken, Firestone, General, Michelin

3

121

$66

33

25. Valley Tire Co. Inc. Charleroi, Pa. www.valleytire.com

Jim Stankiewicz, president

7/8

BFGoodrich, Continental, General, Michelin, Sumitomo, Uniroyal, Yokohama

1

75

$64

29

Points based on number of outlets

5

(in millions)

Rank based on 2020 estimated commercial sales

BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Cooper, Continental, Falken, Firestone, General, Gladiator, Michelin, Roadmaster, Uniroyal, Yokohama

Retread plants

11/0

Truck tire brands

J.D. Chastain, president

Chief Officer

16. Redburn Tire Co. Phoenix, Ariz. www.redburntireco.com

Rank, company, headquarters, website

Service trucks

Commercialonly outlets/ commercial-retail outlets*

2021 Modern Tire Dealer Top 25 Independent Commercial Tire Dealers in the U.S.

*Les Schwab store total does not include member-dealer stores.

HOW RANKINGS ARE DETERMINED: To be ranked on the MTD Top 25 Commercial Tire Dealers in the U.S. list, a dealer has to sell truck tires, have at least one retread plant and offer 24/7 emergency roadside service. Points are tabulated based on number of outlets. Each commercial-only outlet receives two points. Each retread plant receives one point. The number of combined commercial/retail outlets is multiplied by the estimated percentage of commercial sales and then multiplied by two. The highest 25 point totals make up the list. Then dealers are ranked based on MTD’s estimate of their commercial sales.

COMPANY-OWNED NETWORK UPDATE: In addition to independent commercial tire dealerships, commercial tires and in some cases, retreaded tires, are also available through tire manufacturer-owned networks and truck stop chains: • Bridgestone Americas Inc. says it will operate 59 GCR Tires & Service locations by the end of 2021, all of them in the U.S.; • Continental Tire the Americas LLC says it operates 26 BestDrive locations throughout the U.S., and; • Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. operates around 200 Goodyear Commercial Tire & Service Center locations in the U.S. Truck stop chains continue to add locations. At press time, Pilot Travel Centers operated more than 800 Pilot Flying J Truck Care locations across more than 40 states; Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores Inc. operated more than 400 Love’s Truck Care and Speedco locations; and TravelCenters of America Inc. operated more than 270 full-service travel centers under several different brands.

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Tr u c k t i r e s

WILD ROAD SERVICE TALES TECHS LEARN TO EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED By

Mike Manges

F

rozen lug nuts, bad weather and heavy traffic — these are some of the more mundane surprises that road service technicians can encounter.

But once in a while, you come across a situation that’s so odd you remember it many years later, says Clinton Smith, service truck tech for Exit 11 Truck Tire Service, which is based in Richfield, Ohio.

“When I was 20 years old, we got a call from a hauler who was delivering rental cars,” he recalls.

After unloading, the truck’s driver “ran over a strip of spikes” while exiting the lot — resulting in 18 flat tires.

Smith tracked down replacement “Don’t put yourself in harm’s way just to get the job done faster,” says Clinton tires, recruited his brother to help and Smith of Exit 11 Truck Tire Service in Richfield, Ohio. Smith has had his share of drove to the truck’s location. memorable service calls and says nothing is more important than safety.

“I asked the driver, ‘So what happened?’ and he said, ‘I don’t know. I heard a bunch of air leaking and thought I had blown an airbag or “I guess the one I remember the most is when they sent me to something.’ He didn’t know what he’d done.” a campground” to replace a tire on an RV. “I called the guy who owned the RV to let him know I was on my It took five hours to get the truck up and running. way. And he said, ‘Just to let you know, this is a clothing-optional “That was a big bill!”

Another time, Smith was routed to a truck that had “a rock that campground.’” was stuck between two duals.”

Rennicker jokes that he was the best-dressed person there!

Severe weather can present its own challenges. “A few years At least that’s what the dispatcher told him.

“I was thinking maybe it was a softball-sized rock stuck between ago, I was out in 20-below zero temperatures. That’s pretty brutal.” some tires. We’ve seen that before.”

Other memorable calls have involved man-made dangers, “like The rock turned out to be a 150-pound “boulder” that was lodged drivers who don’t move over” to provide proper clearance. between the front and rear axles of the rig’s trailer.

“One night I had a semi go past me so closely, it shook my soul.

“I had to remove all the tires to get the boulder out,” says Smith.

I didn’t see it, but I felt it. It was entirely too close.”

“And then I put the tires back on.

This happened despite the fact the Rennicker had set up reflective “I was not expecting to see that. The driver had run over a triangles and other safety devices. snowbank and the boulder was hidden inside of it. That’s how it “We preach safety to our service technicians as much as we got wedged up underneath there.” can,” says John Ziegler III, regional sales and operations manager for Ziegler Tire.

Some road service jobs have included brushes with fame.

“I’ve done a couple of calls for the big motorhomes and buses “We know it’s not the easiest job in the world. It’s tough work. that rock stars drive around in,” including one that belonged to We give them the most training to make sure they go home safely classic rocker Steve Miller. every night.”

“He wasn’t on the bus,” says Smith. “But I met Phil Vassar, the Smith agrees that safety is the top priority. country singer, while replacing tires on his bus.”

When it comes to calls, “if you don’t feel comfortable, don’t do K.C. Rennicker works out of Ziegler Tire & Supply Co.’s facility it. Whether you have to make a driver limp to an exit or call the in Dover, Ohio. (Ziegler Tire is based in nearby Massillon, Ohio.) highway patrol and ask for a cruiser to sit behind you and close off He has been a road service tech for 15 years. a lane while you work, don’t put yourself in harm’s way just to get “There have been a few” memorable calls, he says. the job done faster.” ■

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MTD October 2021

9/23/21 10:30 AM

We heard you—modern shops demand more. The R1200 Leverless Pro Tire Changer is packed with the most advanced, user-friendly features in our wheel service lineup.

Learn more at rotarywheelservice.com/R1200.

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9/22/2021 2:19:54 PM

OTR tires

SERVICING COAL MINES TAKES TEAMWORK KING TIRE PARTNERS WITH OTR TIRE SUPPLIER TO OPTIMIZE TIRE LIFE By

Ron Ledgard

B

uilding a tire to service coal mines takes a team. That’s what King Tire Service Inc. of Bluewell, W. Va., and Yokohama Tire Corp. discovered while working with several coal mining companies throughout West Virginia to develop an OTR tire, the Yokohama Y67 IND-3, some 10 years ago.

Severe terrain — plus the workloads and demands that coal mines impose on tires — can add up to multiple tire changes, according to officials from King Tire, which has 13 locations and employs nearly 200 people.

Coal mines and natural gas companies make up nearly 60% of the dealership’s business. The company has six employees who report directly to customers’ mines on a daily basis.

King Tire also operates two, dedicated underground mining tire shops.

King Tire officials say they work closely with Yokohama OffHighway Tires America Inc. (YOHTA) to help maximize the life of customers’ tires through after-sale service. (Earlier this year, Yokohama Tire Corp. decoupled from its OTR tire business, which now operates under the YOHTA banner.)

Adam Turner, OTR district sales manager at YOHTA, says he usually goes with King Tire representatives and members of his company’s sales team to mines, where they talk with equipment maintenance managers.

“We sit down with them and then look at some of the tires that came out of the mine,” he says.

“We are looking for any specific issues. And if we can’t solve the problem then, I will take pictures or possibly take a tire back to the dealership’s shop, where I will bring up an engineering team to take a look.”

Turner says the information they gather is priceless and can be used to develop a new product or a new maintenance procedure that will save the client money and help it to not go through as many tires so quickly.

King Tire employees also work on above-ground vehicles at mine sites, too.

Chris Rule, operations manager at King Tire, says his people “work with mechanics on-site to service vehicles. These are big operations.”

And tire technology is always changing.

“Everyone is always trying to build a better mousetrap,” says Rule. “Surface and underground tires have different compounds, based on (service) conditions. If a tire is a short-haul product, it will have a more cut- and chip-resistant compound.

“If it’s a long-haul tire, you will need a different compound — more natural rubber, rather than synthetic.”

For tracking purposes, King Tire brands and dates all of the underground mining tires it sells.

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“Everyone is always trying to build a better mousetrap,” says Chris Rule, operations manager at King Tire, a 13-location dealership based in Bluewell, W. Va.. that counts several coal mines as customers. “Surface and underground tires have different compounds, based on (service) conditions. If a tire is a short-haul product, it will have a more cut- and chip-resistant compound. If it’s a long-haul tire, you will need a different compound — more natural rubber, rather than synthetic.”

TEAM EFFORT

The Yokohama Y67 IND-3 is an example of the work King Tire and Yokohama did to get enhanced ingenuity into the field, according to Rule.

He says the machinery that King Tire’s mining customers were using pushed the limit of existing tires. And that was when they ere running unloaded.

Adding coal and the fact that machines had to travel over rock only compounded the problem.

Yokohama took existing tire molds and modified them, says Rule.

