Modern Tire Dealer - October 2022

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Commercial tire dealers are grappling with a number of challenges. Find out more, starting on page 50.

DEPARTMENTS

DEPARTMENTS

4 Editorial

Pro les in kindness

Bozarth, Cohen exempli ed qualities that make ‘tire people’ great

6 moderntiredealer.com

News and navigation tools for MTD’s website

8 Industry News

Pomp’s Tire, Southern Tire Mart make major acquisitions

Purchases extend the reach of both dealerships

18 Numbers That Count

Relevant statistics for an industry in constant motion

20 Your Marketplace

Retail sellout shows weakness

In ation, price hikes continue to impact demand

62 TEN Insights

‘Get in motion and grow’

Tips to help you formulate next year’s business plan

64 Business Insight

Now’s the time to prepare for 2023

Real-world advice for budgeting, employee reviews and more

66 Mergers and Acquisitions

Anatomy of a turnaround

First, commercial tire dealership had to make dif cult cuts

68 EV Intelligence

No room for error

What you need to know about high-voltage EV systems

Focus On Industry/Dealers

70 Continental unveils new taglines, partnerships at Gold meeting

More than 300 dealers attended recent event

72 Industry gears up for SEMA Show, AAPEX

TIA will honor Hall of Famers on Oct. 31

74 Location, location, location

Ted Rhodes’ car lot funnels customers to his tire dealership

75 TIA announces board members

Each will serve a three-year term

76 TPMS

81 Products

98 Ad index

The Industry’s Leading Publication

October 2022, Volume 103, Number 10

FEATURES

22 Double the growth in just two years

Manufacturers explain why all-weather tire sales are heating up

34 Education is key to selling all-weather tires

A little ‘show and tell’ helps seal the deal, say dealers

42 ‘Default yes’ mentality supercharges Belle Tire’s growth

Dealership plans to open 60 stores within next two-and-a-half years

46 The latest on OBD II tools and updates

Suppliers discuss what’s new Commercial Tire Dealer™

50 Top commercial dealers work around pricing, inventory challenges

Lower-tier products also are in greater demand

54 Top 25 Commercial Tire Dealers in the U.S.

56 AG Tire Talk: Hip to the slip

Ag tiremakers discuss recommended tire/wheel slip percentages

Modern Tire Dealer is a proud member of:

Photo: MTD

Profiles in kindness

BOZARTH, COHEN EXEMPLIFIED QUALITIES THAT MAKE ‘TIRE PEOPLE’ GREAT

Mike MangesBy

Without a doubt, the best thing about the tire industry are the people who are in it. Over the last 25 years, I have met some outstand ing individuals — folks who not only were and are extraordinary at what they do, but were and are extraordinary human beings.

We lost two of those people recently. One was very wellknown throughout our industry. The other was not as well-known. But both personified many of the qualities that make “tire people” great.

To say that Marvin Bozarth, who passed away last month at the age of 85, was a legendary figure in the retreading business would be a major understatement. Marvin joined the tire industry in 1958, working for the Missouri Farmers Association Oil Co. and later Community Tire Co. and Purcell Tire & Rubber Co.

He eventually rose to executive director of the American Retreaders Association (ARA) and was recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts on retreading. (You can read more about his career on page 14 of this issue.)

I met Marvin in 1998, six months into my stint as associate editor of MTD, by way of my predecessor, Bob Ulrich, who introduced me to him.

As you might expect, I knew next to nothing about retread ing. Marvin — despite being a big deal in that segment of our business — could not have been nicer or more helpful. Within a short period of time, he became my “go-to” source if I had any question — and I mean any question — about retreading or commercial truck tires.

Many years later, former ARA President Terry Westhafer, himself a successful retreader, would say that “nobody knew retreading at the level of Marvin Bozarth.”

Marvin went out of his way to share that knowledge with others — even when it didn’t directly benefit him. Countless people profited from his generosity.

The other person I’d like to tell you about is one who became a good friend of mine after I first interviewed him for an MTD article way back in 1999.

Charlie Cohen, who passed away this past July at the age of 76, was one of the most successful industrial tire dealers in Chicago, Ill., for many decades.

He started his career in the 1960s as a sales trainee at BFGoodrich Co. That led to a job at Werd & Schafer Tire Co., one of “The Windy City’s” top industrial tire dealers at the time and a big Bandag retreader.

In 1978, Charlie went into business for himself and founded Industrial Tire Brokers, which quickly became one of Chicago’s

most dominant players in the highly specialized forklift tire segment. (“Chicago is a big market,” he told me in 2002. “The more you’re equipped to handle customers, the better off you’ll be. If you have the expertise, the gross will come.”)

In the early 2000s, Charlie sold his company. He soon discovered that he missed running his own business and in 2006, formed Industrial Tire Solutions with his part ner, Mike Pollini. Together, they replicated the success of Charlie’s original dealership in short order.

Cohen was a top industrial tire dealer for many decades.

Photo: MTD

Charlie sold his stake in their company several years ago. However, even in retirement, he stayed active with a number of clients, who requested that he continue to manage their accounts.

The forklift tire segment is a considerably smaller niche than retreading. But within that world, Charlie was an innovator. To my knowledge, he was the first industrial tire dealer to sell forklift tires over the Internet. He also was a pioneer in promoting eco-friendly, fuel-efficient forklift tires — long before anybody had ever heard of “sustainability.”

Beyond Charlie’s many business achievements, I could probably fill another column with examples of his kindness and generosity. He certainly was loyal to his employees. And they, in turn, had a great role model.

Many years ago, Charlie had an employee who lived in one of the roughest, toughest housing projects on Chicago’s south side and had lost his driving privileges. Charlie would drive to the man’s apartment early in the morning, pick him up, take him to work and drive him back home at the end of the day until he was able to operate a vehicle again. (Charlie lived in a northern suburb of Chicago at the time.)

Why? “The guy needed a hand,” Charlie simply said.

I’m sure you can think of people in your orbit who are just as unselfish and kind as Marvin Bozarth and Charlie Cohen were. It could be an employee, a boss, a co-worker, a supplier or a customer. Be sure to thank them when you can. ■

If you have any questions or comments, please email me at mmanges@endeavorb2b.com.

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MTD readers were interested in what fellow tire dealers are doing to pre pare for a possible recession. Butler Tires and Wheels was among those dealerships whose leaders shared their secrets in a recent story.

Photo: Butler Tires and Wheels

Wide range of topics captured readers’ attention

Acquisitions, consumer tire sellout levels, new legislation that could benefit tire deal ers and retreaders, price hikes and executive appointments all made the “top 10” on MTD’s website this past month. Readers also were interested in the latest from Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc. and Discount Tire. And articles about Bob Sumerel Tire Co.’s efforts to improve the safety of its employees and what tire dealers are doing to prepare their businesses for a possible economic downturn were popular.

1. Southern Tire Mart acquires Redburn Tire, 26 GCR locations

2. Pomp’s Tire Service acquires Tredroc Tire Services

3. A blip and a dip: Why demand continues to decline

4. SRNA is ‘laser-focused’ on dealers and Falken brand

5. New legislation will boost tire importers, retreaders

6. Mike Broberg to replace Jack Cuniff as Les Schwab CEO

7. Continental to hike consumer tire prices

8. RoboTire installs system at first Discount Tire outlet

9. Bob Sumerel Tire takes the lead in sound safety

10. Is your business recession-ready? Dealers share tips

Marianne Dyal mdyal@endeavorb2b.com (706) 344-1388

Dan Thornton dthornton@endeavorb2b.com (734) 676-9135

Sean Thornton sthornton@endeavorb2b.com (269) 499-0257

Kyle Shaw kshaw@endeavorb2b.com (651) 846-9490

Martha Severson mseverson@endeavorb2b.com (651) 846-9452

Chad Hjellming chjellming@endeavorb2b.com (651) 846-9463

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.

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News

Pomp’s Tire, Southern Tire Mart make major acquisitions

PURCHASES EXTEND REACH OF BOTH DEALERSHIPS

Two of the country’s largest commercial tire dealerships have made major acquisitions that significantly expand their footprints.

Green Bay, Wis.-based Pomp’s Tire Ser vice Inc., the fourth largest independent commercial tire dealership in the United States, has acquired Tredroc Tire Services Inc., which was based in Elk Grove, Ill. The transaction — which includes 17 locations, four retread plants and two distribution centers — closed on Sept. 2.

Columbia, Miss.-based Southern Tire Mart LLC. which is the country’s largest independent commercial tire dealership, expanded its footprint by nearly 40 locations with the recent acquisitions of Phoenix, Ariz.based Redburn Tire Co. and 26 Bridgestone Americas Inc.-owned GCR locations.

POMP’S TIRE BUYS TREDROC

The acquisition of Tredroc gives Pomp’s Tire Service nearly 60 commercial-only locations for a total of nearly 160 locations, according to MTD research.

Tredroc was owned by Don Barnes Jr. and Bob Barnes, who also own Allen Park, Mich.-based Belle Tire Distributors Ltd.

“There had been a lot of conversations going back and forth between (Pomp’s Tire CEO) Jim Wochinske and Don Barnes off and on for a few years,” Wochinske told MTD. “Then the end of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 is when it really started to pick up steam and we knew we could work out an agreement.”

Tredroc’s “go-to-market strategy is very similar to Pomp’s,” notes Wochinske. “And with (its) number of locations in Michigan, it was very appealing to us.”

The acquisition also “further strengthens” the company’s presence in the Chicago, Ill., market. Tredroc has a retread plant in the Chicago area, as well as two in Michigan and another in the Cleveland, Ohio, area.

Tredroc employs around 350 people.

One of them, Tredroc CEO Larry Jeffries, has exited the company.

“Tredroc has been a wonderful success,” Jeffries told MTD before the transaction closed. “The team here did an amazing job and it’s nice to see the team migrate over to the Pomp’s side and have a longer runway. Our people can stand up to anybody,”

Post-acquisition, Pomp’s goal, “first and foremost, is to onboard all teammates and make sure they understand our systems and our go-to-market strategy,” says Wochinske.

“The acquisition doesn’t change our strategy. It just enhances what we can offer to fleets, especially in the Michigan market. Having two locations in Michigan will be huge. And the (location) in Chicago just further enhances our supply and the customers we can go after.”

Tredroc, he notes, has “a great, great customer list.”

John Lavelle founded what would even tually become Tredroc in 1977 when he established Antioch Tire Inc. in Antioch, Ill.

SOUTHERN TIRE MART EXPANDS

Pomp’s Tire Service’s purchase of Tredroc comes on the heels of Southern Tire Mart LLC’s buy-out of Phoenix, Ariz.-based Redburn Tire Co. and its acquisition of 26 GCR Tires & Service stores.

The Redburn acquisition includes 12 locations in Phoenix, Mesa, Tucson, Flag staff, Prescott Valley, Kingman and Yuma, Ariz.; Commerce City and Greeley, Colo.; Farmington and Albuquerque, N.M.; and a location in New Mexico that’s near El Paso, Texas.

All Redburn locations are now operating as Southern Tire Mart outlets, Southern Tire Mart executive Kevin Haddox told MTD. Haddox oversees the company’s business west of the Mississippi River.

Like Southern Tire Mart, Redburn sells Bridgesone tires.

“It’s a good, complementary dealer

Columbia, Miss.-based Southern Tire Mart LLC has expanded its footprint by nearly 40 locations with the recent acquisitions of Phoenix, Ariz.-based Redburn Tire Co. and 26 Bridgestone Americas Inc.-owned GCR locations.

Photo: Southern Tire Mart LLC

ship and we feel Redburn is a very strong company,” he told MTD.

“We respect them and what they will bring to us. We love adding the strengths of Redburn to the strengths of Southern Tire Mart.”

Longtime Redburn owners J.D. Chastain and Don Leffler are retiring, says Haddox. “They have been very good to work with.”

Southern Tire Mart’s latest GCR acquisi tions are in Colorado and Utah — two new states for Southern Tire Mart — plus Nevada and northern California.

Southern Tire Mart has had a location in Las Vegas, Nev., for more than 10 years and moved into southern California last year.

“We definitely had customers who were talking to us in those areas,” says Haddox.

“So this was in response to customers’ requests. It filled in some gaps for them. It helps to have the consistency of dealing with one vendor within their regions.”

Southern Tire Mart also is the largest retreader in the U.S., based on overall output. The company, which is owned by Tommy and Jim Duff, has more than 200 service locations.

For an in-depth look at MTD’s updated list of the 25 biggest independent commercial tire dealerships in the country, turn to page 54.

Bites

Kia picks Nexen for EVs

Nexen Tire America Inc.’s N Priz S grand touring tire has been selected as original equipment on the 2023 Kia Nero and the 2023 Kia Nero EV models for the United States market. “As of today, Nexen has supplied its tires to more than than 140 OE fitments glob ally,” says Nexen CEO Brian YoonSeok Han.

Toyo promotes Lovi to VP

Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. has promoted Rob Lovi to vice president of sales. Lovi most recently served as director of sales, national strategic accounts, for Toyo. An 18-year tire industry veteran, Lovi joined Toyo in July 2018 and has been “an integral part of our team,” says Michael Graber, Toyo’s president and CEO.

GRI opens U.S. office

Global Rubber Industries Pvt. Ltd. (GRI) has opened a corporate office in the United States. The office is located at Research Triangle Park in North Carolina for ease of access to GRI’s rapidly growing customer base. “We realized that a corporate office with experienced staff to cater to the grow ing needs of our customer base had now become vital,” says GRI Managing Director Prabhash Subasinghe.

Pirelli predicts growth

Pirelli & Cie SpA expects that overall global sales of 18-inch and higher replacement tires will grow by around 5% this year, while sales of 18-inch and bigger tires in the original equipment channel will increase by around 10%. The OE projection is larger than what Pirelli has previously predicted.

Register for OTR Conference

Registration is open for the next Tire Industry Association OTR Tire Conference, which will take place Feb. 22-25, 2023, at the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort in Tucson, Ariz. This will be the 68th edition of the OTR Tire Conference. To register for the event, see www.tireindustry.org.

