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Focus on Dealers: ITDG members celebrate big wins

“If you look at what’s happening with EVs, it’s a cultural shift as well as a product shift and it made so much sense to create a flagship product that would address those challenges,” says Pereira.

Randy Kirksey, sales director for Harold’s Tire in Topeka, Kan. (foreground, with Chris Weir, regional sales director at National Tire Warehouse’s Austin, Texas, location) says his dealership has nearly tripled its sales of Sailun brand products.

Elvis Herra, store manager at Gutierrez Tire, a single-location dealership in Reno. Nev., says Sailun’s timing couldn’t be better. “Value brands are coming up. Their quality sometimes outperforms premium tires.”

Herra, who runs Sailun tires on his personal vehicle, a Volkswagen Jetta, says his store is seeing “a lot more Teslas,” partially due to a nearby Tesla battery and component factory.

“We’re going to promote the ERANGE EV.”

End users continue to gravitate to less expensive tires, notes Chris Weir, regional sales director at NTW’s Austin, Texas, location.

“Sailun is the brand we push when our dealers’ customers aren’t looking to pay a premium price, but want a solid,

Elvis Herra, store manager at Gutierrez Tire, a single-location dealership in Reno. Nev., says Sailun’s timing couldn’t be better. “Value brands are coming up. Their quality sometimes outperforms premium tires.” Herra, who runs Sailun tires on his personal vehicle, a Volkswagen Jetta, says his store is seeing “a lot more Teslas.”

well-rounded tire,” he says. “I consider Sailun to be a premium tire without the premium price.”

Randy Kirksey, sales director for Harold’s Tire, a two-location dealership in Topeka, Kan., has been selling Sailun tires for the past two years.

“We were looking for another tire that people could afford that’s a good tire. It’s been great.”

The company has nearly tripled its sales of Sailun brand products within the last year. Kirksey says it is part of a greater trend.

“You still have die-hard people who want higher-end (tires) for their pickups and trucks, but with fuel prices being what they are,” more consumers are buying value products. Sticker shock has contributed to this, he adds.

“We had a customer come in who bought tires from us a year ago and the tires were $88 a piece. That tire now is $130. People are like, ‘Why?’ We tell them we don’t control that end of the market with the price increases” that are happening.

“There’s been a flight to value that I think got a shot in the arm” during COVID-19, says Pereira.

“Speaking with some of our retailers and the guys behind the counter, you hear there’s a lot of optimism now, (demand) is growing and business has picked up again. But a lot of consumers have had to tighten their belts over the last two years.

“I think consumers right now are more open to trying a brand that might not have the same equity of other brands they have heard of.

“But they still do their homework. We want to make sure we provide education to (tire dealerships’) counter staff so they can inform consumers.

“We need to be in touch with the end user. Someone might walk into a tire store looking for an original equipment replacement, then see the price and wince a little bit. If they can save a few hundred dollars on a set of tires that can do the same thing” as a more expensive product, “it’s a no-brainer” for many consumers.

MORE TO COME

During the Miami event, Sailun officials also previewed other new products, including the Sailun SH408, an all-season tire that offers enhanced ice and snow traction. It will go into production later in 2022.

Another tire, the Sailun Terramax RT, will be available next year in 36 sizes. The 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake-certified product “will be similar to the Terramax AT,” says Jared Lynch, Sailun’s vice president of sales.

Sailun will provide additional dealer support, including track events, product training videos and digital marketing initiatives focused on social media and search engine optimization.

ITDG members celebrate big wins

GROUP IS APPROACHING ‘MAGIC NUMBER’ OF 1,000 LOCATIONS

By Greg Smith

More than 300 people attended the Independent Tire Dealers Group LLC’s recent meeting in Nashville, Tenn. The group has 163 members, who together represent 987 locations throughout 44 states.

“It only took us over two years to meet face-to-face again, but it is sure worth it,” Dave Marks, president and CEO of the Independent Tire Dealers Group

LLC (ITDG), said during its annual meeting and trade show, which recently took place in Nashville, Tenn.

Dealers and vendors who attended the event all shared the same sentiment. Being together again to discuss business and network was highly important to them.