“They kept the mold, put a four-inch spacer band in the middle, and voila — they had a wider tire at the same height.”

The new tire also sported a wider footprint to “spread the weight out to carry a little bit more load,” says Turner.

Another challenge was making the tire more durable.

“The compounding that we came out with was like a bowling ball compound, because you couldn’t destroy it,” says Turner.

“The secret sauce is the compounding. It’s kind of like baking a cake.”

Officials from both King Tire and YOHTA say staying in close contact with mining operations is critical.

“And that isn’t just for new tires,” says Turner. “It’s to make present products even better.”

In the mining business, there is always something new to think about, he adds.

King Tire and its supplier are “looking for constant feedback — what we can do differently to make this even better.” ■ MTD October 2021

9/23/21 10:31 AM

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9/22/2021 2:19:15 PM

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A G T i r e Ta l k

THE NAME GAME AG TIREMAKERS EXPLAIN PRODUCT NAMES, TECHNOLOGIES Modern Tire Dealer has partnered with AG Tire Talk to provide answers to insightful questions that farm tire dealers have about farm tire technology. This is the next installment in our ongoing series, which is designed to help farm tire dealers better connect with their customers. A trending question, followed by answers, will appear in our Commercial Tire Dealer section every other month. For complete answers, click on www.agtiretalk.com.

QUESTION: What are some proprietary tire manufacturer naming conventions and technologies?

DAVE PAULK, manager, field technical services, BKT USA Inc.: Syncing with how we continue to evolve as a company — building even more sophisticated and technologically advanced products, along with standard numeric naming conventions — we have added names applicable to specific equipment and tire performance.

The Agrimax Sirio is a high-speed tire developed for highperformance tractors. Some sizes are increased flexion (IF)-rated to carry loads at lower air pressure. The Agrimax Spargo tire is designed with very-high flexion (VF) technology to carry heavier loads at standard air pressures for reduced soil compaction.

The Agrimax Spargo tire is designed with VF technology to carry heavier loads at standard air pressures. The Agrimax Teris is designed for harvesters, cotton pickers and grain carts. Most sizes are cyclic harvest operation (CHO) or IF-CFO-rated to carry heavy loads in cyclic operations and minimize soil compaction.

DANA BERGER, ag business development manager, Continental Specialty Tires: The simplicity behind Continental’s proprietary naming focuses on making the products stand out.

Continental tries to reach customers by describing different attributes of our products.

N.flex technology is Continental’s unique way of providing our agriculture radial tires with flexibility for impact, without permanent deformation. d.fine technology creates a deep lug overlap and allows smooth linkage between the tread block and tire base. This technology also will decrease vibration and therefore can create a quieter experience when on the road.

Continental agriculture radial tires follow a simple naming structure related to their aspect ratio. Tractor85 has an aspect ratio of 85%, while Tractor70 has an aspect ratio of 70%.

The term “Master” in Continental’s CombineMaster and TractorMaster expresses the pursuit of offering advanced technologies.

Both are part of Continental’s portfolio of radial agricultural tires.

GREG GILLAND, vice president, global agricultural program, Maxam Tire International: Our radial ag tires are designed to deliver a simple, yet effective range of tires grouped by aspect ratio and size to meet current — as well as future — equipment evolution.

Provided are Maxam nomenclature and tire sizing conventions: AGRIXTRA 85 — tires that have “80” or “85” in their sizes; AGRIXTRA 70 — tires that have “70” in their sizes; AGRIXTRA

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65 — tires that have “65” in their sizes; AGRIXTRA XL — tires for high-horsepower tractors or harvesters with “70” and “65” aspect ratios; AGRIXTRA H — high-volume tires for harvester or floater applications; AGRIXTRA N — narrow-application tires with “90” or “100” aspect ratios for tractors or sprayers; and FLOTXTRA — steel-constructed tires for high-load applications.

DAVID GRADEN, operational market manager, agriculture, Michelin North America Inc.: Over the years, Michelin has invented numerous ag tire technologies, several of which are global standard today. The Michelin “Self Cleaning Hinge” is probably the most basic concept. The idea is to reduce mud adhesion by allowing air between mud and the casing.

Probably the greatest Michelin agricultural invention is UltraFlex technology. Michelin invented UltraFlex in the late-’90s/early 2000s.

A lesser-known technology is our Stubble Shield rubber compounds.

As genetically modified products became the norm, producers needed a tire that could stand up to the new extreme stubble.

We also have begun stamping many of our IF and VF tires with “Air Systems Ready” on the sidewall.

This all started with Michelin acquired a central tire inflation company.

We realized we needed to be sure our tires could handle the constant increase and decrease in air pressures while working.

SCOTT SLOAN, ag product manager/global LSW, Titan International Inc.: Low Sidewall Technology — otherwise known as LSW — is exclusive to Titan and is a combination of our wheel and tire technologies. Tires with LSW feature a larger rim diameter and a smaller sidewall than a standard tire, while maintaining the same outside diameter of a comparable standard tire.

LSW tires meet the same load and inflation capabilities as VF and CFO tires, meaning they can help reduce soil compaction. They are also designed to help eliminate ride quality problems, such as power hop and road lope. T LSW technology is available in a variety of sizes — from row crops to flotation — on combines, tractors, grain carts and more.

NORBERTO HERBENER, OE applications engineer, Trelleborg Wheel Systems: Trelleborg’s Blue Dimension technology offers benefits like higher crop yields, lower fuel consumption and reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

Inter-Lug Terracing is an advanced design at the base of the lug that helps with mud ejection — maximizing the self-cleaning capability of the tire.

Wing-Effect enlarges the tread width. A wider tread means less compaction, better traction, more even wear and a smoother ride. ■ MTD October 2021

9/23/21 10:31 AM

B

Ag tires

BRAND CULTIVATION CEAT BUILDS NAME, BROADENS DISTRIBUTION NETWORK By

Mike Manges

T

he domestic ag tire market “is hot” right now, according to Ryan Loethen, president of CEAT Specialty Tires.

And CEAT, he says, is capitalizing on that momentum by building its distribution base, ramping up its marketing efforts and rolling out new products in growing segments.

“Right now, we’re selling to importers, who are selling to wholesale channels and are pushing our products out to retailers,” says Loethen, who spent two decades at Michelin North America Inc. before joining CEAT this past January.

“We have good, strong dealers who have bought into the idea of value-priced tires at premium performance.

“I don’t want to overlap people,” including other tire manufacturers, when it comes to distribution, “We have good, strong dealers who have bought into the idea of says Loethen. value-priced tires at premium performance,” says Ryan Loethen, “I think Michelin did a good job when they came to president of CEAT Specialty Tires Inc. the (U.S. ag tire) market. They don’t put (their product) on every street corner and we want to be the same way. We want our dealers to make money. The farmer has to make QUALITY PLUS VALUE “Obviously, we are newer to the U.S.” than some other ag tire money and so do our dealers.

“We don’t want to put (dealers) on top of each other,” he explains. manufacturers, says Loethen, who adds that before joining the “They want to plug in a product they know they don’t have to company, “I looked at the product. I looked at its performance worry about. and I looked at its price point and said, ‘This is a premium product “The last thing a dealer wants to do is warranty work. They that’s priced like a value line.’ We’re offering a premium line at a want to put in a quality product and make money. And they want price point the family farmer can afford.” to make the end user happy.”

Loethen speaks from experience. “I grew up on a farm. I know what it means to have to make decisions like, ‘Do I buy this piece BRAND BUILDING of equipment or do I put new tires on my tractor?’

To continue to build its name recognition, CEAT is ramping up “We’re for the family farm — the little guy who wants that edge its marketing investment. and wants that technology” but works within a leaner budget.

In August, the company announced a three-year sponsorship CEAT continues to introduce new products in high-tech segments. deal with the World Champions Road Alliance, which produces Last year, the company rolled out an addition to its Torquemax rodeo events throughout the United States. line that features very-high flexion (VF) technology — its first VF CEAT also will sponsor the Women’s Rodeo World Championship, offering for the North American market. which will take place in Las Vegas, Nev., next month.

Most of CEAT’s tires are made in India. Loethen says the company Amit Tolani, CEAT’s chief executive, says rodeo “is a natural has managed to steer clear of transpacific shipping complications. fit” for the company. “A large percentage of rodeo fans are farmers “Are there lags? Of course, they are. The world is so interconnected. But we do a good job of (keeping up with) demand and we and ranchers.”

CEAT’s marketing push also will include having a presence at get our tires on the water. farming industry shows.

“Would I like to have more? Absolutely. But we have good “We held a contest last year during the Farm Progress Show that distributors and they’re warehousing the product. asked ‘How do you pronounce CEAT?’” “It’s incumbent on us to forecast accurately and make sure we The Farm Progress Show gives farmers an opportunity to see have the right tires in the right places at the right time. Production ag equipment in action. is not an issue. We have excellent factories and excellent people in “We have to get the (CEAT) name out there and have to get our those factories. tires out to farms.”