Yokohama plant starts up

Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd’s new plant in India has started production ahead of schedule. The facility is building products for the company’s Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America Inc. subsidiary. It was originally scheduled to begin production in 2023.

Yokohama Off-Highway Tires has two other plants in India that produce ag and OTR tires for the North American market.

Tiremakers announce big plant investments

Both Hankook & Co. and Bridgestone Americas Inc. are making sub stantial investments in do mestic manufacturing.

Hankook has approved a $1.6 billion investment to double passenger and light truck production capacity at its plant in Clarksville, Tenn.

The infusion will boost the plant’s consumer tire output to 11 million units and also will enable the production of one million truck and bus tires annually.

Since opening in October 2017, the Clarksville plant has produced 5.5 million tires for the North American market annually, according to Hankook officials.

Bridgestone will manufacture TBR tires equipped with RFID tags at its Warren County, Tenn., plant, which is receiving a $550 million capital infusion. Photo: Bridgestone Americas Inc.

Hankook expects to break ground on the plant’s expansion in early 2023. Tire production during “the new phases of the plant” will begin by the fourth quarter of 2024 and “reach full capacity by early 2026.”

The investment “is a vital step to our growth in the medium truck tire market,” says Rob Williams, senior vice president, North America sales, Hankook.

“As a result, we can better meet the needs of both our growing dealer base and fleets that serve the North American shipping lanes.”

Bridgestone is investing $550 million in its Warren County, Tenn., commercial truck and bus tire plant.

The expansion will add 850,000 square feet to the facility and “will allow for all tires made in Warren to be equipped with RFID tags that enable more efficient asset management,” according to Bridgestone officials.

The expansion is expected to start before the end of this year, with completion scheduled for May 2024.

“The plant will incorporate technology for digital readiness in tires, including the integration of tire-mounted sensors that support advanced, data-driven insights.”

The Warren County facility produced its 70 millionth tire last October. It currently can manufacture 9,400 units per day at full throttle, according to MTD research.

ATD finalizes National Tire Distributors sale

American Tire Distributors Inc. (ATD) has completed the sale of its Canadian subsidiary, National Tire Distributors (NTD), to Groupe Touchette Inc. in Quebec.

“With the sale of NTD now complete, ATD is moving forward as a more focused organization that is better positioned to serve its customers across the U.S.,” say ATD officials.

ATD will supply NTD and Groupe Touchette with its Hercules and Ironman brand tires and will “make its advanced analytics software and productivity-enhancing tools available to Groupe Touchette’s network.”

A LONG WAY TOGETHER

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Plaza Tire store opens

Sun Auto Tire & Service Inc. has opened a new Plaza Tire Service location in Pea Ridge, Ark. There are now 72 Plaza Tire stores throughout Missouri, western Kentucky, southern Illinois and northern Arkansas. Sun Auto Tire acquired Plaza Tire last year.

Plant marks 50 years

Bridgestone Americas Inc.’s truck and bus tire plant in LaVergne, Tenn., is celebrating 50 years in operation. “This is a historic milestone that we are proud to reach,” says Shane Petty, the facility’s manager.

Consumers are driving less

Slightly more than 50% of respondents to Hankook Tire America Corp.’s latest Hankook Gauge Index say they are driving less. Nearly 25% of respondents told Hankook they have canceled or delayed travel due to fuel costs. And younger drivers are “more likely to have delayed planned mainte nance,” according to Hankook officials

Katapult, Simple Tire team

Consumers who buy tires from online retailer Simple Tire LLC will now have access to alternative financing options via Katapult Holdings Inc. Customers will be approved for financing quickly and will experience a seamless checkout experience, according to Katapult officials.

New website for Express Oil

Express Oil Change & Tire Engineers’ new website provides customers with an enhanced online appointment process that shows the availability of nearby locations, real-time financing estimates, side-by-side tire comparisons and more.

TireHub to open in D.C.

Now in its fourth year, TireHub LLC — the joint venture between Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Bridgestone Americas Inc. — plans to open new distribution centers in the coming months, including a warehouse in the Washington D.C. market.

Van’s Tire founder dies

Van’s Tire & Service founder L. Wayne Vana man recently died at the age of 79. Vanaman started the dealership in the 1970s by selling tires out of the back of his van in the Akron, Ohio area. Van’s Tire & Service eventually grew into a multi-outlet operation.

Les Schwab names Broberg CEO

Mike Broberg will become the new CEO of Les Schwab Tire Centers Inc. in early 2023. He will replace Jack Cuniff, Les Schwab’s CEO since 2018, who will retire at the end of 2022.

Cuniff will become chair of Les Schwab’s board when the transition is complete.

Broberg currently serves as the Bend. Ore.-based dealer ship’s chief financial officer, a position he has held for the past four years.

With 460 stores, Les Schwab is the fifth largest independent tire dealership in the United States, according to the 2022 MTD 100.

“During his time as chief financial officer, Mike has been an integral leader in pursuing the company’s strategy of growth and development,” says Cuniff.

Mike Broberg will become Les Schwab’s next CEO.

Photo: Les Schwab Tire Centers Inc.

Last year was “the most successful (year) in Les Schwab history, despite many challenges that included the pandemic and ongoing supply chain issues,” according to Cuniff, who adds that the company “is strong and well-positioned for further growth and success.”

TIA CEO discusses new EV council

The Tire Industry Association (TIA)’s recently created Electric Vehicle Advisory Council (EVAC) will focus on training “tire and auto dealers on the proper service techniques and procedures” of servicing electric vehicles (EVs.)

“One of the things TIA recognizes is that the EV market is growing,” TIA CEO Dick Gust recently told MTD.

“We thought it would be a good idea for TIA to get out in front of the educational process” in order to “train our tire dealers and general body members.”

Gust acknowledges that EVs are a “completely different type of vehicle than most (internal) combustion engine vehicles” and will require a bigger focus on safety when servicing.

“The purpose of the council is to bring together experts who have a very in-depth understanding of EVs and have them teach the best practices (of) managing the service aspects of those vehicles.”

“The purpose of the council is to bring to gether experts,” says TIA CEO Dick Gust.

Gust says EV training will be added to TIA’s Automotive Tire Service training program once the council starts making decisions on an EV curriculum.

He explains that technicians are finding EVs to be a lot heavier than regular vehicles and EVs also have more torque to them — making tires wear more quickly.

“A lot of shops are going to have to update their equipment for these EVs. From a safety aspect, you have to make sure you do things right. My real intention is to get a set of best practices put together and a curriculum that we can use to train our people in the field.”

Gust hopes that the prospect of working on EVs will appeal to potential tire dealership employees.“I really want to make a bigger push to attract more people to our industry,” says Gust.

The coming proliferation of EVs, he believes, is a big opportunity to do so, adding that EVs will change the dynamics of tire service, which will make the tire industry a more “attractive (one) for young people or women — groups that are underrepresented” across many dealerships.

Photo: TIA

Industry News

Bites

Right to Repair goes to Maine

Consumers in Maine could be the next to vote on a Right to Repair referendum, thanks to an effort being led by VIP Inc. Tires & Service President and CEO Tim Winkeler. With the support of other busi nesses around the state, Winkeler has submitted an application to place a citizen inititiave on the ballot in November 2023.

Bridgestone supports guayule

Bridgestone Americas Inc. is investing an additional $42 million to establish commer cial operations of guayule. The company will partner with U.S. farmers and Native American tribes to increase capacity of up to 25,000 additional acres.

BKT sponsors rugby

Balkrishna Industries Inc. (BKT) is the new title sponsor of the United Rugby Champion ship. The contest will now be known as the BKT United Rugby Championship.

Pagani rolls on Pirelli

The entire range of vehicles created by Horacio Pagani — including its newest hypercar, the Utopia — is riding on Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires. The Utopia is outfitted with staggered sizes: 265/35ZR21 on the front and 325/30ZR22 on the back.

SEMA Show adds products

The Specialty Equipment Market Associa tion (SEMA) Show’s 2022 New Products Showcase is expanding to include two new product categories: one for electric vehicles, and another for advanced driver assistance systems. The 2022 SEMA Show will take place Nov. 1-4 in Las Vegas, Nev.

Black’s Tire holds charity event

Whiteville, N.C.-based Black’s Tire Service Inc. raised more than $175,000 at its annual charity golf tournament, which supports the Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina. Vendors and sponsors additionally sup ported two $3,500 scholarships.

Autel Energy makes debut

Autel Energy — Autel U.S.’s brand of electric vehicle charging solutions — made its global debut last month at the North American International Auto Show in De troit, Mich. Several EV charging solutions were highlighted at Autel’s exhibit.

Retreading legend, Tire Industry Hall of Famer Marvin Bozarth dies

Retread industry legend, former execu tive director of the American Retread ers Association and Tire Industry Hall of Fame member Marvin Bozarth recently died at the age of 85.

After a stint in the U.S. Army, Bozarth joined the tire industry in 1958, working as a plant manager for the Missouri Farmers Association Oil Co.

In 1965, he joined Community Tire Co. in St. Louis, Mo., where he served as general manager of the company’s retread division. In 1970, Bozarth joined Purcell Tire & Rubber Co. in Potosi, Mo., where he served as plant manager for five years and then vice president of manufacturing for 15 years.

In 1990, Bozarth accepted the position of technical director at the American Retreaders Association (ARA) in Louisville, Ky., which later became known as the International Tire & Rubber Associa tion (ITRA), a predecessor to today’s Tire Industry Association (TIA.)

His first major assignment at the ARA was overseeing the design and construction of the organization’s state-of-the-art head quarters and training center in Louisville. Bozarth was promoted to executive director of the ARA in 1991.

During his tenure at the association, he served as editor of the popular Tire Retreading/Repair Journal and managed the organization’s name change transition from ARA to ITRA.

In 1991, he also received the ITRA Industry Recognition Award. Four years later, he was inducted into the Retreaders Hall of Fame.

Bozarth resigned from his position at ITRA in 2002 when the organization merged with the Tire Association of North America to form TIA.

He continued to serve TIA as senior technical consultant, while operating Bozarth Tire Industry Consultants LLC, whose services included tire and wheel failure analysis, expert witness testimony, equipment evaluation and more.

Bozarth was inducted into the Tire Industry Hall of Fame in 2003 and retired from TIA in 2018. This past May, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his numerous contributions to the tire industry.

Marvin Bozarth, whose tire industry career started in 1958, was inducted into the Tire Industry Hall of Fame in 2003 and retired from the Tire Industry Association in 2018.

One of the things “that made Marvin special was his ability to put complex situations into the most simple terms that anybody could understand,” said nowretired former TIA CEO Dr. Roy Littlefield last year in a publication celebrating TIA’s 100th anniversary.

“He was very effective when we met with legislators and regulators on Capitol Hill or industry groups and organizations because he was incredibly knowledgeable, yet very down to earth.

“Combine that with his kind and gentle spirit and he was an influential force in Washington D.C. and the industry (for the association’s) members.”

“He was a retreader and if another retreader needed help, he would do everything he could to solve the problem, which he did more times than not,” Kevin Rohlwing, TIA’s chief technical officer, wrote last year in a tribute to Bozarth.

“That’s what I remember most about Marvin Bozarth as the leader of ITRA. It was always about helping the members. He drilled it into our heads every day that we were a service organization,” wrote Rohlwing, who added that Bozarth was “the epitome of the Horatio Alger story.

“From the humble beginnings of a small town in northeast Missouri to leading the ARA/ITRA and guiding (TIA’s) hands-on training programs that continue to this day, his stamp on the industry and the association will be forever remembered.

“In his case, the riches in the ‘rags to riches’ story are the countless people he helped and the lives he changed for the better.”

Photo: TIA

…they’d tell you to fly in the face of what’s expected. Because when drivers are looking to really spread their wings off-road or on, you need to offer them a bolder set of tires built to bite back against fearsome terrain or white-knuckle turns. Atturo’s hardcore off-road Trail Blade Series and high-performance AZ Series tires are engineered to tame the toughest of driving conditions. So whether your customers are looking to sink their teeth into a trail or scare up a good time on the highway, Go with Atturo.

WHAT WILL YOUR TIRES SAY ABOUT YOU?

Bites

TIA offers training

The Tire Industry Association is offering Certified 400-level Commercial Tire Service training Oct. 11-14 in Louisville, Ky. The class covers all aspects of medium and heavy truck tire service and includes 18 modules.

Leeds West grows

Leeds West Groups (LWG) has added to its holdings in Nebraska via the recent acquisition of a Midas franchise location in Omaha. LWG now has six Midas franchises throughout Nebraska. In total, the company has 83 Midas and 38 Big O Tires franchise locations across the United States.

TecAlliance names CEO

TecAlliance has named David Willams the new CEO of its OptiCat/JNPSoft operations in the United States and Canada. Williams replaces Charles Johnson, who will move into a new role that supports Williams.

Falken is OE on Ram trucks

A 22-inch Falken WildPeak A/T3WA tire from Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc. will be available on the Ram 1500 Laramie, Limited Longhorn and Limited 1500 trucks beginning in December. The OE fitment will be in size 285/45R22XL (114H XL BSW.) The company already provides 18- and 20-inch sizes of the tire for the 1500 truck.

RHD Tire opens DC

RHD Tire Inc. has opened a 35,000 squarefoot distribution center in Glendale Heights, Ill. It is the company’s fourth distribution center and is located about 10 miles south of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Other distribu tion centers are located in Grand Rapids, Detroit, Mich., and Indianapolis, Ind.

Yokohama, USW ratify deal

Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia LLC has agreed to a tentative, four-year contract with the United Steelworkers that covers 500 workers at Yokohama Tire Corp.’s Salem, Va., consumer tire plant.

First Brands expands parts

First Brands Group says it has expanded its line of Centric Parts brake components to include 86 new friction and rotor parts covering cars, light trucks and SUVs.