The meeting was structured with one main general session, a trade show and individual breakout meetings that allowed dealers to meet and discuss programs with their vendors face-to-face.

Marks said that ITDG, like all businesses and groups, needed to adapt and change as it worked its way through the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He told the assembled group of 317 members, suppliers and spouses that

“nobody knew what was going to come at us two years ago.”

Through it all, he found “our board to be the most astute people I’ve ever worked with.”

In fact, Marks said he was proud of the diversity of the current board, which includes seven different members from seven different states.

NUMBERS ARE CLIMBING

Marks compared how ITDG looked in 2016 versus where it stood at the end of 2021.

From 2016 through 2021, the group grew from 106 shareholders to 122 shareholders, despite a number of members who were acquired by other companies and left the organization. Also from 2016 through the end of last year, ITDG increased its total number of members from 143 to 158, which increased its total number of locations from 609 to 843.

Marks said ITDG lost 12 shareholders since its 2019 meeting, but replaced those with 15 new shareholders. In just the last four months, the group has added eight new members, accounting for 66 more locations.

ITDG today has 163 members representing 987 locations in 44 states. The only states without locations are Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia.

A goal of hitting “the magic number of 1,000 locations” was mentioned several times during the meeting.

Marks pointed out that the group has seen tremendous growth in the eastern part of the U.S.

From a financial standpoint, ITDG had gross purchases of more than $211.1 million for 2016, increasing to $344.7 million during 2021.

Average eligible purchases per shareholder grew substantially, as well — far outpacing inflation, said Marks. (He joked that his hand shook as he wrote out shareholder payout checks, with the average check increasing from $78,000 in 2016 to almost $121,000 in 2021.)

All of this happened while ITDG trimmed back the number of partnervendors it used. The group decreased from 89 to 75 partner-vendors, said Marks.

NEW INSURANCE PLAN

ITDG also provided an update of its Cell ITDG Captive Insurance Plan, which replaced the original IICIC Captive Insurance that was established in 2005. Just a few of the new plan’s enhancements are lower cost of entry, reduced captive operating expenses, better control of members’ workers comp insurance costs and members also can recognize a return of some of their premiums for good performance. Marks is the current president of Cell ITDG.

During the meeting, Wes Tatum from Leete Tire & Auto Center in Virginia, chairman of ITDG’s NextGen group, and his co-chairman, Colton Miller, from Main Street Tire USA in Colorado Springs, Colo., gave an overview of the group.

The purpose of NextGen is to discuss best practices, including social media, computer systems, shop operations and more.

ITDG’s NextGen group meets via video conference quarterly, with each meeting lasting roughly an hour. Members recently discovered their pay rates and labor rates were very similar in nature, which allowed them to make sure they were following market trends.

Since ITDG was not able to hold its event in 2020 and 2021, three ITDG Dealer of the Year awards were presented to Begg’s Tire of Philomath, Ore. (2019); Montana Tire of Billings, Mont. (2020); and Jack’s Tire & Oil, which is based in North Logan, Utah (2021).

Current board members of ITDG are Chairman Rob Slagle of Affordable Tire USA, which is based in Glendale, Ariz.; Vice Chairman Clay Miller of Mainstreet Tire; Secretary Peter Greenberg of City Tire in Springfield, Mass.; and Treasurer Jay Limbaugh of Jack’s OK Tire in Algona, Iowa.

Directors include Jessica Palanjian Rankin of Grand Prix Performance from Costa Mesa, Calif.; Eric Ostendorf of Tiremaxx Service Center in St. Joseph, Minn.; and Dan Pearson of Northwest Tire, which is based in Bismarck, ND.

Kenda touts new products, faster ‘cycle time’

COMPANY CELEBRATES 60TH ANNIVERSARY WITH OPEN HOUSE

By Mike Manges

“On the PLT side, we’ve turned our product screen over completely in seven years,” says Brandon Stotsenburg, vice president, automotive division, American Kenda Rubber Co. Ltd. (far left), with Trevor Cody, senior chemist (center), and Jimmy Yang, chairman of Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd. Equipment at Kenda’s North American Technical Center helps the company “predict how tires will perform on the road,” says Caitlyn Williams, senior chemist, Kenda.

Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd. recently celebrated its 60th anniversary by hosting an open house at its North American Technical Center near Akron, Ohio.

The facility is one of four research and development centers that the manufacturer of passenger, light truck, bicycle and other tires operates.

The others are located in Taiwan,

Kenda’s native country; China; and

Europe. (The company also has seven manufacturing plants, including one in

Taiwan, one in Indonesia, two in Vietnam and three in China.)

Kenda has invested more than $20 million in its North American Technical

Center. (Forty-six people currently work at the location. Kenda employs 13,000 people globally.)

“Kenda is a global leader in tire development and manufacturing,” Jimmy Yang, chairman of Kenda Rubber Industrial, told guests during the open house event.

The company’s North American Technical Center has developed numerous products for the North American market, including the Klever M/T2 KR629, an off-road light truck tire that was unveiled last November during the 2021 Specialty Equipment Market Association Show.

The tire will be available this summer in 30 sizes, fitting wheels ranging from 15 inches to 22 inches in diameter. More sizes are in the works.

The center also is developing a new lawn and garden tire for zero-turn mowers. “Kenda is really excited about the growth of this market space,” said Yang.

FASTER DEVELOPMENT

“Our cycle time on new products” has been significantly reduced, said Brandon Stotsenburg, vice president, automotive division, American Kenda Rubber Co.

“On the PLT side, we’ve turned our product screen over completely in seven years.”

He adds that “all of the new products in the second generation of our product screen were developed” at the North American Technical Center.

“These products constitute over 90% of our sales in North America.”

During the event, Kenda unveiled its new, digital E-University education portal, which will provide “self-paced” e-learning courses for Kenda dealers. It will include a training library and will notify dealers when new content is available.

The goal “is to provide you with key information to make your job easier,” Stotsenburg told dealers in attendance.

The portal’s introduction was followed by a tour of the facility. Guests met with Kenda research and development officials and observed various tire testing stations.

“We design our test centers to be responsible for the markets they’re in,” said Yang.

In niti Q50 — 2018-20

TPMS RESET PROCEDURES

If a tire pressure sensor is replaced, it will need to be initiated. The tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) is not a ected by wheel and tire rotation.

TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR ID REGISTRATION

TPMS ID registration can be performed using one of the following procedures: • Tire pressure sensor Activation tool (J-45295-A) with CONSULT (preferred method); • Signal Tech II tool (J-50190) with

CONSULT (preferred method); • Signal Tech II tool (J-50190) without

CONSULT

Here’s a schematic description of the TPMS system and operation

• Wheel (A) • View with instrument panel removed (B) • Behind of combination meter (C) • Part of outside door handle grip (D) • View with rear bumper fascia removed (E) 1. Outside Key Antenna (Passenger

Side) - For vehicles equipped with individual tire pressure display in the combination meter, the outside key antennas (driver side, passenger side and rear bumper) are used by the BCM to identify the location of the tire pressure sensor. 2. Abs Actuator and Electric Unit (Control Unit) - Mainly transmits the following signals to BCM via

CAN communication. • Vehicle speed signal 3. Combination Meter - Mainly receives the following signals from BCM via CAN communication. • Low tire pressure warning lamp signal • TPMS malfunction warning lamp signal - The combination meter will display the low tire pressure warning lamp when a low tire pressure or system malfunction is detected by the BCM. A warning message will also be displayed in the information display. 4. Tire Pressure Sensor - A tire pressure sensor integrated with a valve is installed in each wheel, and transmits a detected air pressure signal in the form of a radio wave. The radio signal is received by the remote keyless entry receiver (tire pressure receiver). 5. Remote Keyless Entry Receiver (tire

pressure receiver) - The remote keyless entry receiver receives the tire pressure signal transmitted by the tire pressure sensor in each wheel. 6. BCM - The BCM reads the tire pressure signal received by the remote keyless entry receiver. In addition, the BCM also uses the outside key antennas (driver side, passenger side and rear bumper) to identify the location of the tire pressure sensors. 7. Outside Key Antenna (Driver Side and Passenger Side) - The outside key antenna on both the driver and passenger sides is installed in the outside handle. 8. Outside Key Antenna (Rear

Bumper) - Another outside key antenna is installed in the rear of the rear bumper.