“Everything we can get in the U.S., we can sell,” he adds. ■ w w w . M o d e r n T i r e D e a l e r. c o m

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9/23/21 10:32 AM

Retreading

VIPAL BRINGS RETREAD EQUIPMENT TO NORTH AMERICA PETE’S ROAD SERVICE, OTHERS ARE USING MACHINES

By

Mike Manges

L

ongtime tread rubber supplier Vipal Rubber Co. is now in the retread machinery business in North America.

Earlier this year, the company’s Vipal Machinery division installed a second machine at Pete’s Road Service’s truck tire retread plant in Corona, Calif, and is pursuing business with other North America-based retreaders. (The company also sells retread equipment in its native Brazil, as well as Argentina, El Salvador, New Zealand, Spain and Uruguay.)

Last year, Pete’s Road Service installed a Vipal VR01 Smart Duo buffer, which removes tread from casings.

The commercial tire dealership already had “a very good experience with Vipal in the supply of precure treads and now we also are betting on their equipment, which should give us significant quality gains,” Noe Lara, Pete’s Road Service’s operational manager, said at the time.

Six months ago, Pete’s added Vipal’s VOC 760 Cargo extruder to its plant.

Vipal also has sold equipment to Retread Solutions, which is based in North Carolina.

“Vipal sees the U.S. as one of its main markets and understands the importance of it as the world’s largest market for retreading,” says Gabriel Fuma, commercial manager for the company’s NAFTA region.

“Having our equipment in North America is very promising,” says Fuma, who adds that Vipal builds all of its equipment in-house.

“Tire retreading in the U.S. is a reference for the whole world, as it is the largest in volume sales and where the biggest players are found. In addition, Vipal has distribution centers in strategic locations throughout the country.

“In this context, the entry of our machines on U.S. soil symbolizes a new step for us, especially considering the size of our customers.”

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MTD October 2021

9/30/21 9:51 AM

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9/22/2021 2:22:58 PM

Commercially Viable BKT expands Earthmax OTR line

Michelin adds wide-base tire

Balkrishna Industries Ltd.’s (BKT) new Earthmax SR 412 is designed for articulated dump trucks, loaders and dozers.

The tire is the latest addition to BKT’s Earthmax line, which includes more than 20 products. The Earthmax 412 is available in two sizes, 29.5R25 and 750/65R25, and features a robust casing with steel belts to enable the transportation of heavy loads, “while avoiding tears and punctures,” according to BKT officials.

BALKRISHNA INDUSTRIES LTD. www.bkt-tires.com

Michelin North America Inc. has launched the Michelin X One Multi T wide-base truck tire for high-scrub, weight-sensitive, spread and multi-axle trailer applications.

The tire features a dualcompound tread that resists scrubbing, a directional tread design that helps minimize irregular wear, a cool internal layer for optimized casing life and more. The Michelin X One Multi T tire is available in size 445/50R22.5.

MICHELIN NORTH AMERICA INC. www.michelintruck.com

Yokohama 715R is now 3-Peak-certified

Pre-Q rolls out extreme winter tread

Yokohama Tire Corp.’s 715R open shoulder regional drive tire will now carry the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol.

The SmartWay-verified tire comes in four sizes: 11R22.5, 285/75R22.5, 285/75R24.5 and 11R24.5. It features a deep, 26/32-inch tread pattern for longer wear, open shoulder blocks to optimize traction, an exclusive compound that is both cut- and chip-resistant, 16-ply construction and more.

YOKOHAMA TIRE CORP. www.yokohamatruck.com

Pre-Q Galgo Corp.’s new Winter Mileage Performance tread has been engineered to withstand extreme winter temperatures — even down to 80 degrees below freezing.

The tread, which has earned 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake certification, features interlocking sipes that combine with a stable block pattern to provide optimal traction, plus enhanced mileage, even wear and improved handling. The new tread is available in a wide variety of widths and depths.

PRE-Q GALGO CORP. www.pre-q.com

GRI adds size to row crop tire

ARLIE cleans hubs, wheel surfaces

Global Rubber Industries Pvt. Ltd. (GRI) has added a new size, 230/95R32, to its Green XLR 95 ag tire, which targets row crop and sprayer applications.

The Green XLR 95 features a cut- and wear-resistant compound with a rounded shoulder that minimizes field and crop damage, plus inter-lug “mud breakers” that provide enhanced self-cleaning capabilities, according to GRI officials.

GLOBAL RUBBER INDUSTRIES PVT. LTD. www.gritires.com

New from Infinite Concepts Manufacturing, the ARLIE (Advanced Rim Lug Internal Exterior) tool helps commercial tire technicians clean wheel stubs, hubs and wheel mating surfaces more effectively. The ARLIE tool rotates in one direction on and off the stud, while simulatenously cleaning the stud and hub area through the use of an internal brush, as well as an abrasive head. Both parts are replaceable for the lifetime of the tool’s use. ARLIE also features an ergonomic sleeve for easy handling by technicians.

INFINITE CONCEPTS MANUFACTURING www.infiniteconceptsmfg.com

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MTD October 2021

9/29/21 10:31 AM

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9/22/2021 3:30:08 PM

TEN Insights

Opportunities to improve your business are everywhere ARE YOU PREPARED TO SPOT THEM AND TAKE ACTION? By

Jeff Morgan

I

know you have heard this old exchange at some point in your career: “Knock, knock!”

“What’s that?”

“It’s the sound of opportunity knocking.”

If only it was that easy, right?

Well, the reality is that often opportunities can be right in front of you. It’s your job to pay attention, recognize that they are there and find a way to act upon them.

These opportunities may not be huge and glaring. In fact, some of the most beneficial opportunities may seem small at the start. Think of it like a plant in your garden. With the right amount of care and nurturing, it can grow into something spectacular!

Some of the biggest opportunities that you have right now are already Some of the biggest opportunities that you have right now are already within your within your dealership. dealership. Many of the vehicles that roll onto your lot every day have needs that are For example, many of the vehicles that going unrecognized. Are you discussing these opportunities with customers? roll onto your lot every day have needs that are going unrecognized.

Now, understand that I am not trying to suggest that you start that your dealership offers these services, as well. (Too often, we hard-selling everything under the sun to the customers that you assume that they already know.) already have. What I am suggesting is that you expand yourself Even if customers decline extra services, you have sown the to become a better partner with your customers in helping to seed about them if issues crop up during the vehicle inspection. maintain their vehicles.

The same goes for someone coming in for a specific maintenance service, like an oil change. Proactively ask if there are any other For example, if a customer is coming to you for a set of tires, we know it’s important to talk about an alignment. But do you scheduled maintenance items they would like to take care of proactively ask if there are any other maintenance services — like while they are there. Again, if nothing else, it raises awareness. an oil change, a coolant flush or wiper blade replacement — that Most customers know that they need to change their oil every they would like to have done while they are there? so often, but do they know that they need to do the same with coolant, transmission fluid, brake fluid, etc.?

Would it be more convenient for your customers to take care You might be surprised. of these things while they are already at your dealership?

You might be thinking that your technicians would automatiIf they ask when those services are due, you now have an cally pick those services up when performing a free, courtesy opportunity to become their partner in maintaining their vehicle inspection. And I hope you are thinking this way! If you’re not, by pulling up and sharing their vehicle’s maintenance schedule.

Even if you do not get the add-on service now, you likely will that’s a huge missed opportunity in and of itself.

Secondly, are you sure that your technicians would flag these in the future. items? I am confident that many times, these opportunities Also, as I mentioned earlier, performing courtesy inspections are missed. of tires, fluids, filters, belts, hoses, lights and wipers is a huge By proactively asking, you’re at least letting the customer know opportunity to improve your business if done consistently and

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MTD October 2021

9/30/21 9:50 AM

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9/22/2021 2:31:45 PM

TEN Insights accurately. I have discussed this in many previous articles, so I will not dwell on it further here. However, I would like to point out just one piece that I am sure is an untapped opportunity — and that’s tire inspections.

Too often, I simply see a tread depth measurement and an air pressure level reading — neither of which typically look very accurate. On top of that, I rarely see that tires are truly inspected.

I once worked with a business leader who stated that he could go into any dealership with six or more bays and find a nail or another object in a tire on a vehicle. When challenged on this, he typically delivered.

Granted, not all objects were causing leaks, but what this did demonstrate is that careful inspection would reveal more opportunities.

How many potentially damaged tires are found in your store each day? What about tire age? Is your staff looking for and documenting if tires have Department of Transportation numbers that denote advanced age? While this does not necessarily always lead to a required replacement, it is something that your customer should be made aware of.

Perhaps it could generate tire sale discussions that may not have occurred otherwise?

For those of you who are heavily in the commercial tire business, how about leveraging some retail opportunities? Those fleets that you deal with have employees who own personal vehicles. Why not create some special promotion to attract them to do business with you?

Regardless of what you do, you have a great opportunity to generate loyal customers from an already-loyal source. And as more of their employees do business with you, the loyalty of the commercial account will grow, as well.

For those of you who are more geared to the retail tire business, how about leveraging the value of doing business with small, local service fleets?