McMahon’s Best-One Tire acquires dealership in Indiana

“We are so excited to come back to Auburn,” says Kim McMahon, president and coowner of McMahon’s Best-One Tire.

Photo: McMahon’s Best-One Tire

McMahon’s Best-One Tire has acquired Best-One of Auburn, which is based in Auburn, Ind.

The deal gives McMahon’s Best-One Tire five full-service retail tire and auto repair locations, plus three commercial truck centers, a distribution center and a retread plant — all located in northeast Indiana.

McMahon’s Best-One Tire is headquartered in Ft. Wayne. Ind.

“We are so excited to come back to Auburn,” says Kim McMahon, president and co-owner of McMahon’s Best-One Tire.

“We love this town and look forward to providing the best service and products to all customers.”

Bridgestone, Continental hike prices

Bridgestone Americas Inc. hiked Bridgestone, Firestone and Fuzion brand passenger and light truck tire prices up to 9% on Oct. 1. The increase applied to tires sold in the United States and Canada.

Bridgestone also increased its Bridgestone and Firestone brand truck and bus tire prices in the U.S. up to 9% on Oct. 1 and on the same day increased Bridgestone and Firestone brand truck and bus tire prices in Canada up to 15%.

And earlier this month, Bridgestone and Firestone brand OTR tire prices increased by up to 11% in the U.S. and Canada.

Bridgestone officials call the increases “a necessary step” as the company “continues to navigate current market dynamics.”

Continental Tire the Americas LLC raised prices on select Continental and General brand passenger and light truck tires sold in the U.S. on Oct. 1.

Sailun unveils updated website

Sailun Tire Americas has unveiled its redesigned website, GoSailun.com, in collabora tion with its partner and distributor TBC Corp. The site is focused on enhancing the customer experience via a tire finder, a more helpful dealer locator and other features.

The site also will provide downloadable product information, educational tools, interactive multimedia and additional information about Sailun’s passenger, light truck, medium truck and bus tire portfolio. ■

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Ask your YOHTA REP about the new Galaxy AT Grip Steel skid steer radial, visit yokohama-oht.com or call us at (800) 343-3276.

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Your Marketplace

Retail sellout shows weakness

INFLATION, PRICE HIKES CONTINUE TO IMPACT DEMAND

John HealyBy

Our recent check-ins with tire deal ers leave us with the view that retail sellout trends continue to show weakness and are lower on a yearover-year basis versus the same period in 2021.

Looking more closely at volume during the month of August, we note that only the Southwestern region of the United States reported any year-over-year growth, with the average of all geographic regions seeing low single-digit unit declines. The Midwest region saw the weakest performance.

Dealers have indicated once again that overall inflation and pricing actions from tire manufacturers are driving declines in consumer tire demand and retail sellout.

FIVE MONTHS OF DECLINE

Thirty-three percent of respondents to our latest survey indicated that they experienced a decline in demand, which compares to similar percentages recorded in June and July 2022.

This marks the fifth straight month of negative replacement consumer tire demand following a healthy first quarter.

Consumer demand for tires is dampening and we continue to hold the position that tire dealers are coming to grips with this, just as consumers themselves are adjusting to increased pricing across all areas of spending.

While we maintain the perspective that volumes in the long run will become more closely aligned with the level of GDP growth, we will be closely watching economic

conditions as GDP continues to decline on a sequential basis each quarter.

CONSUMERS STRIKE BALANCE

In response to our question about the “best and worst performers” from a product mix perspective, our recent survey of tire dealers shows that tier-two tires were most in-demand during August 2022.

We hold the view that this is not surpris ing, given that our dealer contacts continue to cite tire manufacturer price increases — especially in the tier-one category — as a challenge.

We note that consumers who are in the market are showing a continued preference for less expensive tires — supporting our long-held belief that buyers seem to change their preferences based on the volatility of the economy.

Over the long term, we believe this trend will stand as consumers continue to strike a balance between value and performance that fits their budgets.

TIREMAKERS REMAIN DISCIPLINED

Looking at manufacturers and distribu tion, we continue to believe that the pricing environment in North America will remain rational and in-line with raw materials costs.

We expect tire manufacturers to remain disciplined in their efforts to manage the price/volume trade-off in order to maximize profitability instead of market share.

We remain pleased with the disciplined approach to production schedules that we

have seen at the manufacturing level and global inventory levels remain relatively lean.

Moreover, tire dealers and distributors are being tactical with their approach to inventory allocation.

RAWS CONTINUE TO CLIMB

Turning to raw material costs, we see that the “basket” of raw materials needed to build a common consumer replacement tire rose 25.5% on a year-over-year basis this past August, while falling on a sequential basis by 3.8% from prior-month levels.

However, we also note that the July-toAugust decline was the biggest sequential drop since April 2020.

Holding current spot prices flat would yield a 26.3% year-over-year increase in input costs during the third quarter quarter.

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, we estimate there will be a 13.9% year-over-year hike in the cost to build a tire.

We note that carbon black has seen its price increase month after month for 20 months now. In August alone, carbon black saw a 51.6% price increase.

Crude oil prices remain elevated.

Synthetic rubber pricing continued to rise in August, climbing 9.9% on a yearover-year basis.

Price pressures on reinforcement items continued to climb higher in August, posting a 44.3% year-over-year increase.

Natural rubber prices fell 9% on a yearover-year basis in August and dropped 8.7% on a sequential basis from July 2022.

All-in, we see tire raw material inputs continuing to be elevated on a year-overyear basis.

But some of the declines we have observed recently are a welcome sign, given extensive inflation across all aspects of the economy this year. ■

John Healy is a managing director and research analyst with Northcoast Research Holdings LLC, based in Cleveland. Healy covers a variety of subsectors of the automotive industry.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICE SECOND TO NONE

For over 100 years, Yokohama has been building world-class tires with premium compounds and tread designs. Our market proven reputation for quality products and outstanding service is earned one customer at a time. To find out more about what we can do for your business, contact your distributor or visit us at YokohamaTire.com/contact

All-weather tires

Double the growth in just two years MANUFACTURERS EXPLAIN WHY ALL-WEATHER TIRE SALES ARE HEATING UP

Mike MangesBy

The all-weather category is growing at a rapid clip. How fast? Just look at the numbers.

“All-weather tire sales in the United States have nearly doubled over the past couple of years,” says Tsuyoshi Johnson, product manager, PCR tires, for Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc. (SRNA), which makes and markets the Falken brand.

“January 2020 saw 1.2 million units sold compared to January 2022’s 2.1 million units. We feel that’s a drastic increase and certainly makes the all-weather category worth paying attention to.”

In this article, tire manufacturers and marketers weigh in on why the all-weather category will continue to expand, with an

important caveat — dedicated winter tires and all-season tires aren’t going away anytime soon. (Responses are listed in alphabetical order, according to name of company.)

Brandon Stotsenburg, vice president, auto motive division, American Kenda Rubber Co. Ltd.: The North American consumer who travels in areas that may need improved or occasional winter performance is the prime target for the all-weather product. In most parts of the northern U.S., people expect to encounter winter conditions, but may not expect to encounter severe winter conditions requiring a dedicated winter tire. The all-weather or four-season segment has evolved for a number of reasons. First, the consumer has become more aware of

the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol and its representation for improved winter tire performance. It should be noted that the testing criteria to designate 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake is meant to be third party-verified, but it remains the manu facturer’s responsibility to confirm when it applies the designation.

Second, the compromises previously assumed for enhanced winter performance — such as reduction in wear — have been reduced with technology improvements for both mechanical design and compounding.

J. Downey, senior manager, product and pricing, Apollo Tyres Ltd.: The all-weather category has seen substantial growth over the last few years, with the industry forecast

“All-weather tire sales in the United States have nearly doubled over the past couple of years,” says Tsuyoshi Johnson, product manager, PCR tires, for Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc., which makes and markets the Falken brand.

Photo: Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc.

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now around double-digit growth. That growth can be attributed to consumer purchasing behavior toward a product that meets and/ or exceeds the performance needs and is flexible in any geography.

In the tire industry — similar to other manufacturing sectors — consumer demand will be dynamically driven by product innovation. The all-weather category will continue to gain consumer and dealer appeal with the combination of multiple factors, including product performance enhancements through technology.

Ian McKenney, senior product manager, Bridgestone Americas Inc.: All-weather tires have been in the market for over a decade, but they seem to have gained some serious traction with consumers in the last three to five years. Initially, these early offerings lived in a performance space between a dedicated winter tire and an all-season product. As time has gone on and technology has improved, all-weather tires represent some of the absolute best all-season touring tires, while also delivering 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake-rated performance. .

While the acceptance of all-weather tires has grown in the market — often times replacing the need for winter tires — regional factors must be acknowledged. Growth has been more pronounced in the U.S., where in many areas, winters are more mild than those experienced in Canada.

Travis Roffler, director of marketing, Continental Tire the Americas LLC: As a fairly new segment to the market, the all-

The all-weather category’s growth “can be attributed to con sumer purchasing behavior toward a product that meets and/ or exceeds the performance needs and is flexible in any geog raphy,” says J. Downey, senior manager, product and pricing, Apollo Tyres Ltd., who adds that future demand for all-weather tires will be “driven by product innovation.”

Photo: Apollo Tyres Ltd.

GE T UP TO A $ 100 REBATE

Qualifying General Tire Purchase Rebate Offer: Valid only with qualified purchase made in the 50 United States, Washington, D.C., or Puerto Rico between 09/01/2022 and 10/31/2022 or while supplies last. Void where restricted or prohibited by law. No rain checks. Submission must include copy or original, dated, paid, itemized receipt and invoice for the purchase of four (4) new qualifying GENERAL TIRES from a participating retail dealer and a completed rebate form. For online purchases, an original, dated, itemized proof of installation also must be submitted. Offer may not be combined with any other offer, discount, rebate, or promotion. Tires must be purchased in a single transaction. Rebate form must be postmarked or submitted online by 11/30/2022. Offer not valid on purchase by wholesalers, dealers, fleets, OEM customers, or other commercial entities or on returned merchandise. Requests from those with an invalid or undeliverable mailing address will be denied. Limit two (2) General Tire Visa Prepaid Cards per person, household, email, or address. Visa prepaid card is given to you as a reward, refund, rebate and no money has been paid by you for the card. Card is issued by Pathward, N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. No cash access or recurring payments. Can be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Card valid for up to 6 months; unused funds will forfeit after the valid thru date. Card terms and conditions apply. Not responsible for late, lost, stolen, misdirected, illegible, mutilated, or postage due to mail or inability to connect to the website. Any taxes, fees or costs, including but not limited to installation, are sole responsibility of the recipient. Allow 8-12 weeks for fulfillment. Each time you use the card, the amount of the transaction will be deducted from the amount of your available balance. Card will be issued in the name on the rebate form only. Expiration date of card is stamped on the front of card. Card is non-transferable.

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All-weather tires

weather segment makes sense as a subsegment of the all-season market as they are a solid alternative in some northern states to switching between summer and winter tires. This has led to positive growth for this segment.

In certain geographies, it makes perfect sense to switch away from the cumbersome task of changing from summer to winter tires and then back again. Also the required 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake marking (means the tire) provides solid performance year-round in certain areas, where 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake markings are required during the winter months.

But make no mistake — all-weather tires are not winter tires. If you need a winter tire, you still need a winter tire. All-weather tires are a compromise between all-season and winter tires.

David Poling, director of tire development and product marketing, Giti Tire (USA) Ltd.: The all-weather category originally grew out of an unmet need in Canada that for years there was no answer for until technology advancements caught up. In certain areas of Canada, there is a legal requirement to changeover to winter tires with a mountain snowflake rating during defined winter seasons, thus requiring the consumer to change over their summer or all-season tires to winter. This required the storage of tires and the time to do the changeover.

The novelty of the all-weather tire is the elimination of the changeover requirement with a tire that approaches the winter performance of a dedicated winter tire and has a tread life that approaches that of an all-season tire.

In the U.S., where there are no changeover requirements, the real selling point is that of an enhanced all-season tire that specifi cally meets the needs of consumers in states that have moderate to heavy snowfall.

Rob Williams, senior vice president, North America sales, Hankook Tire North America Corp.: There has been consistent growth in this category, led by consumer demand for extremely versatile tires that offer maximum value to drivers year-round. The initial result of this demand was the creation of the all-weather segment. Since its introduction, the popularity of all-weather tires has been bolstered by ongoing improvements and technological developments that have widened the segment’s offerings to include ultra-high performance tires, for example. In general, all-weather tires provide a practical and economical approach to year-round driving.

For consumers who anticipate the occasional, more-thanchallenging winter driving scenario, such as a seasonal snowstorm or freezing rain event, the capabilities provided by all-weather tires make them a more appealing choice. And for this reason, we will continue to see an increase in this (category) as consumers seek seasonal flexibility split along all-weather and all-season product lines, based on the severity of their local driving conditions.

Robert Waytashek, product planning specialist, product strategy division, Maxxis International - USA: Over the last several years, it seems that more and more tire manufacturers are releasing or are planning to release their own all-weather offerings. Customers are driving this trend because so many are looking for a true four-season tire solution, especially in the northern states, Canada and places with colder climates that may or may not mandate tires with 3-Peak

Mountain Snowflake certification. Switching between and storing winter and all-season tires is a pain, as is worrying about not having the traction needed for winter weather.

Switching tires with the seasons also can be expensive. Drivers are looking for solutions to ease their worry and their wallets when it comes to multi-seasonal performance needs. In many cases, all-weather tires are the best solution.

Russell Shepherd, technical communications director, Michelin North America Inc.: All-weather tires are a subcategory of allseason tires, improving winter traction to the level of a winter tire. However, all-weather tires do not offer the performance in ice and slush traction of a true winter tire. Because of that, many find all-weather tires as an offering that closely meets their expectations of an all-season tire — good snow traction for moderate winter conditions. The growth of all-weather tires is primarily replacing other all-season offerings.