Local florists, plumbers, carpenters and other small businesses can be great boosters of your own business.

These operators typically have a small fleet of two to five vehicles. And you may be taking care of their employees’ personal vehicles already. Are those employees in uniform or being picked up in a company vehicle? If so, strike up a conversation about who is in charge of taking care of their employer’s vehicles. Use this exchange to gather some information about the size of the company’s fleet, what their needs typically are, who is currently servicing them and more.

The bottom line is that someone outside of that business is probably servicing these vehicles. Why can’t that be you?

Other opportunities that are currently in your dealership could be related to your shop equipment.

I am not suggesting making huge purchases and upgrading everything you have. What I am suggesting is that you use a critical eye to determine how your existing equipment can help make your people more efficient and help you gain new business.

You may have some machines that have been limping along for some time. If you look back, you may see that the money you

spent to keep those old things going would have paid for new, much more efficient versions.

Research what technology is out there regarding some of the equipment that you currently have. Perhaps an investment would be off-set by significantly better productivity?

In addition, is it time to invest in equipment that can set you ahead of the competition or make your technicians better-equipped to take care of more of your customers’ needs?

Let’s look at advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), for example. Many excuses have been made for not investing in equipment that can service ADAS-equipped vehicles.

“The equipment is just too bulky.”

“The selection of equipment is too limited.”

“It’s not what we need right now.”

Well, these things are not the case anymore.There are many products out there that are able to service the majority of systems in a more confined area.

Also, let’s be honest with ourselves — ADAS is not going away. In fact, it’s growing.

More and more of your customers are coming in with vehicles that are equipped with ADAS. Not only are you missing revenue opportunities if you cannot service them, but you are driving your customers to competitors that can. Just like you, these competitors will do everything they can to gain more of that customer’s business moving forward.

The last — but not least — opportunity in your shop right now is your people. Your employees are a great resource! Ask them for suggestions on how to improve operational procedures and your service offerings. Ask them for customer retention ideas.

Empower them to help drive your business forward and you will see great things happen. Not only will great ideas come forth, but a much more loyal, dedicated employee base will form. Your people will feel like they are more than just employees. They will feel they are part of something bigger than themselves.

When your people feel this way, they can be your best new employee recruitment service. Word will get out that your business is the best place to work.

Not only will your need to hire people be reduced, but the quality and quantity of the available candidate pool will rise. Your current employees will recommend you to other good people, as they will not allow poor performers to enter into the business that they are now invested in.

Yes, opportunities are everywhere. Are you prepared to see them?

Henry Ford famously said, “If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right!”

If you do not believe opportunities exist within your business, you’re right — not because that is the case, but because this is what you believe.

However, once you open your eyes and ears to the possibilities, you will begin to recognize them. “Knock, knock…” ■

Some of the biggest opportunities that you have right now are already within your dealership.

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Tire industry veteran Jeff Morgan is the executive director of TEN (Training and Education Network), including the DSP (Dealer Strategic Planning) 20 Group. He can be reached at jeff.morgan@20dsp.com or (651) 846-9871. For more information, see www.20DSP.com.

MTD October 2021

9/22/21 3:57 PM

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9/28/2021 9:20:49 AM

Business Insight

Risk management

DON’T LET THE DELTA VARIANT SHUT DOWN YOUR BUSINESS By

Dennis McCarron

T

he delta variant of COVID-19 has been all over the news in recent months. I want to take this opportunity to discuss how it is impacting tire stores differently than the original coronavirus strain, based on my own observations.

I won’t be getting into exact procedures to maintain safety protocols at stores and what steps you should be taking to protect your customers and employees.

That’s a personal choice in how you run your business and there’s plenty of expert, science-based guidance on what businesses can and should do.

I want to focus specifically on how this strain is affecting stores nationwide.

When COVID-19 first hit, I was in touch regularly with more than 100 dealers across the nation. Some came to me for advice. Others were friends whom I contacted to see how they were doing during that very stressful time. We were also contending with how to work with Paycheck Protection Plan loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

It was an extraordinarily complex first few months, but tire dealers across the nation showed that they were up to the task. The vast majority of tire dealerships stayed open during the entire 2020 phase of the pandemic and just as importantly, didn’t lay off any workers.

Dealers also followed protocols very closely. If an employee displayed symptoms of the virus, they were asked to get tested and if the result was positive, employees were asked to quarantine for 10 to14 days. Staffs would be a little short-handed, but it was manageable.

Today, the delta variant is the dominant strain across most of the United States. And it’s hitting stores very differently. This is what I’m hearing from dealers and store managers — if one

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employee gets the delta variant, by the time they get tested, it has spread across the bulk of the store. Infections aren’t limited to one or two employees anymore.

Delta can infect many more, which can force outlets to close.

Large tire retailers are also experiencing this. The difference, however, is that if they shut down a store, they have a hundred or a thousand other outlets that will continue to produce tire and service sales.

Smaller, independent dealerships — particularly those with one location — can see their sales drop by 30%, 50% or even 100%.

But smaller, independent dealerships — particularly those with one location — can see their sales drop by 30%, 50% or even 100%.

The great news is that tire dealers continue to prioritize the health and safety of their employees and are still taking the necessary steps to reduce transmission of the virus. But let’s look at some numbers. (I’m a numbers guy.)

Let’s say you are an average store, doing about $1.2 million in sales each year. At 5% net profit — the industry average is 3% and some stores net around 10% — that’s a net profit of $60,000 a year.

If your store closes for two weeks due to the delta variant infecting enough people to where you can’t be staffed

properly, that’s a potential loss of $2,500.

This might not seem like a lot of money, but there are also intangibles to consider.

Shutting down involves loss of appointments and walk-ins.

Many customers will then seek out another convenient place to get their needs met.

You also can potentially lose customers for quite a few cycles of maintenance.

If they buy tires in that span, you’ve lost a set of tires for a few years, at best.

Additionally, rent is still due — just as utilities and other fixed expenses will remain.

Starting back up after you open is also a headache.

You risk either an extended shutdown due to family members of employees getting exposed and sick, plus a lowered car count as customers may have been calling while your store was closed and are unsure of when or if you will be opening back up.

And there’s the possibility that an employee develops “long-hauler” COVID-19 symptoms and will lack the ability to come back at full strength for potentially months.

The bottom line is that delta is hitting differently.

Its transmission is insidiously rapid.

And you can only try to mitigate it.

I bring all of this to your attention to share what other independent tire dealerships and big box retailers have already had to endure.

You should remain vigilant and do what you must to continue to protect both your employees and your business’ bottom line. ■ Dennis McCarron is a partner at Cardinal Brokers, one of the leading brokers in the tire and automotive industry (www.cardinalbrokers.com). To contact McCarron, email him at dennis@cardinalbrokers.com.

MTD October 2021

9/30/21 9:50 AM

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9/22/2021 2:30:29 PM

Mergers and Acquisitions

Key employee retention enhances business value

WHY LOSING GREAT EMPLOYEES CAN SPELL DISASTER By

Michael McGregor

T

he tire industry is different from other businesses in that people who know the nuances of it and the processes within it tend to operate more profitable businesses.

You can fake it for a bit. I certainly did at first when I ran tire stores. But nothing beats the thousands of hours of deliberate study and practice that the best people have applied to get to where they are today.

Experienced, key people like that are worth their weight in gold and tire dealers need to do all they can to keep them.

I’ve seen what can happen when key employees leave. Organizations can tumble to unprofitability in a few short years because a new leader with the wrong experience takes a thriving business and changes it just to try something radically new — even if it makes no sense.

While retaining all employees in a tight labor market is important, my view is that the real key employees in any tire-related business might be: a) The person actually running the whole show — the operating CEO, president or vice president of operations, and; b) Individual location managers — whether retail, commercial or wholesale.

If you are an absentee owner or an owner who has stepped aside to let someone manage the day-to-day of your dealership, retaining these key people will enhance your lifestyle, your business’ profitability and in turn, your business’ value. Conversely, losing a key operating executive and key location managers can turn profitable businesses into losers fast.

Developing retention programs specifically for these two categories of employees makes a lot of sense.

It makes even more sense particularly now with new private equity groups entering the industry. We talk with private equity groups every week that want to acquire new “platform” investments in the tire business. Your most senior key employees might be ideal leaders for these platforms if you don’t have them locked down.

And don’t think that they won’t try poaching your best location managers to fix the “dogs” in their groups too.

Most private equity platforms have an advantage in that everyone knows at some point that there is going to be an exit or “liquidity event.” Private equity likes having key employees share in an equity pool to keep everyone “rowing” towards that exit in five years.

But if you own Lou’s Tire World with eight stores and you’re not planning on selling anytime soon, how can you relax in your

condo in Cabo while keeping your key operators and managers motivated, loyal and happy that they’re creating all that wealth for you? You can achieve this with some financial retention tools.

I’m not talking about base pay, standard benefits or working conditions. You have to be competitive with pay and benefits or every employee can be easily poached. That’s the baseline. Your key people want a chance at being wealthy like you, too.

Financial retention tools are things like phantom stock, stock appreciation rights (SARs) and restricted or executive bonus plans funded annually and tied to cash value life insurance plans that grow on a tax-deferred basis.

The idea is to tie key employees and managers to a five-to10-year retention plan so you can sleep better at night. It’s always better to get a retention plan for key employees in place before they come looking for it. If they have already discussed retention plans with you and nothing’s happened, their anxiety is building and you may lose them before you know it.

A key factor in crafting any retention plan is whether or not you are planning an exit within a reasonable time frame or keeping the business in the family. With a potential exit on the horizon, you can motivate key employees with actual stock ownership (not my favorite method) or pseudo-ownership with phantom stock and SARs so they can benefit along with you when there is an exit.

Just promising a bonus at the time of sale won’t cut it for several reasons. First, it’s taxed at personal tax rates, not long-term capital gains rates, and second, it’s just too vague.

An effective and flexible method for retaining key senior employees and managers is with employer-sponsored life insurance-funded plans. In these, the employer pays an annual bonus to a key employee, who then uses it to pay the premium on a life insurance policy. The employer can place conditions on the plan, like requiring that the employee stay for five years before being entitled to the benefits. Why life insurance? Life insurance-funded plans are flexible, build value on a cash-deferred basis and also allow you to deduct the cost of premiums off your P&L. It always pays to seek out qualified professionals who can help you implement employee retention plans. Sharing a little wealth to retain key employees will make your life easier and help you build a more valuable company. ■

Sharing a little wealth to retain key employees will make your life easier.

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Michael McGregor is a partner at Focus Investment Banking LLC (focusbankers.com/ automotive/tire-and-service). He advises and assists multi-location tire dealers on mergers and acquisitions. For more information, contact him at michael.mcgregor@focusbankers.com.

MTD October 2021

9/30/21 9:50 AM

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9/22/21 10:44 AM 9/27/2021 12:01:04 PM

Focus on Industry

SRNA talks growth, supply and more during Falken dealer meeting By

Greg Smith

D

THREE NEW FALKEN PRODUCTS TO LAUNCH IN 2022

uring last month’s Falken Tire dealer meeting in Aspen, Colo., executives from Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc. (SRNA) outlined the company’s position within the market, its growth plans, industry supply issues and new product offerings that will be launched in 2022.

Matt Leeper, vice president of sales for SRNA, said “our growth has outpaced the industry in 17 of the past 18 months.”

SRNA is now approaching the United States market through a diversified marketing and distribution organization utilizing four different channels — independent tire dealers, distributors, large retailers and TBR specialists.

Leeper emphasized that the company is backed by Sumitomo Rubber Industries, the fifth largest global tire manufacturer.

The Falken brand has also been available at the original equipment level. Leeper said the brand has “small market share” at OE, but has “some really cool fitments.”

SRNA has aggressively pushed its Fanatic dealer program. There are now nearly 10,000 Fanatic dealers on the books, up from 3,000 in 2018.

The company also has policed its Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) program in the marketplace, he added.

During the meeting, Rick Brennan, SRNA vice president of marketing, addressed the supply issues facing the industry at the present time, stating that COVID-19 “created a dramatic change for everyone.”

He used months-on-hand (MOH) as the barometer for inventory management.

When COVID-19 shut down the industry in April 2020, MOH spiked to six to seven months, well above normal.

As 2020 moved forward, demand spiked, while inventories shrunk dramatically. Plant closures, shipping issues, tariffs and employment issues were the leading causes of this, said Brennan.

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Fast forwarding to this month, Brennan shared current U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association production/import figures.

Currently, passenger tire inventory stands at 1.9 MOH, five million units below average. P-metric light truck tire inventory is at 1.7 MOH, 2.8 million below average.

Light truck inventory is 1.4 MOH, which is 1.2 million below normal.

TBR is at 1.3 MOH, which is one million below normal.

Brennan expects supply to remain tight through the end of 2021, with passenger tires trending upward in the first part of 2022.

TBR supply will be tight throughout all of 2022, he noted.

SRNA has been investing heavily in its Buffalo, N.Y. plant, with production growth for PLT to be at 8% in the fourth quarterof this year, with TBR growing 25% and motorcycle at 14%.

By 4Q 2022, PLT should increase by 38%, TBR by another 7% and motorcycle by 7%. Currently, Brennan said Falken’s fill rate is roughly in the 75% to 85% range.

Matt Leeper, vice president of sales for Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc., says the company’s growth “has outpaced the industry in 17 of the past 18 months.”

THREE NEW PRODUCTS

SRNA is planning three new product launches during 2022, SRNA officials also told dealers.

The company is introducing a new ultra-high performance all-season tire, the Falken FK460 A/S; the Falken WildPeak R/T01 light truck tire; and a new, closedshoulder drive medium truck tire, the Falken BI837.

The Falken FK 460 A/S is designed for sport CUV fitments and is due to be launched in June 2022 in 63 sizes, starting at 205/50ZR17 and ranging through 285/35ZR22.

“This tire will be the core tire for us, moving forward,” says Brennan.

The Falken WildPeak R/T01 will launch in March 2022 and will be positioned between the brand’s WildPeak A/T3W

Falken dealer meeting guests had their choice of cowboy boots, cowboy hats or local jewelry as gifts to commemorate the event. Cameron Chernikow (left), senior director of merchandising for American Tire Distributors Inc., and Randyl Hustrulid, SRNA corporate events administrator, tried on some new hats.

and WildPeak M/T products. It will be available in 50 sizes.

The third new tire to launch is the Falken BI837 medium truck drive tire.

Designed to provide greater resistance to stone retention than its predecessor, the tire will launch during the second half of 2022 in four sizes. ■ MTD October 2021

9/28/21 2:36 PM

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10/1/21 10:47 AM

Focus on Industry

Going wide

PIRELLI WANTS MORE SUV, CUV AND LIGHT TRUCK FITMENTS By

Mike Manges

P

ursuing original equipment fitments on more SUVs, CUVs and light trucks will be a renewed priority for Pirelli Tire North America, says Pietro Berardi, the company’s CEO. “The data shows that these are the segments that are growing the most and there are premium segments within these products, so we need to be there.

“We were always the brand by definition and choice for very prestigious cars, but the market is changing. The market is moving. There are more SUVs and CUVs than luxury cars.”

Light truck fitments are not necessarily new ground for Pirelli, which earned placement on the Ford F-150 in 2005.

“This is a very important fitment,” says Berardi.

Five months ago, Pirelli introduced the Scorpion AS Plus 3, a touring all-season tire for SUVs, CUVs and light trucks.

The Scorpion AS Plus 3 is available in 37 sizes, ranging from 17 inches to 22 inches.

Target vehicles include the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Honda CR-V, Toyota Highlander, Kia Sorento and the aforementioned Ford F-150.

“We’re excited about this new product.

It’s a North American product for the North American customer.”

More recently, Pirelli rolled out another product in its Scorpion line, the Pirelli Scorpion ATR, which is designed exclusively for the Ford Bronco and Ford Maverick.

“Ford’s targets for this tire were particularly challenging,” according to Pirelli officials.

“The request was to develop an allterrain tire with high off-road capabilities — able to combine the typical performance, handling and comfort characteristics of an all-season tire.

“To meet these requirements, Pirelli engineers focused their work on two specific areas — the tread pattern and the compound.”

Pirelli has 9% of all Ford OE fitments

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The new Pirelli Scorpion ATR has been designed exclusively for the Ford Bronco and Ford Maverick. “Ford’s targets for this tire were particularly challenging,” according to Pirelli officials.

in North America, according to MTD research. (BMW is Pirelli’s biggest OE customer in North America. Nearly 35% of BMW’s vehicles in North America roll off the assembly line shod with Pirelli products.)

BIG PLANS FOR EVS

Pirelli also sees electric vehicles (EV) as a growth opportunity, says Berardi. “Today, EVs are a tiny part of the market, accounting for less than 2% of new cars sold.

“But we are expecting within the next five years that this segment will gain more share. You see new (brands) coming on board like Lucid and Rivian and then you see traditional players that are expanding their EV portfolio, like Ford and General Motors.”

Tires made for EV use must be designed in a certain way to complement the dynamics of these vehicles, according to Berardi.

“More performance is required from the tire. Acceleration happens in a shortened time frame. You need to be perfect in providing a driver with perfect performance.

“We’ve been very, very good in niche cars. We’ve been very very good at sports cars. So there’s an automatic connection in what we can do for these vehicles.

This past May, Pirelli introduced the Scorpion AS Plus 3, a touring all-season tire for SUVs, CUVs and light trucks. “We’re excited about this new product,” says Pietro Berradi, CEO of Pirelli Tire North America. “It’s a North American product for the North American customer.”

“We are investing a lot” in EV tire development, according to Berardi.

“We are increasing the amount of investment we are doing in R&D. Everything is really evolving very fast and we want to be at the forefront of tire manufacturers in this arena.”

Pirelli also is investing in dealer training.