Jason Yard, director of marketing, Nexen Tire America Inc.: There are at least three factors at play contributing to the growth of the all-weather category — the global impact from the pandemic on vehicle supply in general, and (the fact that) people are keeping their cars longer, so when they replace their tires, they opt for allweather options instead of what comes standard; the technology in this category continues to improve with regard to traction and durability, so there are more choices to select from; and the growth of the SUV/CUV and light truck categories warrant the need for more capable all-weather tires.

I think the all-weather category will continue to grow due to the CUV/SUV light truck market growth. This category of tire has advantages over the all-season category and in general, (is) fitted more for the LT market.

“As time has gone on and technology has improved, all-weath er tires represent some of the absolute best all-season touring tires, while also delivering 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake-rated performance,” says Ian McKenney, senior product manager, Bridgestone Americas Inc.

Photo: Bridgestone Americas Inc.

All-weather tires

Steve Bourassa, director of products, Nokian Tyres plc.: Ever since we produced the rst all-weather tire in 2002, we have worked hard to help drivers understand the di erences between all-weather and all-season. In recent years, we have seen the all-weather category grow as a result of manufacturer emphasis and consumer education.

Both segments have a major role to play in our product mix and that has been the case ever since our rst all-weather tire. Other manufacturers have begun introducing winter properties into their year-round o erings, too. We’ve seen many dealers become enthusiastic about teaching their customers about the segment and some even consider all-weather tires to be the cornerstone of their product portfolios.

Erdem Halulu, North America chief commercial o cer, Pirelli Tire North America Inc.: Over the course of the last three years, there has been a signi cant growth of this segment. Compared to 2019, there has been a 91% growth of this market and, today, the all-weather segment makes up 12.6% of the total U.S. (passenger tire) market. Consumer convenience is one of the main drivers of this growth. Changing tires from summer to winter and vice versa clearly isn’t ideal for the majority of consumers. Also advancements in technology have made it possible to have tires that balance the all-season o ering with strong winter capabilities.

We do expect this growth to continue, especially in the northern part of the country, (as) consumers start to pay more attention to the di erence between all-weather and all-season tires.

Jared Lynch, director of sales, national accounts, Sailun Tire Americas: e advancements in modern-day tread compounds have allowed tire manufacturers to create all-weather tires that truly do well on ice, snow, wet and dry road conditions. Previous tread compounds did not allow a manufacturer to create a tire that could “do it all”, which meant that an all-weather tire was generally strong in one speci c area and weak in other areas. As tread compounds evolve, so does the e ectiveness of an all-weather tire.

An e ective all-weather tire is extremely attractive to consumers who otherwise change tires seasonally in order to experience premium traction in speci c conditions (winter, summer, etc.) is will save these consumers time and money without sacri cing much in terms of traction, handling, comfort and longevity through the seasonal changes.

Johnson, SRNA: Regarding factors driving (all-weather tire) growth, we believe it boils down to two main points — convenience and attentiveness to extreme weather. In the eyes of a consumer, the ideal situation would entail thinking about their tires as little as possible. at includes not having to swap them when winter weather rolls around. Not only does this potentially help them save money by not having to purchase a second set of wheels and tires, it’s simply more convenient. And convenience is the name of the game, especially a er everyone’s become accustomed to doing basically anything they want from the comfort of their homes the past couple of years.

In addition to more convenience, consumers also expect better products year a er year. One area in which drivers are demanding improved tire performance is winter traction. Consumers are only able to forego the swapping of winter tires if they have all-weather tires that truly perform in all weather conditions. Fortunately, the

“In certain geographies, it makes perfect sense to switch away from the cumbersome task of changing from summer to winter tires and then back again,” says Travis Rof er, director of marketing, Continental Tire the Americas LLC, which offers an all-weather tire in its General brand. “Also the required 3-Peak Mountain Snow ake marking (means the tire) provides solid performance year-round in certain areas.”

Photo: Continental Tire the Americas LLC

“In

Photo: Nokian Tyres plc

industry has continued to deliver products that meet and exceed customer expectations — led in large part by manufacturers’ focus on building tires that earn the industry’s 3-Peak Mountain Snow ake rating.

Patricia Del Aguila, vice president of merchandising and product marketing, TBC Corp.: e all-weather category has grown twofold over the past couple of years. is growth can be attributed to the number of products introduced into the category, coupled with more consumers understanding the bene ts of all-weather products.

Some versions of winter tires are already being replaced by all-weather products as they provide a versatile, single-tire solution — regardless of the season — for customers who live in areas with only occasional snowfall or temperature dips, instead of needing to switch tires throughout the year.

All-weather tires will likely continue to be a supplement to existing and future all-season o erings as all-season tires are not recommended for severe snow conditions.

Andrew Hoit, vice president of sales and marketing, brands division, Tireco: All-weather demand comes from customers wanting convenience as it is more cost-e ective and time-e ective to run an all-weather tire year-round. What we are hearing from our customers is that the all-weather tire provides their customers with better ride quality. e value proposition of an all-weather tire is what’s helping customers switch over to this category from

All-weather tires

traditional all-season and winter tires. All-weather tires will be a supplement to existing all-season o erings mainly because of the warmer climate in most states.

e largest U.S. vehicle population is all in the lower half of the country where it’s warmer and there’s not a need for an all-weather tire. But some pockets of the country where there is heavy snow may experience a greater demand for all-weather products.

Cameron Parsons, product engineer and eld analyst, competition and specialty tires, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp.: We’ve seen massive growth in this category. All-weather tires have improved since the early stages of the category and we expect to see further growth in the future. Given that it’s an evolving category of tire and that it can potentially replace two (other categories) — all-season and winter tires — in regions with mild winters, consumers are still learning about its advantages, while many still have yet to learn that this category is even available.

Part of the selling point is convenience and safety. e ability to drive with con dence in dry, wet and snow enables customers to leave home where the weather might be nice and sunny and spend their weekends in the mountains, where it’s snowing.

Surprise harsh winter storms have made headlines in recent years, disabling many from being able to leave their homes as they didn’t have capable tires mounted on their vehicles.

As this knowledge continues to spread, we expect signi cant adoption rates to continue. ■

“We’ve seen massive growth” in the all-weather category, says Cameron Parsons, product engineer and eld analyst, competition and specialty tires, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. “All-weather tires have improved since the early stages of the category and we expect to see further growth in the future.”

Photo: Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp.

All-weather tires

Education is key to selling all-weather tires

A LITTLE ‘SHOW AND TELL’ HELPS

SEAL THE DEAL, SAY DEALERS

Mike MangesBy

The all-weather tire category has significant growth po tential, according to a number of tire dealers who sell the products.

Howie Fetzer, president of Fetzer Tire Automotive Repair Service in Southport, Conn., says his dealership’s all-weather tire sales have been multiplying year after year.

Fetzer reports that his dealership began selling all-weather products 20 years ago, when Nokian Tyres plc, one of his suppliers, introduced its first offering in the then-fledgling category.

“In the very beginning, all-weather tires were a small percent age of our annual sales. Now they’re probably close to 85% of our total sales.”

GUIDING THE CONVERSATION

The secret to selling all-weather tires is education, says Fetzer. He often starts the conversation with customers by discussing the differences between traditional all-season tires and all-weather tires and why he believes that the term all-season “is misleading.

“As we like to say when talking with customers, all-season is a marketing term. There are standards that a tire must meet in order to earn an all-weather rating.

“All-weather tires have that severe service emblem with the ability to run year-round, so you don’t have to switch back and forth between two sets of tires,” he tells them.

“When our customers understand they can have a product that meets the demands of the weather conditions we experience (in Connecticut), they’re all over it.”

The Nokian WR G4 all-weather tire is prominently featured on Fetzer Tire’s website. His showroom displays that promote Nokian all-weather products are hard to miss.

“The Nokian product has been such a fantastic tire over the years that our customers want them. That’s what they come in asking for.

It’s just not the convenience of owning one set of tires that appeals to customers, he notes. “They see the performance difference.”

In fact, one of Fetzer’s customers recently told him he was worried that his new all-weather tires would over-perform.

“This is a true story. Nokian has a 30-day test trial period. I

“The analogy I like to use with customers is, ‘Think of the tires on your car as the shoes you wear,’’” says Howie Fetzer, president of Fetzer Tire Automotive Repair Service in Southport, Conn. “It doesn’t make a difference what physical shape you’re in. Your traction level is based on the shoes you’re wearing.”

recently had the first person in eight to 10 years take me up on it.” The customer returned to Fetzer’s store and the “complaint was that the tires gripped too well! When I submitted the paperwork to Nokian, I listed that as the reason.”

A representative from Nokian contacted Fetzer, questioning the note.

“I said that I wasn’t joking around. The gentleman was concerned that the tires gripped so well that if he made a quick maneuver, his car would flip over.”

Fetzer says not all of his customers are candidates for all-weather tires. “We’re in an area where if people can afford it, they go south for the winter. If that’s the case, this is not the type of tire we’re going to recommend.

“We have customers who go to the mountains in Vermont and New Hampshire every weekend. If that’s the case, we say, ‘You should have a designated winter tire for that.’

“But where we are, it’s a combination of dry roads, wet roads, slushy roads and snowy roads. Most of our customers need something that will meet all of those conditions. They want to make sure they’re safe.”

Fetzer says he sees nothing but growth for the all-weather category “for a number of reasons. One, as more manufacturers offer the product, retailers have more options. It’s hard to grow a market if there’s no product to sell.

“And I think that once the consumer starts experiencing the differences between all-season and all-weather tires, they’re going to want all-weather tires — if they live in areas that experience winter conditions.

“The analogy I like to use with customers is, ‘Think of the tires on your car as the shoes you wear. It doesn’t make a difference what physical shape you’re in. Your traction level is based on the shoes you’re wearing. An all-season tire is like a sneaker, whereas an all-weather tire is like putting a boot on your foot.’”

Photo: Fetzer Tire Automotive Repair Service

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• Fully automatic. Beam can be moved up and down

• Compatible with all car lifts including 2 post lifts and mid-rise scissor lifts

• Shortest distance of rolling run-out compensation in the industry, no need to wait during rolling

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• Fully Automatic. Super easy to operate

• Leverless Center Post. Rim size up to 30"

• Equipped with Wheel lift cart and a 12" display screen that shows the underside of the wheel when changing the tire

All-weather tires

“In the beginning, all-weather tires were a small part of our sales,” says Fetzer. “Now they’re probably close to 85% of our total sales.” And he expects that number to increase.

Photo: Fetzer Tire Automotive Repair Service

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

“We have a showroom that’s full of di erent tires,” says Joe Peter, who owns Joe’s Auto & Tire, a dealership with one location in Rochester, Minn., and another in Winona, Minn.

“I think in this climate, where winters are brutal, all-weather will probably overtake all-season at some point,” says Chris Mortenson, owner of Samaritan Tire Co., a Minnetonka, Minn.-based dealership (left, with his son, Michael).

“I think there’s good potential for that.”

Photo: Samaritan Tire Co.

“Consumers think they’re all round and black and have some kind of tread con guration on them. But an all-weather tread looks so much di erent than a conventional all-season tread. Customers can see the tread blocks. ey can see the larger voids.”

Peter tells customers they can put an all-season tire on their vehicle “and drive (through) all four seasons OK. But they can put on an all-weather tire and drive through all four seasons and have a higher level of con dence and safety in winter conditions.

“We qualify customers with good questions and really focus on the question of how important winter traction and safety are to them,” says Peter. “I think it’s pretty hard for the customer to tell you neither is important.”

If there’s hesitation, “we put (customers) on a 90-day trial and tell them, ‘If the tires aren’t what you expect, you can return them and get a di erent product.’”

Peter admits that all-weather tires can be “a bit of a compromise for people who are running dedicated winter tires and switch them out in the spring.

“But this gives people who one, can’t a ord (winter tires), and two, don’t have storage for winter tires, an alternative.”

e Firestone WeatherGrip has been a big seller for Joe’s Auto & Tire, says Peter. “We sell the Toyo Celsius, as well. And we’ve sold Goodyear’s (all-weather) product.”

When Bridgestone Americas Inc. introduced the Firestone WeatherGrip several years ago, “it rolled out in late-spring.

“We immediately started selling it. We had two quarters of sales before winter even hit that year.

“The bulk of our tire sales are in the beginning of the third quarter through the beginning of the fourth quarter because it’s winter weather-driven.

“People know (bad weather) is going to happen. At that point, it’s pretty easy to show them” the benefits of all-weather tires.

“The other thing is that car manufacturers are making vehicles more manageable in the winter with traction control, stability control and other enhancements,” adds Peter.

“The cars behave like they should, no matter who’s driving them. And if you can add even more traction, for most people, it’s an improvement. People are concerned (about safety) going into winter and that’s when these tires really shine.”

There will always be a place for dedicated winter tires, he explains. “We still have (owners of) family cars — like small SUVs or CUVs — who want maximum traction and want the benefit of having a dedicated winter tire.”

But as more manufacturers “either have an all-weather tire or come out with one,” the category will continue to grow. “I think the product will become more common.”

QUALIFYING THE CUSTOMER

Over in Minnetonka, Minn., Chris Morten son, the owner of Samaritan Tire Co. — which also has a location in Edina, Minn. — expects the all-weather tire segment to grow rapidly.

In fact, he says, all-weather tires may edge out all-season tires in his market down the line.

“I think in this climate, where winters are brutal, all-weather will probably overtake all-season at some point. I think there’s good potential for that.”

In the meantime, Samaritan Tire con tinues to push a variety of all-weather tires built by various tire manufacturers.

The General AltiMax365AW, which is produced by Continental Tire the Americas LLC, has been a big seller at the dealership says Mortenson.

The all-weather sales process at his company starts like most others, he explains.

“Most customers come in and say, ‘I need tires for my car.’

“We’re going to look at the car, see what they have and make recommendations from there.”

If customers’ existing tires are no longer adequate for Minnesota winter driving, Mortenson and his salespeople will ask customers if they want “a better-traction tire.”

If the answer is yes, Mortenson’s team will insert all-weather tires into the conversation.