“The role of the dealer has always been very important and will become even more important with (the proliferation) of EVs in the car parc,” says Berardi.

“EVs are more complex and they require people who are trained. The tires are not the usual tires you see on today’s cars.

“The training of the dealer will be a key to success. We’re investing in order to provide our dealers with the best tools” to sell and service tires for EVs. ■ MTD October 2021

9/27/21 10:47 AM

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9/1/21 10:49 AM 9/23/2021 9:06:07 AM

Focus on Dealers

Ready to launch TANVEER GREWAL AND MANDEEP SINGH ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS, HAVE BIG PLANS By

I

Mike Manges

n 2005, brothers Tanveer Grewal and Mandeep Singh — along with their father — emigrated from India to the United States with $100 in their pocket and dreams of someday running their own business.

Sixteen years later, Grewal, 36, and Singh, 32, are the owners of a thriving Big O tire store in Chico, Calif.

They bought the outlet from another Big O franchisee last June. And Grewal says the brothers could not be any happier with the decision they made.

LEARNING CURVE

“I’m an electrical engineer,” says Grewal.

“That’s my background. My brother owned a very small trucking company.”

On the look-out for their next opportunity, they studied a variety of businesses “in an effort to narrow it down. We looked at the restaurant business. We looked at a pet supply franchise. And we thought, ‘What kind of business would be robust and have value well into the future?’”

The brothers also have friends who own small, independent tire dealerships. “We asked for their opinion, as well. We felt that the tire and automotive repair business would be a very robust one to go into.”

Their research led them to TBC Corp.’s Big O Tires franchise program.

The brothers liked the brand’s “model and support structure” and applied to become Big O dealers. They then started talking with their store’s former owner in February 2021.

In the meantime, Big O “did its due diligence to make sure they were handing over a license to somebody who cares about their name,” he adds.

Within four months, the brothers were up and running.

Their store — which pulls 40% of its sales from tires and the rest from auto service — came with an established customer base. But Grewal says there was a learning curve after they took ownership.

“We quickly learned that customers come in waves. It can be slow and then all

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“We’re trying to start a mobile tire service and are looking into buying a van to equip with a tire changing machine and a balancer,” says Tanveer Grewal, right, and his brother, Mandeep Singh, who acquired their first tire store — a Big O franchise in Chico, Calif. — earlier this year. “We want to serve” a local Amazon warehouse.

of a sudden you have five or six customers waiting in line. And then it’s back to one or two customers.

“We cannot say, ‘There are only a few cars here. Let’s send somebody home to save on payroll’ and then an hour later, you have six or seven new cars on the lot. That was new to us.”

NEXT MOVES

Grewal says the store has since settled into a manageable rhythm, which has given the brothers time to think about their next moves.

“We’re trying to start a mobile tire service and are looking into buying a van to equip with a tire changing machine and a balancer.

We’re talking with TBC to see if they can help finance those machines for us. We’ve already looked at a van.”

California State University has a campus in Chico with more than 16,000 students.

“We want to be able to go to campus and service students and faculty.”

Earlier this year, Amazon opened a fulfillment center in nearby Orland, Calif.

“We’re going to approach them” about performing tire replacements on delivery vans, says Grewal.

“We want to serve Amazon at its warehouse so there is less downtime for each

van. Once our mobile service van is ready, we’ll have something to pitch.”

And opening a second store is not out of the question.

In the meantime, Grewal says taking care of customers will remain the brothers’ priority.

Recently, he reveals, an elderly couple brought their granddaughter’s vehicle in for an oil change. “She was planning to go on a long trip.”

During the oil change, a technician checked the car’s brakes and discovered that they needed to be serviced. After securing the customers’ approval, the brakes were brought back up to snuff.

The man and woman, who were originally unaware of the problem, profusely thanked Grewal and Singh.

“Another time, as we were closing at 5:30, a nurse came to our store. She had a nail in one of her tires. Our employees were leaving, but they stayed at the shop and repaired her tire right away. We could have easily said, ‘We’re closed. Come back tomorrow.’”

Instead, the store’s techs jumped into action and got the customer’s car up and moving again. “It gives me goosebumps when somebody helps someone else like that,” says Grewal. ■ MTD October 2021

9/28/21 2:38 PM

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8/23/21 8:23 AM 9/22/2021 2:31:14 PM

TPMS

Chevrolet Camaro 2010-21

T

he tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) warns the driver when a significant change of tire pressure occurs in any of the four tires and allows the driver to display the individual tire pressures and their locations on the driver information center (DIC) while the vehicle is being driven.

The TPMS uses the body control module (BCM), instrument panel cluster (IPC), DIC, a radio frequency (RF) transmitting pressure sensor in each wheel/tire assembly and the serial data circuit to perform the system functions.

When the vehicle is stationary and the sensor’s accelerometer internal is inactive, the sensors go into stationary mode. In this mode, the sensors sample tire pressure once every 30 seconds and transmit a stationary mode transmission only if the air pressure changes.

As vehicle speed increases, centrifugal force activates the internal accelerometer, causing the sensors to go into rolling mode. In

this mode, the sensors sample the tire pressure once every 30 seconds and transmit a rolling mode transmission once every 60 seconds.

The BCM receives and translates the data contained in each sensor RF transmission into sensor presence, sensor mode and tire pressure. The BCM then sends the tire pressure and tire location data to the DIC via the serial data circuit, where they are displayed.

The sensors continuously compare their current pressure sample with their last pressure sample and will transmit in remeasure mode whenever a 1.2 psi change in tire pressure has occurred.

When the TPMS detects a significant loss or gain of tire pressure, the “CHECK TIRE PRESSURE” message is displayed on the DIC and the low tire pressure indicator is displayed on the IPC. Both the DIC message and IPC indicator can be cleared by adjusting the tire pressure to the recommended pressure and driving the vehicle

above 25 miles per hour (40km/h) for at least two minutes.

The BCM also has the ability to detect malfunctions within the TPMS. Any malfunction detected will cause the DIC to display the “SERVICE TIRE MONITOR” message and flash the TPMS IPC bulb for one minute before illuminating it continuously each time the ignition is turned ON until the malfunction is corrected.

TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR WARNING INDICATORS

When the TPMS detects a significant loss of tire pressure, the “CHECK TIRE PRESSURE” message is displayed on the DIC and the low tire pressure indicator is displayed on the instrument panel.

Both the message and indicator can be cleared by adjusting the tires to their recommended pressures and driving the vehicle above 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) for at least two minutes. The tire pressure monitor indicator

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TPMS icon on the IPC will flash for one minute and then remain illuminated and the DIC will display the “SERVICE TIRE MONITOR SYSTEM” message if one or more of the tire pressure sensors or other system components has malfunctioned or if all of the sensors have not been programmed successfully. If warning indicators are still on, there is a problem in the TPMS. See appropriate manufacturer service information.

TPMS RESET PROCEDURES

NOTE: When the wheels have been rotated or a tire pressure sensor has been replaced, relearn the tire pressure sensors. When the TPMS detects a significant loss of tire pressure, the “CHECK TIRE PRESSURE” message is displayed on the DIC and the low tire pressure indicator is displayed on the instrument panel.

Both the message and indicator can be cleared by adjusting the tires to their recommended pressures and driving the vehicle above 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) for at least two minutes.

TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR RELEARN

NOTE: Once the TPMS learn mode has been enabled, each of the sensor unique identification (ID) codes can be learned into the BCM memory. When a sensor ID has been learned, the BCM sounds a horn chirp.

This verifies the sensor has transmitted an ID and the BCM has received and learned it.

The BCM must learn the sensor IDs in the proper order to determine correct sensor location. The first learned ID is assigned to the left front, the second to the right front, the third to the right rear and the fourth to the left rear.

NOTE: Each sensor has an internal low-frequency (LF) coil. When the tool is used in the activated mode, it produces an LF transmission that activates the sensor.

The sensor responds to a LF activation by transmitting in learn mode. When the BCM receives a learn mode transmission while in TPMS learn mode, it will assign that sensor ID to the location on the vehicle relative to the order in which it was learned.

NOTE: Sensor functions using pressure increase/decrease method. Each sensor takes a pressure measurement sample once every 30 seconds while in stationary mode.

If the tire pressure increases or decreases by more than 1.2 psi from the last pressure measurement, another measurement will occur immediately to verify the change in w w w . M o d e r n T i r e D e a l e r. c o m

06_MTD_Columns-TPMS.indd 67

pressure. If a pressure change has indeed occurred, the sensor transmits in learn mode.

When the BCM receives a learn mode transmission while in TPMS learn mode, it will assign that sensor ID to the location on the vehicle relative to the order in which it was learned.

NOTE: The learn mode will cancel if the ignition is cycled to OFF or if more than two minutes have elapsed for any sensor that has not been learned. If the learn mode is canceled before the first sensor is learned, the original sensor IDs will be maintained.

If the learn mode is canceled for any reason after the first sensor is learned, all IDs are erased from the BCM memory and, if equipped, the DIC will display dashes for tire pressures.