“We explain that these tires are going to work better (in severe conditions) than all-season tires — not as good as winter tires, but the next best thing.

“Now if they say, ‘I go to Florida for the winter each year,’ we might not approach it the same way,” says Mortenson.

“But if they’re up here all year — and they don’t want to switch out summer and winter tires — we’ll recommend all-weather tires.”

Next, the Samaritan Tire sales team will walk customers over to the dealership’s tire wall, which displays all-weather tires next to all-season tires.

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AFTER

The idea is to show customers the differences in the products’ tread designs and other features.

“People want to see what they’re buying. It makes a difference. I know the way of the world now is that everything’s (online), but our customers want to actually see tires” before buying them.

The 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake designation is another selling point, according to Mortenson.

“We explain that it’s like what a winter tire would have. That’s critical. People are very receptive to that.”

‘IT’S OUR JOB TO EDUCATE’

Brad Estes, regional manager for The Dalles, Ore.-based Gill’s Point S Tire, is responsible for seven retail stores and one distribution center in central and southern Oregon.

He says all-weather tires have become “really popular as of late” in his area as more manufacturers offer them.

“People like the flexibility of not having to jump back and forth between an all-season tire and a studded winter tire.”

Some customers prefer the extra traction of a studded or dedicated winter tire, he explains.

“People love the security they provide. I know I do. I live in snow country, so I run studs on my vehicle.”

But customers who aren’t obvious candidates for winter tires can be steered toward all-weather tires — if they’re asked the right questions, according to Estes.

Matching the right tire to the right vehicle “is our job as tire

When selling all-weather tires, Brad Estes, regional manager for The Dalles, Ore.-based Gill’s Point S Tire, says, “You have to ask qualifying questions, like ‘Where are you driving your vehicle? How are you driving it? Are you sticking to driving on pavement? Are you going to be in snow country?’ You have to dig a little deeper. It’s our job to educate customers.”

dealers. Sometimes people come in and say, ‘My tire is M+S-rated.’ Or all they know is the tire is black, round and rolls.

“You have to ask qualifying questions like ‘Where are you driving your vehicle? How are you driving it? Are you sticking to driving on pavement? Are you going to be in snow country?’ You have to dig a little deeper. It’s our job to educate customers on the differences.” ■

Photo: Gill’s Point S Tire

Belle Tire

‘Default yes’ mentality supercharges Belle Tire’s growth

DEALERSHIP PLANS TO OPEN 60 STORES WITHIN NEXT TWO-AND-A-HALF YEARS

Mike MangesBy

Allen Park, Mich.-based Belle Tire Distributors Ltd. — which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year — is one of the fastest growing inde pendent tire dealerships in the United States. And its expansion has accelerated within the last decade.

Fifty of Belle Tire’s 140 outlets have been added over the last seven years. And the company plans to open 60 more stores in one market alone — Chicago, Ill. — within the next two-and-a-half years.

The secret to the dealership’s recent growth and overall success is simple, says Don Barnes III, Belle Tire’s president. (His father, Don Barnes Jr., and uncle, Bob Barnes, own the company, which has enjoyed con secutive years of double-digit growth.)

“In terms of how we go to market, it’s always customer-centric,” says the younger Barnes, who joined the dealership in 2000.

“We understand that our job is to get our neighbors back on the road and give them peace of mind. That’s always been the basis of what we do. We try to keep it simple and approach it like that.”

HISTORY OF GROWTH

Belle Tire was founded in 1922 in Detroit, Mich., by Sam Waze. In the 1960s, Don Barnes Sr., a Kelly-Springfield Tire Co. representative who had been selling tires to Belle, decided to partner with the Waze family and bought into the dealership.

The company began to grow, adding several new stores across Michigan.

The Barnes family took full ownership of Belle Tire in 1984 and continued its expan sion via the acquisitions of several other Michigan-based independents, including American Tire, Delta Tire, Great Lakes Tire and Elkin Tire.

In 1994, Belle Tire acquired three Tire man locations in the Detroit area, “which pretty much doubled our size overnight,” says Barnes.

Belle Tire owns the Tireman name in Detroit. A separate dealership that bears the Tireman name, Tireman Auto Service Centers LLC, is based in Toledo, Ohio, and has 20 retail locations in that market.

In 1997, Belle Tire acquired Metro 25, a longtime Detroit-area tire dealership that had 10 stores, giving the company 45 total locations.

Barnes cites the Tireman and Metro 25 acquisitions as being pivotal, but for different reasons.

Tireman’s “color scheme and brand was red, white and blue, so when we acquired Tireman, we had a complete rebranding — moving from our old-school block letters and brown/khaki colors to red, white and blue. That was one of our most significant acquisitions because it really reshaped our brand.”

The purchase of Metro 25 “really solidi fied us as being Detroit’s dominant tire retailer and is what catapulted us into growing organically throughout Michigan.”

Other acquisitions followed, including the purchase of National Tire & Battery locations in the Detroit area.

And in 2003, Belle Tire ventured outside of Michigan for the first time, expanding into northwest Ohio with three stores in the Toledo market.

Belle Tire continued its steady growth trajectory. In 2015, it entered a new market, Indiana — which was the springboard to the dealership’s biggest growth surge.

“All of our growth from 2000 has been organic,” says Barnes. “We want to control our own destiny. We want to make sure our new locations are in premium loca

“We work with a ‘default yes’ mentality,” says Don Barnes III, president of Belle Tire Distributors Ltd. (right), with Jack Law less, the dealership’s CEO. “We always look to say yes before no.”

Photo: Belle Tire Distributors Inc.

tions on the corner of Main and Main. We want to be where people are and where development is.

“It’s not about planting flags on the ground. We would rather control our destiny and control our culture and make sure we cherry-pick the right people to be on our team.”

TWO MORE MAJOR MARKETS

Belle Tire opened its first “Hoosier State” location in South Bend, Ind., and then moved south to Ft. Wayne and markets that are closer to Indianapolis.

Barnes says Belle Tire management considered Indiana to be a “fragmented market” at the time, “so looking at how we operate, we felt there could be a great opportunity to move in.”

Today, Belle Tire has 37 locations throughout the central and northern parts of the state.

Belle Tire

Several of those are along Interstate 465, which surrounds Indianapolis, whose population grew by nearly 10% between 2010 and 2020, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal. (More than 1.8 million people live in the greater Indianapolis area today.)

Energized by its rapid success in Indiana, Belle Tire then eyed another, larger market — the suburbs of Chicago, Ill.

O en called “Chicagoland,” the area is home to 9.6 million people, making it the third largest metropolitan area in the United States and the largest metro area within the Great Lakes region.

Belle Tire opened its rst Chicago-area store in Villa Park. Ill., in November 2021.

Since then, 10 locations have been added in suburbs Aurora, Mokena, St. Charles, Joliet, Naperville and others, with four more planned to open by the end of October.

Barnes says Belle Tire will have 70 stores throughout the Chicago area by the year 2025.

“Chicagoland has been a great market for us,” says Barnes. “ e stores we have opened are performing well. We’ve been able to win a lot of hearts and minds and are excited to continue our growth.”

Like its Indiana stores, all of Belle Tire’s stores in Chicago have been new builds.

e cost of living in Chicago is roughly 20% higher than in Indianapolis. Wages are higher. Real estate is considerably more expensive, too. None of these things deterred Belle Tire, according to Barnes.

“We like high-barrier-of-entry markets,” he says. “It’s going to keep a lot of di erent

competitors out. When you have a highbarrier-of-entry market because of real estate, labor costs or advertising, we like that.

“Chicago is a huge market with a dense population and an incredible car count. We’re really enjoying this opportunity.”

‘DEFAULT YES’

Belle Tire empowers its employees to make decisions that best t their market and customer’s situation, according to Barnes. But the dealership sets up “guard rails,” he says.

“I wouldn’t say it’s as rigid as ‘We have these standard operating procedures you have to follow’ and it’s not the wild, wild west either, where it’s ‘Do whatever you want.’

“We give every single employee the autonomy to take care of the customer. No one has ever gotten in trouble for taking too good care of a customer.

“We work with a ‘default yes’ mentality. We always look to say yes before no. I think that’s what brings strong talent to Belle when we go into new markets. We’re culture- rst, with very e cient operations that (enable us to) back up everything we say we do.

“I’ve always said that ‘retail is detail’ and it’s all those little things that make Belle Tire what we are. And who does that? Our people.

“When a customer comes in with a problem, we’re empathetic, we’re smiling, we’re educating them and we’re getting them back on the road.”

AHEAD ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Part of Barnes’ job entails keeping an eye on current and emerging tire and automotive trends and making sure Belle Tire’s

employees are equipped to address them. “You have electric vehicles (EV), you have advanced driver assistance systems,” he says. “At Belle Tire, we fully service EVs right now. We’re a full-service EV shop, other than EV battery replacement and service.”

Barnes says the continuing consolidation of independent tire dealerships is “a good thing” for Belle Tire.

“We’ve been able to scoop up strong, talented people” a er their previous employers were acquired. (Barnes calls them “Belle Tire folks who weren’t wearing Belle Tire shirts yet.”)

He also says employee recruitment — particularly on the technician side — hasn’t been a major challenge.

Belle Tire has its own training program for tire techs who want to become auto service techs. It also partners with Lincoln Tech, an automotive trade school that has multiple locations, to identify and recruit new talent. (In 2021, Belle Tire paid for the remodeling of a classroom at Lincoln Tech’s Indianapolis location.)

“ e more we can invest in creating auto service techs, we know we’ll be better o for it. We want everyone to know they can have a career at Belle Tire — not just a job.”

BEING A ‘SUPERHERO’

Barnes says Belle Tire “has a great growth trajectory.”

e long-term plan is to keep the dealership in the Barnes family, despite the fact that “we get calls” from potential buyers “all the time.

“We’re not interested in entertaining any of those calls. We’re focused on our growth and what we need to do to serve the communities we’re in.”

e most exciting thing about being an independent business, he says, “is that we get to be the moment in time when we make our customers’ day better. ey come to us because they have a problem and the problem just happens to be with their vehicle. ey’re upset, they’ve had to rearrange their schedule — it’s a hassle.

“When they leave, their car is xed and we’ve solved their problem. I tell our guys, ‘We get the opportunity to wear that red cape every day. We get to be that superhero. We get to be the reason why their day is better.’ It’s because of this that we have multi-generational customers who keep coming back. ere’s no other place they want to go.”

■

Belle Tire plans to add 60 more stores in the Chicago, Ill., area. “We like high-barrier-ofentry markets,” says Barnes. “It’s going to keep a lot of different competitors out.”

Photo: Belle Tire Distributors Inc.

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Auto service

The latest on OBD II tools and updates

SUPPLIERS DISCUSS WHAT’S NEW

Maddie GehringBy

Keeping up with — and using — the latest OBD II technology can help streamline and boost the e ciency of your operation.

OBD II tool manufacturers and suppliers recently shared information about new products and updates to existing tools. A few products even o er tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) capabilities.

ATEQ TPMS Tools LC’s VT67 enables technicians to perform “quick and e cient” TPMS diagnostic work on encrypted Stellantis models, model year 2018 and up — ultimately covering more than 200 makes, models and years, says Renan Ludscher, North American database manager, ATEQ.

“ e tool connects with the car and establishes an initial connection with the gateway. It then carries some of the data back to the AutoAuth network and receives the encryption keys needed to open the gateway and allow for diagnostic work.”

ATEQ regularly updates the VT67 through secure gateway or encrypted electronic systems, adds Ludscher.

Autel recently released its Ultra EV, 2909 EV and the EV Diagnostic Upgrade Kit. And the company’s Remote Expert became available for Autel’s MS Ultra, MS 919 and MS 909 tablets a few months ago.

“ e Remote Expert platform enables a technician to contract with experienced module programmers and diagnosticians directly through the Remote Expert app on his MS Ultra, MS9119 or MS909 tablet,” says Allison Whitney, Autel content manager .

“ is expert module programmer or diagnostic (tech) can connect to the vehicle in the shop to perform a contracted task.”

Tire dealers can purchase MS Ultra, MS909 EV tablets or Autel’s EV Diagnostic Upgrade Kit for their existing MSUltra, MS919 or MS909 tablets “to have complete, advanced diagnostic capability for gas, diesel, electric and hybrid vehicles.”

e new tablets and EV Diagnostic Upgrade Kit include adaptors that enable direct battery analysis “if the standard communication network is either unavailable on the vehicle or is not functioning.”

Tablets can also quickly display an “all-in-one status of the battery pack’s state of charge, state of health, overall voltage and temperature and a detailed analysis of each battery module.”

Bosch has updated its ADS 525X tool to include model year 2022 original equipment-level coverage. at includes dynamic advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) calibration, DTC code coverage and more.

“We are continually working to add the latest vehicle coverage

Autel recently released its Ultra EV, 2909 EV and the EV Diagnostic Upgrade Kit. And the company’s Remote Expert became available for Autel’s MS Ultra, MS 919 and MS 909 tablets a few months ago, according to Autel of cials.

Bosch has updated its ADS 525X tool to include model year 2022 original equipment-level coverage. That includes dynamic advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) calibration, DTC code coverage and more.

ATEQ TPMS Tools LC’s VT67 enables technicians to perform “quick and ef cient” TPMS diagnostic work on encrypted Stellantis models, model year 2018 and up. Photo: ATEQ

Photo: Autel

Photo: Bosch

Auto service

to our scan tools,” says Scott McKinney, senior product manager, Bosch. “With our enhanced so ware license, users also will have access to Repair Source,” which is Bosch’s service and repair information portal, “and color OE wiring diagrams.”

Equus Products Inc. is unveiling its Innova 7111 OBD2 Bidrectional Scan Tool Tablet this month. e tool provides enhanced vehicle applications and more.

“Each Innova diagnostic tool also includes our guided diagnostics service called RepairSolutions,” says David Rich, technical director, Innova. “ is is a free service that provides professionals (with) the ability to have access to all of the information needed to quickly and e ciently repair vehicles.”

In addition, updates to the company’s RS2 app are ongoing. (A complete redesign was implemented this past summer.)

e app provides technicians with “complete vehicle diagnostic reports to support them while repairing/servicing vehicles,” according to Rich. “ e latest release of the app includes a vehicle care and maintenance feature called RepairSolutions Lite,” which is “available to all users who do not have an Innova diagnostic tool at the time, yet want to have access to a trusted resource.”

TEXA USA Inc. says it updates its so ware on a monthly basis to cover a wide range of vehicle types. “In the last year, there was a big increase in domestic (General Motors, Ford, etc.) and Asian (Acura, Honda, Hyundai and Nissan) coverage in response to requests from the market,” says Fabio Mazzon, TEXA technical manager.

“With each update, TEXA improves our vehicles and system diagnostic coverage. TEXA always adds new adjustments and bidirectional functions, technical and troubleshooting information, wiring diagrams and dashboards.”

With TEXA so ware, it also is possible to perform ADAS calibrations, he adds.

inkCar’s new THINKTPMS line addresses “the need for diagnostic and TPMS functionality, all in one tool,” according to Brandon Alexander, marketing manager, inkCar.

e line consists of the T109 and the T209. Both tools provide TPMS service and OBD II diagnostics. e T109 is currently available and the T209 will be released this fall.

“ e TPMS T109 provides key TPMS functionality, such as reading sensor data, sensor activation and programming of new THINKCAR sensors,” says Alexander.

“In addition, the T109 provides access to vehicle OBD II systems, allowing the tool to read/clear diagnostic codes, provide emission testing readiness status and graph live data streams.”

e T209 will have the same features as the T109.

Topdon USA says its Phoenix series is frequently updated. “You will consistently see a new update available every two weeks and sometimes sooner,” say Topdon o cials. “We want to give the user the latest and greatest so ware instead of waiting until the next quarter for an update.”

Updates add coverage for older vehicles, new testing procedures and more to keep Topdon’s tools “fast and free of digital clutter.”

Recent updates include battery management resets, ADAS calibration, air conditioning system relearning, stop-start system resets and more.

■

Equus Products Inc. is unveiling its Innova 7111 OBD2 Bidrectional Scan Tool Tablet this month. “Each Innova diagnostic tool also includes our guided diagnostics service called RepairSolutions,” says David Rich, technical director, Innova.

ThinkCar’s new THINKTPMS line addresses “the need for diagnostic and TPMS functionality, all in one tool,” according to Brandon Alexander, marketing manager, ThinkCar. The line consists of the T109 and the T209.

Topdon USA says its Phoenix series is frequently updated. “You will consistently see a new update available every two weeks and sometimes sooner,” according to Topdon of cials.

Photo: Equus

TEXA USA Inc. says it updates its software on a monthly basis. “In the last year, there was a big increase in domestic (General Motors, Ford, etc.) and Asian (Acura, Honda, Hyundai and Nissan) coverage in response to requests from the market,” says Fabio Mazzon, TEXA technical manager.

Photo: TEXA USA

Photo: ThinkCar

Photo: Topdon

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Commercial Tire Dealer™

TOP COMMERCIAL DEALERS WORK AROUND PRICING, INVENTORY CHALLENGES

LOWER-TIER PRODUCTS ALSO ARE IN GREATER DEMAND

Maddie GehringBy

Some of the country’s biggest commercial tire dealers are holding their breath to see how high inflation will go and how it will impact their businesses in the months to come.

Many have commented that high inven tory levels have been a big challenge and they are hoping for more normalcy during the coming winter months.

In the meantime, dealers are finding a way to work around this issue as mergers and acquisitions continue to reshape the landscape.

The country’s largest independent commercial tire dealership, Southern Tire Mart LLC, recently acquired Phoenix, Ariz.-based Redburn Tire Co. and 26 Bridgestone Americas Inc.-owned GCR Tires & Service locations.

Not long before this issue of MTD went to press, Green Bay, Wis.-based Pomp’s Tire Service Inc. acquired Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based Tredroc Tire Services Inc.

Both acquisitions have changed the rankings on MTD’s annual Top 25 Com mercial Tire Dealer list, which starts on page 54.

SWITCHING TIERS

Dealers who recently talked with MTD say tire pricing is pushing many custom ers — especially smaller fleets — to opt for less expensive products. But not all customers have been surprised by higher tire prices, according to some dealers.

Also in CTD

“Customers, for the most part, are expecting the (higher) pricing,” says Bob Berlin, presi dent of Pete’s Tire Barns Inc., which is based in Orange, Mass. “It’s the world we live in today.”

“Our customers understand the increases as they, too, have raised prices numerous times,” says Jim Stankewicz, president, Valley Tire Co. Inc., which is based in Charleroi, Pa.

However, John Ziegler Jr., vice president of Ziegler Tire & Supply Co., which is head quartered in Massillon, Ohio, says demand for tier-three and tier-four brands at his dealership has “increased dramatically” due to price hikes placed on already more expensive brands.

Ziegler Tire & Supply Co., like many commercial tire dealerships, is selling more tier-three and tier-four brands, according to John Ziegler Jr., the com pany’s vice president (right), with Kent Ferguson, who manages the dealership’s bustling truck tire retread plant in Massillon, Ohio.

“That — coupled with the major manu facturers producing much less of their tier-two products due to capacity — (has caused) customers to be more resistant to the higher pricing and definitely more value-seeking than in the past.”

Sourcing lower-tier products hasn’t always been easy, according to Ziegler.

He says that major tire manufacturers are focused more on producing tier-one products.

“It makes sense, but it’s hurting their lower-tier brands. And I’ve been spend ing more time trying to buy tires than sell tires.”

Ziegler Tire has started bringing in truck tire brands like RoadX, a “couple of TBC brands” and other brands and products.

Mick Pickens, president of St. Cloud, Minn.-based Royal Tire Inc., agrees that many customers are opting for lowerpriced, tier-three or tier-four tires.

In some cases, this is due to price and in other cases it is due to availability, according to Pickens.

“Trucks and fuel and maintenance prices are crazy right now,” says Rick Benton, president of Blacks Tire Service Inc., which is based in Whiteville, N.C.

Benton says he noticed smaller fleets are buying lower-tier tires at his dealership.

“These smaller fleets are just trying to survive,” says Benton. “Most of the national fleets are making do, but these smaller fleets — they have to do what they can to save money.”

Marty Herndon, CEO and chairman of Snider Tire Inc., which is based in Newton, N.C., says that “inventory levels are high, so we purchase what we can, when we can. We are able to source tires and brands fleet customers prefer about 80% of the time.”

Earl Colvard, president at Earl W. Colvard Inc. dba Boulevard Tire, whose base of operation is in Deland, Fla., says

Photo: MTD

supply is still limited, which forces the company to purchase from “three tier-one suppliers to meet the needs of customers.”

Many dealers have told MTD that the supply situation looks to be improving. But some believe their dealerships won’t be in the safe zone until the rst quarter of 2023.

“We are still making some substitutions and in some cases customers are settling for what we can get versus what they prefer,” says Carson Wright, executive vice president of Nebraskaland Tire, Kansasland Tire and Coloradoland Tire, which is based in Lexington, Neb.

Ziegler also believes once things start settling down in 2023, there will be greater normalcy within the pricing of tires.

“I think the major manufacturers will start producing more. And a lot of tires are coming from overseas, which will ll the warehouses, and customers will start getting all that they need.”

Chris Chase, president of Frederick, Md.-based Rice Tire Co., agrees that truck tire inventory levels should be getting better towards the winter months.

“We don’t always have the exact tire a customer wants, but we have been able to substitute, so we always have something to sell,” says Chase.

MAKING INVESTMENTS

Despite challenges, commercial tire dealers continue to invest in their companies. Royal Tire’s Pickens says that he has expanded services that his dealership already o ered.

“ is includes some mechanical and a signi cant amount of mounted wheel and on-site services,” he notes.

Some dealerships have added more service trucks.

Snider Tire added 50 trucks to its eet and has more than 650 service trucks in total operation now.

Southern Tire Mart added 625 service trucks to its eet, bringing its total number to 1,660 service trucks, according to Tommy Du , who owns the dealership, along with his brother, Jim. ( e Du s were the recipients of MTD’s Tire Dealer of the Year Award in 2021.)

Other dealerships are grappling with the ongoing labor shortage. Bob Feldbauer, CEO and president of Jack’s Tire & Oil Management Co. Inc., which is based in Logan, Utah, says his company is “focusing on our core competencies in an employee-constrained environment.”

Rice Tire acquired a new location in December 2021 and is working on a few more acquisitions that may be ready next year, according to Chris Chase.

“We have also invested in more large OTR (service) trucks and that part of our business is growing.”

Frederick, Md.-based Rice Tire Co. joins MTD’s Top 25 Commercial Tire Dealer list for the rst time this year.

Photo: Rice Tire

Rank, company, headquarters, website

Top 25 Independent Commercial Tire Dealers

Xxxxx

2022 Modern Tire Dealer

Top 25 Independent Commercial Tire Dealers in the U.S.

sales (in millions)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

11. Parkhouse Tire Inc. Bell Gardens, Calif.

www.parkhousetire.com

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

13. T&W Tire LLC Oklahoma City, Okla.

www.tandwtire.com

14. Ziegler Tire & Supply Co., dba Ziegler Tire Massillon, Ohio

www.zieglertire.com

based

of outlets

26 1,660 $2.3B 449.6

Marty Herndon, chairman and CEO 80-plus BFGoodrich, Continental, General, Mi chelin, Hankook, Yokohama

Larry Zurcher and Mark Zurcher, CEOs

93/60 Bridgestone, Firestone, Mastercraft, Roadmas ter, Continental, General, Michelin, Goodyear, BFGoodrich, Uniroyal, Yokohama, Toyo, Ironhead

Jim Wochinske, CEO 68/89 Bridgestone, Firestone, Continental, Gen eral, Goodyear, Michelin, Yokohama, Kelly, Hankook, Double Coin Gladiator

John McCarthy Jr., president 37/15 Bridgestone, Firestone, Continental, General, Yokohama, Michelin, BFGoodrich, Gladiator, Westlake, Zenna

Jack Cuniff, CEO 0/459 Toyo, Continental, Double Coin, Falken, Michelin, Bridgestone, Firestone

Walter Dealtrey, CEO and president 50/3 Michelin, Yokohama, BFGoodrich, Cooper, Goodyear, Kelly, Roadmaster

Jerry Bauer, chairman and CEO 23/10 BFGoodrich, Continental, General, Hercules, Kumho, Michelin, Uniroyal, Ameristeel, Cooper, Galaxy

Roger Lucas, CEO 30/47 BFGoodrich, Continental, Dunlop, General, Goodyear, Hankook, Michelin, Yokohama

Earl Colvard, president 28/4 BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Continental, Firestone, General, Michelin, Roadmaster, Yokohama, Gladiator, Dayton, Uniroyal

Jim Parkhouse, CEO 14/0 Bridgestone, Michelin, Yokohama, Firestone, BFGoodrich, General, Continental

Bob Sumerel, CEO

Kane Russell, John Theissen and Steve Theis sen, owners

William Ziegler, president

16/10 Bridgestone, Firestone, Continental, Goodyear, General, Roadmaster, Yokohama

0/28 BFGoodrich, Michelin, Hankook, Yokohama, Uniroyal, Continental

0/21 Michelin, BFGoodrich, Firestone, Continen tal, General, Samsun, Uniroyal, Sumitomo, RoadX,Yokohama, Hankook, Navitrac

9 650+ $700 169

16 600plus $640 242.8

23 650 $467.4 292.5

10 695 $436.7 113.4

1 1,500 $369.6 184.6

5 260 $310 110.4

6 116 $279 68.8

8 248 $246 142

4 286 $235 64

3 140 $212 31

6 115 $210 56

4 60 $177 48.8

2 170 $140 40.6

15. McGriffTire Co. Inc., dba McGriffTire

Cullman, Ala.

mcgrftire.com

Barry McGriff, president 12/0 BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Continental, General, Michelin, Yokohama, Galaxy

MTD October 202254 2 80 $135 26

Chief Officer Commercial- only outlets/ commercial-retail outlets*

Truck tire brands

Thomas and James Duff, owners 174/42 Bridgestone, Firestone, Continental, General, Yokohama, Toyo, Double Coin, Gladiator, Dayton

Rank, company, headquarters, website

Top 25 Independent Commercial Tire Dealers

Xxxxx

2022 Modern Tire Dealer

Top 25 Independent Commercial Tire Dealers in the U.S.

Chief Officer

16. Jack's Tire and Oil Management Co. Inc. Logan, Utah www.jackstireandoil.com

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

18. Pete's Tire Barns Inc. Orange, Mass. www.petestire.com

19. Black's Tire Service Inc. Whiteville, N.C. www.blackstire.com

20. Nebraskaland Tire Co. Inc., dba Nebraskaland Tire, Kansasland Tire and Coloradoland Tire and McWhorters Tire and Service Lexington, Neb. www.thetirestore.com

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

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

23. Rice Tire Co. Frederick, Md. www.ricetire.com

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

25. Good Tire Services Kittanning, Pa. www.goodtire.com

Bob Feldbauer, president and CEO

Bob Schwenkfelder, CEO

Peter Gerry, CEO

Ricky Benton, president

Gary Wright, president

Commercial- only outlets/ commercial-retail outlets*

Truck tire brands

4/12 Michelin, BFGoodrich, Uniroyal, Goodyear, Yokohama, Hankook, Sumitomo, Sailun, Continental, General, Toyo, Falken, Cooper

15/27 Bridgestone, Cooper, Firestone, Galaxy, Giti, Roadmaster, RoadX, Yokohama

0/25 Bridgestone, Firestone, Michelin, Conti nental, Double Coin, General, Ameristeel, Nokian, Fortune

0/54 Goodyear, Kelly, Roadmaster, Double Coin, Hankook, Falken, Cooper, Arisun, Continental

7/29 Goodyear, Dunlop, Kelly, Roadmaster, Galaxy

Retread plants Service trucks Rank based on 2021 estimated commercial sales (in millions) Points based on number of outlets

5 88 $134 34.6

3 143 $126 68.1

3 165 $118 40.5

1 180 $95 55

4 75 $92.3 58.6

Joseph Zaccheo, president and CEO

Mick Pickens, president

Chris Chase, president

Jim Stankiewicz, president

Denton Good, owner

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

15/1 Bridgestone, Firestone, Goodyear, Dunlop, Kelly, Double Coin, API

15/0 Bridgestone, Firestone, Michelin, Continental, Double Coin, General, Falken

1/11 Goodyear, Michelin, Continental, General, Kelly, Falken, Sailun, Double Coin

8/8 Michelin, BFGoodrich, Continental, General, Yokohama, Sumitomo, Uniroyal

8/4 General, Continental, Bridgestone, Fires tone, Hankook, Goodyear, Yokohama

2 90 $80 32.6

3 121 $80 33

2 72 $71 21.6

1 75 $69 30.6

1 32 $64.6 24.6

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.