If not utilizing a scan tool to initiate the relearn procedure, stray signals from other TPMS-equipped vehicles that are just driving by can be inadvertently learned. If any random horn chirps are heard from the vehicle while performing the learn procedure, most likely a stray sensor has been learned and the procedure will need to be canceled and repeated. Under these circumstances, performing the TPMS learn procedure away from other vehicles would be highly recommended.

In the event that a particular sensor activation does not cause the horn to chirp, it may be necessary to rotate the wheel valve stem to a different position due to the sensor signal being blocked by another component.

Before proceeding with the steps below, verify that no other sensor learning procedure is being performed simultaneously within close proximity;tire pressures are not being adjusted on another TPMS-equipped vehicle within close proximity; and park brake switch input parameters are functioning correctly: 1. Apply the parking brake (manual transmission only); 2. Turn ON the ignition, with the engine OFF. The DIC is accessed through the five-way controls on the right side of the steering wheel. Scroll to the tire pressure screen and make sure the tire pressure info display option is turned on. The info displays on the DIC can be turned on and off through the Options menu; 3. Using a scan tool or the DIC, select Tire Pressure Sensor Relearn. After this step has been performed, a double horn chirp will sound and

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9/27/21 10:48 AM

TPMS 4.

5.

6.

7.

the left front turn signal will be illuminated; Starting with the left front tire, learn the tire pressure using one of the following methods: Method 1: Hold the antenna of the TPMS tool against the tire sidewall close to the wheel rim at the valve stem location and then press and release the activate button and wait for a horn chirp.

Method 2: Increase/decrease the tire pressure for eight to 10 seconds and then wait for a horn chirp. The horn chirp may occur before or up to 30 seconds after the eight-to-10-second pressure increase/decrease time period has been reached.

After the horn chirp has sounded, proceed with repeating the procedure for the remaining three sensors in the following order: right front, right rear and left rear; After the LR sensor has been learned, a double horn chirp will sound indicating all sensors have been learned; Turn OFF the ignition to exit the learn mode, and; IS THE ONLY

COMPLETE

8. After the learn mode has been exited, adjust all tires to the recommended pressures.

DEMOUNTING/MOUNTING PROCEDURES

CAUTION: The tire should be demounted from the wheel using the tire changer manufacturer’s instructions. Use the following information to avoid damage during the dismounting/mounting procedures.

NOTE: If the vehicle’s tires are replaced with those not having a tire performance criteria specification (TPC Spec) number, the TPMS may give an inaccurate lowpressure warning. Non-TPC Spec tires may give a low-pressure warning that is higher or lower than the proper warning level achieved by TPC When the wheels have been rotated or a tire pressure sensor has been replaced, retrain the tire pressure sensor. (See RESET PROCEDURES.)

TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR

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Component

Ft.-lbs.

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Wheel nut

140

(190)

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89

(N.m) (10)

INCH

Tire Pressure Sensor Torx Screw

cause a malfunction of the tire pressure sensors. If any tire sealant is noted upon tire dismounting, replace the sensor. Also remove all residual liquid sealant from the inside of the tire and wheel surfaces.

Removal 1. Raise the vehicle on a suitable support.

Remove tire/wheel assembly from the vehicle; 2. Dismount the tire from the wheel following the tire changer manufacturer’s instructions; 3. Remove the TORX screw from the tire pressure sensor and pull it straight off the tire pressure valve stem. (See Figure 1.)

4. Remove the tire pressure valve stem by pulling it through the rim.

Installation NOTE: When servicing the tire pressure sensor, always use a new TORX screw during installation: 1. Assemble the tire pressure sensor to the valve stem and install the new TORX screw.

Tire pressure valves and TORX screws are one-time use only; 2. Apply tire soap to the rubber portion of the valve stem; 3. Using a tire valve stem mounting tool, pull the valve stem through in a direction parallel to the valve hole on the rim; 4. Mount the tire to the rim, and; 5. Install the tire on the wheel. Install the tire/wheel assembly on the vehicle.

And retrain tire pressure sensor.

(See RESET PROCEDURES.) ■

• 4 MX-Sensor Programming Methods

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Information for this column comes from the tire pressure monitoring systems data in ProDemandR, Mitchell 1’s auto repair information software for domestic and import vehicles. Headquartered in Poway, Calif., Mitchell 1 has provided quality repair information solutions to the automotive industry since 1918. For more information, visit www.mitchell1.com. To read archived TPMS articles, visit www.moderntiredealer.com.

6/17/21 7:15 PM

MTD October 2021

9/27/21 10:48 AM

Products

Braven launches Bloodaxe R/T

Pirelli unveils “tailormade” Scorpion

Hunter launches ASADLink tool

The new Braven Bloodaxe R/T tire features an aggressive read pattern and “tracks straight and smooth on asphalt and dirt roads alike,” according to Braven Off-Road officials.

The tire features “generous siping” for excellent traction in wet terrain, Braven’s signature BattleAxe sidewall lugs provide extra protection and bite and “molded rim guards” guard against rock damage. The tire is available in six popular sizes.

BRAVEN OFF-ROAD www.bravenoffroad.com

The new Pirelli Scorpion ATR has been designed exclusively for the Ford Bronco and Ford Maverick. The tire features an aggressive tread pattern for enhanced water, mud and stone evacuation. Its “new generation of tread compound” has been engineered to deliver “excellent wet handling, outstanding braking and improved snow performance,” according to Pirelli Tire North America Inc. officials.

The Scorpion ATR is available in size 225/65R17.

PIRELLI TIRE NORTH AMERICA INC. www.pirelli.com

ADASLink from Hunter Engineering Co. is a full diagnostic scan tool that includes calibration for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and guides technicians with clear, step-by-step, on-screen instructions. This helps ensure that calibration is completed to original equipment specifications. Hunter officials say access to accurate ADAS information “is crucial since these complex safety systems require recalibration following a wide range of typical services.”

HUNTER ENGINEERING CO. www.hunter.com

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Products Michelin adds sizes to X-Ice Snow Michelin North America Inc. is adding 41 sizes to its Michelin X-Ice Snow tire. The product will be available in 166 sizes eventually. It features a next-generation, V-shaped tread design that provides 100% of its contact patch for optimal grip, as well as Michelin’s Flex-Ice 2.0 tread compound for use in a wide range of winter temperatures, Michelin’s EverGrip technology and more. The X-Ice Snow is available in T and H speed ratings and fits wheels ranging from 14 inches to 22 inches in diameter.

MICHELIN NORTH AMERICA INC. www.michelinman.com

Install.

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Drive.

Keter rolls out NeoMax RT The new NeoMax RT from Keter Tire USA is designed for rugged-terrain applications while providing optimal on-road comfort. The tire features an innovative, hybrid tread design with an enhanced belt package to deliver excellent off-road performance. And a unique block pattern with special pitch alignment provides a smooth, quiet ride on highway surfaces, according to Keter officials.

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Smart Sensor TPMS tool offers many features Available through 31 Inc., the Smart Sensor Elite TPMS tool “combines the simplicity and ease of use customers have learned to count on from Smart Sensor, with the advanced features of a high-end TPMS tool,” according to 31 Inc. officials. The Smart Sensor Elite offers a color display, an icon-based interface, built-in relearn procedures, vehicle identification number scanning and more and is ideal for both veteran and novice technicians.

31 INC. www.31inc.com 9/10/21 2:57 PM

MTD October 2021

9/23/21 10:42 AM

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9/23/2021 2:01:49 PM

9/30/21 9:52 AM

POWER PRODUCT TRAIL BLADE BOSS TRAIL BLADE MTS

TRAIL BLADE X/T

TRAIL BLADE M/T TRAIL BLADE ATS TRAIL BLADE A/T

AZ850

AZ800

AZ610

AW730 ICE

Offer more options at unbelievable prices.

At Atturo Tires, we know that independent dealers like you are committed to offering your customers first quality, top performance tires at more affordable prices. That’s why we never stop refining and innovating our designs and pushing the envelope with our engineering. Your customers will get cutting-edge tire technology that makes for top-tier off-road, hybrid and performance tires. But we don’t stop there. We offer them in larger sizes, and for more unique fitments than many of our competitors. Plus, you’ll enjoy support from an independent, no-nonsense manufacturer. Where will you go with Atturo?

Learn more about our full lineup of tires at ATTURO.COM and email us at DEALER@ATTURO.COM to learn how you can join our growing dealer network.

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9/29/21 11:40 AM

POWER PRODUCT

Since 1991, we have been building relationships with independent tire retailers to provide world-class tire brands, industry-leading supplier programs and modern turn-key retail marketing programs.

All designed to attract more customers, drive profitability and give you more time to…

ENJOY LIFE. To find out more, visit www.affiliatedretailer.net

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9/29/21 11:39 AM 3/20/20 11:37 AM

POWER PRODUCT

ExtremeContact™ Sport

ContiSportContact™ 5P

ExtremeContact™ DWS06 Plus

A dynamic, ultra-high performance summer tire for passenger cars, the ExtremeContact™ Sport ranges in size from 15-20" rim diameter.