TIRE MANUFACTURER-OWNED/TRUCK STOP 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 continue to operate nine GCR Tires & Service locations and two retread plants 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 750 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.

AG Tire Talk

HIP TO THE SLIP

AG TIREMAKERS DISCUSS RECOMMENDED TIRE/WHEEL SLIP PERCENTAGES

QUESTION: Why is it important for ag tires to have a small slip percentage and what is the recommended percentage of slip for mechanical front-wheel drive (MFWD) and four-wheel drive (4WD) tractors?

DAVE PAULK, manager, field technical services, BKT USA: MFWD tractors are 4WD tractors that can be locked in or out of four-wheel drive. They have different-sized drive tires on the front and rear and are geared to run at approximately the same revolutions. 4WD tractors are full-time four-wheel drive. They are geared the same front to rear and run the same-size tires on front and rear.

Ballast, air pressure and tire slip go hand-in-hand when

setting up a tractor. Ballast and air pressure should be used to achieve just enough traction to transmit power to the ground without excessive tire slip. Industry standards of 5% to 15% are the suggested range for tire slip. Industry standards suggest the ideal range is 8% to 12% for the least compaction, best traction and fuel efficiency. If this is exceeded either way, it costs power from the tractor, as well as fuel efficiency.

Having too much ballast and not enough air pressure can cause reduced tire slip under 5%. Too much ballast anchors tires to the soil and allows too little tire slip. While this may sound like a good thing, it can cause tires to slip on wheels, can cause lug cracking at the base of the lugs and can cause drivetrain problems.

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.

Photo: Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America Inc.

When tires slip on the wheel, the rubber from the tire bead fills up the knurling in the wheel and will destroy the tire bead. Lug cracking at the base of the lug causes lugs to tear off because of the increased torque on the tire. Drivetrain problems can occur because there is too much stress on the axles and transmission. The slip provides a safety valve against shock overloads and reduces wear on the drivetrain. In sum, all of the above increases soil compaction and reduces the efficiency of the tractor. Power and fuel are wasted in trying to move the tractor through the soil. If slippage is less than 5%, weights need to be removed and air pressures adjusted.

Having not enough ballast and too much air pressure can cause excessive tire slip above the 15% mark. The tires turn faster than the ground speed of the tractor. Too much slippage results in tire spin and energy loss to the ground. Less than 60% to 70% of the power produced is used to pull implements through the soil. This can drop to 50% in sandy soil. This causes the tire to wear out prematurely and can cause lug cracking because of spinning. You are limited to the weight of the implements that can be pulled or carried. This adds to the fuel and labor cost.

If slippage is above the 15% mark, more weight may need to be added to the tractor and air pressures may need to be adjusted. Duals with reduced air pressure levels can help. If the tires are heavily worn, new tires may be needed for traction.

DANA BERGER, ag business development manager, Continental Commercial Specialty Tires : Depending on how it’s used, the word “slip” is often synonymous with less than desirable outcomes. To slip is to fall, skid or misstep. Therefore, you can conclude that a tractor tire slip is usually not a good thing. Each percent of slip translates into lost energy, which translates into increased demand on fuel. Burning additional fuel means raising your operating costs. Add the growing fuel expense to another known fact that slippage harms the structure of soil and you will start to see a vicious cycle leading

to lost profit levels. Lost profit will have you calculating all of the ways to reduce slip.

Reducing your slip percentage might be the “heads up” approach because you are attempting to combat the program before it occurs. But slip is required to generate traction. Even in the best conditions on a dry concrete surface, car tires require certain low slip rates to transmit acceleration and braking forces, as well as steering,

Making a general statement for optimal traction and slip rates on soil isn’t easy. Soil has a very wide range of surface types — dry sand without any structure; hard, dry soil with some loose material; a variety of wet and even muddy forms; and more.

The looser the structure of the soil, the more slip that’s required to generate high-traction forces. The more lugs on the ground, the less slip will be required to generate the same traction.

In very difficult weather conditions, slip rates can climb to 40% or even more, but this is tolerable for only small or short passages of a total field. When working on dry soils, values of 10% to 15% are ideal. In wet conditions, up to 20% can be acceptable for higher-torque applications, like plowing.

More ballast, up to a certain value, is helpful to reduce slip in high-torque applications. It compresses loose material and generates a solid compacted base behind each lug. In combination with slip and the friction coefficient, more ballast means a higher maximum force/torque that’s able to be transmitted.

‘If slippage is less than 5%, weights need to be removed and air pressures readjusted.’

— Dave Paulk, manager, eld technical services, BKT USA

Photo: Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America Inc.

“Slip is important in optimizing tractor ef ciency and protecting tractor drivetrains from strain and damage,” says Blaine Cox, national product manager — agriculture, golf and turf, Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America Inc.

Even here there are challenges. Too much ballast and energy consumption increases to carry the additional load provided by the ballast. Therefore, the risk of soil compaction increases because more load means deeper track depth in wet soil.

actual distance traveled. In essence, if you travel 200 feet and your actual tire revolution distance traveled is equal to 220 feet traveled, your wheel/tire slip rate will be 10%. (See sidebar on page 60 for general rules related to wheel and tire slippage, optimal tractor slip percentage based on tractor type and a look at ground working conditions.)

The key always remains in understanding the right load equation for your customer’s tires and the appropriate pressure to carry that load. The right

tire — set at the right air pressure, with the right footprint — will deliver the optimal traction required and reduce ground compaction impact.

DAVID GRADEN, operational market manager, agriculture, Michelin North America Inc.: Desired slip percentages really depend on what the operator wants to achieve. Similarly, the type of tire fitted on the machine and air pressures ultimately affect target slip. Regardless of tire chosen, if an operator

TREADS AND RETREADING MATERIALS SINCE 1952

Arguments can be made for tires having a slower slip rate — if you factor in a lower inflation pressure, allowing tires to lower an extra few lugs to the surface in order to grip and if the soil under a slightly slippery surface is dry.

GREG GILLAND, vice president, global agriculture, Maxam Tire North America: As with all challenges in the ag industry, every operation is a compromise between the equipment, the crop, the implement and operational requirements to complete the job. In farming operations using a two-wheel drive (2WD), MFWD or 4WD tractor, it is not recommended to use 100% of the rated axle power to pull your implement. If a farmer uses 100% of his machine’s power to pull an implement or load below ve mph, he runs the risk of over-straining the engine and drivetrain systems, causing premature wear of those components. is also will a ect tire life, as well as possibly increasing soil compaction due to the additional strain.

The goal is to achieve the optimal transmission of power to each axle, allowing for a percentage of tire slip to achieve the highest level of power and traction based on the load carried or pulled, road or field usage and the required working speed to get the job done. Tire or wheel slippage is a calculation that the tractor’s drive system measures by assessing the number of revolutions based on tire circumference, power, time and the

We provide world-class retread solutions to independent retreaders throughout the United States and Canada that includes over 70 different precured tread designs, commercial & OTR extruder strips, cushion, repair materials, and technical support.

‘The goal is to achieve the optimal transmission of power to each axle, allowing for a percentage of tire slip.’ — Greg Gilland, vice president, global agriculture, Maxam Tire North America

AG Tire Talk

wants to maximize both fuel economy and machine efficiency, he should target a slip rate of approximately 12%. At this rate, the operator is not using excess fuel to get the job done, while at the same time maximizing tractive efficiency. This is a calculated balance.

If an operator wants to maximize machine efficiency and is not as concerned about fuel costs, then I would recommend a slip rate between 7% and 9%. This is most common when fuel costs are low. At this rate, tractive capacity is at its best, without creating power hop — assum ing the machine’s weight distribution is optimized.

BLAINE COX, national product manager — agriculture, golf and turf, Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America Inc. : Slip is important in optimizing tractor efficiency and protecting tractor drivetrains from strain and damage. Too much tire slip is inefficient. You’re spinning out and burning fuel on wheel movement that isn’t pushing the cus tomer’s tractor forward.

Equipment manufacturers “count on a little wheel slip as a way to absorb some of the energy that would otherwise wear on transmissions, much as tires absorb some of the impact that would otherwise rattle equipment,” says Yokohama’s Cox.

Photo: Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America Inc.

Tire/wheel slippage guidelines

Here are some general rules related to tire/wheel slippage, courtesy of Greg Gilland, vice president, global agriculture, Maxam Tire North America:

• Too much slip equals loss of 25% to 30% of a tractor’s transmitted power, leading to more fuel consumed and increased tire wear

• Too little slip equals too much weight being pulled, which causes loss of efficiency, increased fuel consumption and increased soil compaction

“Only when roading a tractor do you want the engine slip meter to drop to zero,” says Gilland.

The following are optimal slip percentages based on tractor type and ground working conditions, according to Maxam:

• 2WD tractors = from 10% to 15% slip rate

• MWFD tractors = from 8% to 12% slip rate

• 4WD tractors = from 8% to 10% slip rate

Too little slip is a problem, too. If your customer doesn’t experience a little slip, he is being inefficient in other ways. Tires slip until they have accumulated enough resistance to push against so they can move a tractor forward and pull a load behind it, whether it’s a buggy full of grain or a field cultivator. If tires are encountering zero slip, it means they are in constant contact with all the resistance it takes to do the work. That’s an indication that the tractor is either too heavily ballasted or that tires are buried so deep in the soil that they are having to constantly dig themselves out — burning energy trying to overcome rolling resistance instead of just doing the necessary work of moving the tractor. It also means they are causing excessive soil compaction.

The other problem with zero slip is that the tractor’s drivetrain is under constant strain. Equipment manufacturers count on a little wheel slip as a way to absorb some of the energy that would otherwise wear on transmissions, much as tires absorb some of the impact that would otherwise rattle equipment.

Optimal slip is slippery. Like most things in farming, it depends on the soil, the conditions and the machine. Optimal slip can range from 8% to 10% in firm soil, where we would expect to feel less slip because tires can encounter needed resistance more quickly — as high as 18% to 20% in loose soil. A 2WD tractor tends to run optimally with a little more slip than a 4WD tractor, but the differences are pretty subtle. While a 4WD tractor’s optimal range may be around 8% to 10% in average loam, a 2WD tractor would be most efficient between 10% to 5% slip in the same field. The bottom line is to embrace some slip.

TEN Insights

‘Get in motion and grow’

Randy O’ConnorBy

It’s October already. (Can you believe it?) Before we know it, the holidays will have passed and a new year will be upon us. Cliché or not, the new year brings with it all sorts of fun resolutions. But a quiet giant lurks in the shadows — your 2023 business plan.

An annual business plan gives you an opportunity to formally review your goals, update them and review progress you have made throughout the year. If you have never set a formal, annual business plan, now is the time to do some research and begin to formulate one so you can get and stay ahead.

Laying plans for the future gives you a better chance to work through the obstacles that arise, do your best when things don’t go according to plan and appreciate the smooth times with more clarity and satisfaction.

An annual business plan should be a part of an ongoing effort to help you more consistently and effectively achieve the things you want and deserve.

Here are a few things to add to your toolbox when formulat ing your business plan.

Determine the benchmarks that are most important to your business. A mix of business, gross profit and payroll as a percentage of gross profit are great places to start. If you subscribe to the 80/20 rule, like I do, you’re really looking for the one or two benchmarks that help you assess impact and design an approach with the most clarity for your teams and the least amount of effort.

In my opinion, gross profit dollars per invoice gets rid of a lot of noise and can very easily be related back to daily behaviors. It’s also easy to understand, makes for a simple scoreboard and gives you the opportunity to improve/change those behaviors to achieve a particular goal.

Develop a good understanding of your current performance. Knowing where you are is the first step in developing a route to get where you want to go. No single metric will help drive your financial outcomes more than mix. I suggest targeting a mix of business consistent with what we know about consumer spend — which is for every dollar a customer spends on a tire, they also spend a dollar on mechanical labor and a dollar on parts. How much of that mix are you collecting?

If you subscribe to consumer spend benchmarks, your business should be about 30% tires, 30% labor and 30% parts. If you get to know your mix of business and how it affects your gross and net lines, you’ll be able effectively achieve your financial goals in a much more efficient and successful manner.

Set new, realistic, goals in each of the key performance areas. Arbitrary goals are the quickest way to lose focus and buy-in from your team. Being realistic with your goals is superimportant. Keep in mind that the process of goal setting isn’t a static task. It’s a fluid process. Even the best projections will likely miss the target in some way and being flexible upon review of your goals is a must. Start realistically, review regularly and adjust as needed.

Identify the gap between current and desired performance. Finding the gap is easy. Identifying the behaviors that need to change and how you’ll do it is the hard part. I suggest thinking in terms of system, process and behavior. Which system does the gap use, are the processes within the system adequate and how do both the system and process help support the desired behavior?

Create meaningful scoreboards. Regular, simple and meaningful scoreboards are a game changer. We do a great job of push ing data to our teams from our own perspective and often overlook the importance of data that comes from them and more importantly, is meaningful to them. Ask how they’d like to see the data and give them the resources to report up.