A responsive, ultra-high performance summer tire for passenger cars and crossovers, the ContiSportContact™ 5P ranges in size from 18-22" rim diameter.

A premium, ultra-high performance all-season tire for passenger cars, crossovers and SUVs, the ExtremeContact™ DWS06 Plus ranges in size from 16-22" rim diameter.

PureContact™ LS

TrueContact™ Tour

CrossContact™ LX25

A luxury, touring all-season tire for passenger cars and crossovers, the PureContact™ LS ranges in size from 16-20" rim diameter.

A long-lasting, touring all-season tire for passenger cars and crossovers, the TrueContact™ Tour ranges in size from 15-19" rim diameter.

A premium, touring all-season tire for crossovers and SUVs, the CrossContact™ LX 25 ranges in size from 16-22" rim diameter.

TerrainContact™ H/T

TerrainContact™ A/T

VikingContact™ 7

A premium, touring all-season tire for SUVs and light trucks, the TerrainContact™ H/T ranges in size from 16-22" rim diameter.

A premium, all-terrain all-season tire for crossovers, SUVs and light trucks, the TerrainContact™ A/T ranges in size from 16-22" rim diameter.

A premium winter tire for passenger cars, crossovers, SUVs and light trucks, the VikingContact™ 7 ranges in size from 15-22" rim diameter.

VISIT CONTINENTALTIRE.COM FOR COMPLETE DETAILS.

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POWER PRODUCT

G-MAX ™ RS

G-MAX ™ AS05

AltiMAX ™ RT 43

An excellent, ultra-high performance summer tire for passenger cars and crossovers, the G-MAX™ RS ranges in size from 16-20" rim diameter.

A dynamic, all-season ultra-high performance tire for passenger cars and crossovers, the G-MAX™ AS05 ranges in size from 16-22" rim diameter.

A long-lasting, all-season touring tire for passenger cars and crossovers, the AltiMAX™ RT43 ranges in size from 13-20" rim diameter.

AltiMAX ™ 365 AW

GRABBER ™ UHP

GRABBER ™ HTS 60

A versatile all-weather touring tire for passenger cars and crossovers, the AltiMAX™ 365 AW ranges in size from 15-20" rim diameter.

An all-season ultra-high performace tire for crossovers, light trucks and sport utility vehicles, the GRABBER™ UHP ranges in size from 16-24" rim diameter.

A long-lasting, all-season touring tire for light trucks and sport utility vehicles, the GRABBER™ HTS60 ranges in size from 15-22" rim diameter.

GRABBER ™ APT

GRABBER ™ A/T X

GRABBER ™ X3

A durable, all-season all-terrain tire for light trucks and sport utility vehicles, the GRABBER™ APT ranges in size from 16-22" rim diameter.

An aggressive, all-weather all-terrain tire for light trucks and sport utility vehicles, the GRABBER™ A/T X ranges in size from 14-20" rim diameter.

An extreme all-season mud-terrain tire for light-trucks and sport utility vehicles, the GRABBER™ X3 ranges in size from 15-22" rim diameter.

GENER ALTIRE .COM

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POWER PRODUCT

DRIVE HOME ON TIRES THAT WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS.

With the Kenda Klever tire range, you can drive straight from the podium to the pavement on the same tires that professional drivers like Kyle Kleiman use on the track to take home the championship. With the M/T, R/T and the new A/T version, there is a Klever tire for any driving conditions you want to take on.

KLEVER A/T2

Series: 85, 80, 75, 70, 65, 60, 55, 50 Sizes: 20, 18, 17, 16, 15 Load Ranges: E, C Speed Ratings: R, S, T 3-Peak Mountain/ Snowflake Certified

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KLEVER R/T

Series: 80, 75, 70, 65, 55 Sizes: 22, 20, 18, 17, 16 Load Ranges: D, E, F Speed Rating: R Studable Triple Threat 3-ply sidewall

KLEVER M/T

Series: 85, 75, 70, 65, 60 Sizes: 22, 20, 18, 17, 16, 15 Load Ranges: C, D, E 3ply sidewall in select sizes OWL & RWL available

9/29/21 11:39 AM

POWER PRODUCT

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9/29/21 11:38 AM

POWER PRODUCT

EZ-sens r

A Single SKU Solution!

Schrader’s powerful, OE-quality EZ-sensor® can help increase speed and reduce overall cost of service!

The EZ-sensor® family of products can be programmed to service majority of vehicles, so you’ll always have the right part when you need it.

EZ-sensor® comes in three different mechanical packages for unique rim fitment options

Rubber Snap-In PN 33500

Adjustable Angle Aluminum Clamp-In PN 33700

90˚Aluminum Clamp-In PN 33900

Visit Schrader: BOOTH #R9438

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BOOTH #42113

9/29/21 11:38 AM

POWER PRODUCT

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9/29/21 11:38 AM

POWER PRODUCT

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9/29/21 11:38 AM

AS E ASY AS...

1 2 3

POST A JOB RECEIVE QUALIFIED APPLICANTS GROW YOUR TEAM

USE CODE: AJC123 TO TAKE $100 OFF YOUR FIRST LISTING! autojobcentral.com

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1/2/20 11:24 AM 9/27/2021 12:08:24 PM

Ad Index WHEN YOU CONTACT ONE OF OUR ADVERTISERS PLEASE BE SURE TO MENTION YOU SAW THEIR AD IN MODERN TIRE DEALER ADVERTISER

PAGE

WEBSITE

1-800EveryRim OEM Wheels 20 www.everyrim.com/MTD Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance Inc.

57

www.bringingbackthemagic2022.com

Alligator 69 www.alligator-valves.com American Omni Trading 33 www.thunderertireusa.com Atturo Tires 29 www.atturo.com AUTEL 35, 67, 68 www.autel.com BKT USA Inc. 11 www.bkt-tires.com Blackburn OEM Wheel Solutions

5

www.blackburnwheels.com

Brake Parts Inc., Raybestos

25

www.raybestos.com

Bridgestone Affiliated Retailer Nationwide Network

55

www.affiliatedretailer.net

Continental Construction Tires 37 www.construction-tires.com Continental Corporation 70 www.redi-sensor.com Continental Tire 53 www.continentaltire.com Cool Boss, A BendPak Company

49

www.thecoolboss.com

Durofix Inc. 51 www.durofix.com Falken Tires 45 www.falkentire.com Gaither Tool Company 32 www.gaithertool.com General Tire 23 www.generaltire.com Hunter Engineering Company 22 www.hunter.com ISN/ToolWeb 18 A-B www.toolweb.com/around-the-wheel K & M Tire Inc. 61 www.kmtire.com Ken-Tool 38 www.kentool.com Kenda Tires USA IBC www.kendatractionrewards.com Kumho Tire USA Inc.

26 A-B

www.kumhotire.com

Linglong Americas Inc. 7 www.linglongtire.com Maxxis Tires 31 www.maxxis.com Nexen Tire America Inc. IFC www.nexentireusa.com Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc. OBC www.nittotire.com Nokian Tyres Inc. 17 www.nokiantires.com Prinx Tire North America Inc.

24

www.prinxtire.com

Rotary Lift 43 www.rotarywheelservice.com/R1200 Schrader TPMS Solutions 66 www.schradertpms.com SEMA Show 65 www.semashow.com/register Sentury Tire 15 www.senturytireusa.com Tireco Inc. 9 www.milestartires.com Tires International 48 www.tyresinternational.com Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America Inc.

13

www.yokohama-oht.com

Yokohama Tire 21 www.yokohamatire.com ZC Rubber America Inc. 39 www.arisuntires.com

82

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MTD October 2021

9/27/21 4:06 PM

TRACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS.

Dig in with the new and improved Kenda Traction Program in 2021 – bringing dealers one of the strongest rewards programs in the industry with even more benefits.

Earn Quarterly Cash-Back Rewards

Full Product Screen: Ohio-Designed for North American Market

Dealer Locator on KendaTire.com

US-Based Sales Support & Warranty Team

Enhanced Dealer Performance Dashboard

Trade Area Management for Dealer Success

‘Double Dollar’ Promotions

Realistic MAP Policy

Flexible Payment Options

Premium Performance at a Value Price for Consumers

Improved Mobile Access

Strong Margin Opportunities for Dealers

New Dealer Promo – purchase only 75 units in first quarter of enrollment to achieve Tier 1 status

Learn more about becoming a Kenda Traction associate dealer at KendaTractionRewards.com.

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9/22/2021 2:03:57 PM

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9/22/2021 2:03:13 PM

T:17.125"

CONNECT YOUR DOTS POS // Accounting // Inventory // Scheduling // eCommerce // Reviews // and More

SEE US AT SEMA and enter to win an Amazon Echo Dot

ASAauto.com/dots

T:5"

ASA booth #43053

Retail, commercial and wholesale customers can learn more at

Integrate Your Business and Customer Systems Learn how at ASA booth #43053 at SEMA

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9/28/2021 8:48:41 AM