Create a system of accountability. “We just don’t have time” is the biggest excuse we allow ourselves when it comes to creating a system of accountability. In reality, we really can’t afford to not make time for accountability. How else do you expect to move the needle? Weekly “huddles” centered on a specific topic with a concise explanation of the goals, a meaningful scoreboard and a simple narrative are crucial.

As former football coach Lou Holtz stated in one of his many leadership speeches, “In this world, you’re either growing or you’re dying.” So get in motion and grow. Now is the perfect time to plant the seed, since 2023 is right around the corner. ■

Tire and auto industry veteran Randy O’Connor is the executive director TEN (Training and Education Network). He can be reached at roconnor@endeavorb2b.com. For more information, see www.mtdten.com.

TO HELP YOU FORMULATE YOUR 2023 BUSINESS PLAN

Arbitrary goals are the quickest way to lose focus and buy-in from your team.

FURY Tires is a brand with a deeply rooted experience in the aftermarket automotive industry. We understand the world of intense off-road sports and your extreme desire to achieve the optimal on and off-road driving experiences. You can rest assure that before we launch a product, it has been rigorously tested both on and off the road, to ensure that you can enjoy matchless driving adventures.

Now’s the time to prepare for 2023

REAL-WORLD ADVICE FOR BUDGETING, EMPLOYEE REVIEWS AND MORE

Dennis McCarronBy

It’s October and the final quarter of 2022 is in full swing. Everyone is looking to maximize what should have been a very good year for top-line sales and bottom-line profits.

Amidst all the activity of sales and repairs, you also should be doing a lot of planning. Now is the time to get ready to roll out 2023. Let’s discuss some of the more important planning practices.

Sales forecast/budgeting. You can’t just keep adding 5% to sales and 1% to net. That’s not planning. That’s mailing it in. A real sales forecast and budget takes time and thought. You have to answer the question of “What is my business going to look like in three months, six months or a year?”

Take time to forecast realistic numbers and look at things you can control and things you can’t. Things you can control are detailed advertising efforts that coincide with events in your area, including local celebrations, plus national holidays.

Does your staff need training on processes or products to be more knowl edgeable and helpful to customers? Do technicians have their certifications? Are there any opportunities that have grown popular over the last year or so that your business could focus on? For example, if food delivery has become very popular in your market, you could get the word out with some services or packages you offer only to those drivers. Is it time to revisit your stocking program and inventory and rebalance your sales report and what you stock?

There are also things you can’t control. Is there any planned road construction in your area or building or parking lot maintenance that may disrupt business for a few days? Are any of your long-term employees going to retire? Are electric vehicles going to impact your location?

There are many things to consider and there is no special way to be able to predict everything. But taking time to think and research what is going to be going on around you lets you build a realistic budget that can then tie into compensation programs and expected profits. If something major, positive or negative comes up that wasn’t predictable, you can always adjust the plan.

Employee reviews. The key to employee reviews is that they are not a surprise. The dates are planned well in advance and the topic should be of no surprise to anyone because as a good boss, you’ve been giving quality feedback all year long.

The term “employee review” is actually misleading, as the time spent reviewing the previous year should dwarf next year’s plans — from sales goals to education and training, plus personal goals as it relates to work, such as wanting more time off or more overtime. Those goals, plus plans for moving up in your organization and how to get there should be the main time consumer in employee reviews.

If you haven’t ever performed an employee review or you weren’t providing a lot of feedback during the year, the best course of action is to wipe the slate clean — with no review of past performance — and focus exclusively on milestones and goals moving forward.

Tax strategies. Hopefully, like most tire dealers, you’ve enjoyed some success and improvement this year and were able to put some decent profit numbers on your income statement. Take a moment to call and schedule an appointment with your accountant to figure out if there are any changes to existing laws and rules or if an updated strategy needs to be employed if your business had a decent 2022 performance.

And don’t forget to review your own performance. How did you do as a boss this year? Are your employees happy and productive? What is your work-life balance like?

This time of year, I like to make a list of things I’m going to do in the upcoming year. I also like to look at my current list of things I do and see if there are any items that take up my time and really aren’t helping or improving my work or results.

Find at least one specific thing you are going to do differently next year and begin developing an action plan. Find someone to help you hold yourself accountable, because as the boss, that’s usually the Achilles heel. Find someone who isn’t afraid to tell you when you’re slipping on a goal.

The final quarter of the year is always hectic. With so many holidays, it’s like you lose two whole weeks and still try to do as much work. That’s why it’s so important to begin planning now — when you have just a little bit of time — to prepare for the future.

Remember, you’re the only one in charge of what your business looks like financially and physically in the future. Everyone else in the store is employed to focus on today. ■

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.

You’re the only one in charge of what your business looks like financially and physically.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Anatomy of a turnaround

FIRST, COMMERCIAL TIRE DEALERSHIP HAD TO MAKE DIFFICULT CUTS

Michael McGregorBy

Turnarounds have always fascinated me, having participated in a few of my own. They involve two parts — cutting the slide and then growing your way out in a sustainable way. Not everyone can do this.

One person who just did that is Larry Jeffries, former CEO of Tredroc Tire Services, based in Elk Grove Village, Ill. (Editor’s note: Tredroc was acquired by Pomp’s Tire Service Inc. last month.The deal included 17 commercial centers, four retread plants and two warehouses. Jeffries left the company after the acquisition.)

Jeffries has a unique combination of having a lifetime of experience in the tire business, common sense and a willingness to dig in and do the work needed to be successful.

When I recently talked with Jeffries, he was quick to point out that the turnaround at Tredroc was a team effort, but there is no question that he was the chief architect and the leader behind it.

Jeffries has been in the tire business since he was 15 years old, getting his start busting tires at Hibdon Tire in Oklahoma City, Okla. That company was acquired by Morgan Tire & Auto Inc., then owned by Larry Morgan, who had acquired numerous other tire dealerships. Ultimately, in 2001, Morgan sold his company — and its roughly 550 retail locations — to Bridgestone Americas Inc.

At the time, Jeffries was overseeing Morgan’s retail tire store operations. Bridgestone put him in an executive development program and he was eventually promoted to COO of its com mercial tire group, GCR Tires & Service.

After leaving Bridgestone, Jeffries formed a consulting firm and in 2017 was hired by Tredroc to look at its operation.

Tredroc was a merger of three companies: Tredroc Tire in the Chicago, Ill., area; Bellroc Tire out of Michigan and Bell Tire Distributors Ltd.’s commercial division, based in Detroit, Mich. The owners of these three businesses were friends. They decided to separate their commercial businesses from their retail operations and combined the three commercial tire businesses into one entity using the Tredroc name.

What they didn’t do, says Jeffries, “is they didn’t consolidate anything at that time. They kept three corporate offices, three infrastructures and basically three of everything.

“There were seven layers of management before you got to the CEO, in a company that only had 30 stores. Seven layers…” says Jeffries. The company was losing money and “it was clear a restructuring was needed and that’s when they talked me into coming on board.

“First thing I said was, ‘Listen, sometimes bigger isn’t better.’ Tredroc was all about getting the sale. The mentality was ‘If I’m losing a dollar a tire, but I’m selling 10,000 tires a month, I’ll make it up in volume.’”

Jeffries says he changed that mentality.

He began to right-size the company. “We laid off 25% of the staff and we closed about 20% of the locations. This is what we had to do just to survive. You know, sometimes you’ve got to tear it down to build it back up. So we looked at everything.”

With the first round of layoffs, the strategy was to identify and keep the best people, if it was at all feasible. Most who were kept and promoted were people in place who had proven to be good managers and good businesspeople.

Tredroc closed seven locations. “The decision to close those was based on what made the most sense for the company, regardless if the real estate was owned by the owners.”

Additionally, there were certain businesses that the dealer ship chose to divest. “We had a company called EBS, which was Emergency Breakdown Service. A broken-down trucker would call you and you dispatched somebody to go fix it. It was a cash-flow nightmare because you’re helping all these big transportation companies, but if you don’t have a photograph proving you repaired something, you don’t get paid.

“We were basically subbing out all the work because breakdowns can happen anywhere and we pretty much paid the people who did the work right away,” says Jeffries. “And then we don’t get paid for 90 days, if at all.” It took some convincing, but the company was sold to a strategic that could better manage it.

“We also had a small wholesale business that was eating up resources and we weren’t making any money. We got out of that. We used to paint our own wheels — do our own wheel refurbish ing. Guess what? When you start looking at the cost of the wheel refurbishing (and) the transportation, it wasn’t that profitable. We stopped doing that, as well.

“The approach I took was a little bit of the Steve Jobs model. You focus on the things you’re best at, stop trying to do everything and instead do two or three things really well.

“And that’s what we did. And then as we got better and more efficient, then we started saying, ‘OK, now how can we grow this business?’”

Next month, we’ll look at how he did just that. ■

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.

‘You focus on the things you’re best at, stop trying to do everything and instead do two or three things really well.’

Intelligence

No room for error

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIGH-VOLTAGE EV SYSTEMS

Craig Van BatenburgBy

If your technicians are not afraid of working on high-voltage systems, they are either extremely well-trained already or very naive.

Before they pick up a wrench and head over to any vehicle with a high-voltage system, it is imperative that they stay safe. You owe it to yourself and your co-workers to be sure high-voltage systems are understood, even if you do not work on the high-voltage side of things.

To do that, electricity must be part of every entry-level training program and that can be done online or in person.

Do you employ a master-level tech? Talk to them about taking on the technical training in-house. If you need to train someone who works for you, ask them if they are interested.

If you have any doubts about an EV future in the automotive, heavy-duty truck or bus repair industry, just read the news. Now, you will see a lot of pushback and social media is full of anti-EV posts.

Some of the challenges are real, but many are not based on facts. We will not debate that in this column.

EVs are here, they are not going away and they need tires and related services. Your customers will turn to you for help. Are you ready? Your company’s policies will need to include basic electrical knowledge to help ensure the safety of your employees. The use of a volt meter and what it measures is a starting point — but not just any volt meter.

On the dial, it should be rated “CAT III @ 1000 volts.” Those meters can safely test electrical systems of any voltage, from five volts to 1,000 volts.

To master the electrical side of EVs, it starts with the basics. Many books are out there about the basics and there are interactive online classes. ACDC, our company, works closely with repair shops and offers web classes for entry-level to master-level technicians.

Do you know if your local high school or college offers auto service classes? If you don’t, time for a visit. Make sure you arrive with the mindset of “What can we do to help you?”

I am on two advisory boards for high schools in Boston, Mass., and Worcester, Mass.. It’s worth my time. We all know that this industry must find new ways to support and train new employees. And we all need to do our part. Every year, more EVs will be sold and as they age, you will be asked to fix them. The basic work is the same on low-voltage and high-voltage, with the biggest difference being that high-voltage is lethal.

Never get lazy around any potential danger. To put this in perspective, gasoline is one of the most dangerous substances you will handle and each year, thousands of people worldwide die in gasoline-related incidents.

On November 30, 2013, Roger Rodas and his friend and business partner, actor Paul Walker, who starred in the early “Fast and the Furious” movies, died while driving a Porsche. ACDC was working with Mr. Rodas at the time of his death.

It was not the crash that killed them, but the fuel used to drive the car as the vehicle caught fire.

Be aware of your surroundings and the risks inside your shop. Some jobs on this planet require putting your life at risk, but a high-voltage motor vehicle technician’s job is not one of them. Be safe. Gasoline — as well as high-voltage and hydrogen — all have risks.

At this point, you might ask, “What have the original equip ment manufacturers done to help protect EV technicians?”

For the safety of technicians, most OEMs use an interlock system.

If a tech removed something that has a high-voltage part near it, a signal to the HV battery computer will disconnect the HV battery by opening up two relays called “contactors.” At the same time, the HV capacitors discharge.

If an airbag deploys, the same thing happens as if the interlock was interrupted. The only exception to that is the Ford Escape HEV, model year 2005 to 2012, and its clones, the Mercury Mariner HEV and Mazda Tribute HEV. They use an “inertia switch” and that sends a signal to the HV battery computer when there is a crash — similar to an airbag sensor, but it only disconnects the HV battery and does not set off the airbags. At the same time, the HV capacitors discharge.

EVs and hybrid electric vehicles have a lot of safety checks and systems built into them. As with any new technology, play it safe! Read up on these vehicles before moving past a warning label.

Remember — whatever you decide to do and at what level you want to move to with EVs is an internal conversation you need to have now. Doing nothing is not an option. This transition will take time, but don’t wait to act.

■

Craig Van Batenburg is the CEO of Van Batenburg’s Garage Inc., dba Automotive Career Development Center (ACDC), which is based in Worcester, Mass. A 50-year automotive service industry veteran, Van Batenburg provides training for facilities that service — or want to service — electric and hybrid vehicles. For more information, see www.fixhybrid. com or email him at craig@fixhybrid.com.

To master the electrical side of EVs, it starts with the basics.

on Dealers

Continental unveils new taglines, partnerships at Gold meeting

MORE THAN 300 DEALERS ATTENDED RECENT EVENT

MTD StaffBy

New brand taglines, partner ships, sponsorships and the continuation of successful programs for Continental Gold Dealers were major themes at the recent Continental Tire Gold Dealer meeting in Cap Cana, Do minican Republic.

Chris Charity, vice president of sales, U.S. PLT replacement business, Continental Tire the Americas LLC, said the 316 qualified dealers who attended the event represented the largest number of Gold meeting attendees in the program’s history.

He noted that Continental’s recently signed deal to be the official tire of Universal Technical Institute is an example of how the company is responding to the needs and concerns of its dealers.

UPDATED BRANDING

In what was described as an initiative to refine Continental’s personality as a “smart, confident tire brand whose knowledge and passion inspires confidence in others”, Travis Roffler, Continental’s director of marketing, said it was time to launch a new tagline — “The Smart Choice in Tires” — for the brand. The tagline also is reflected in a new website.

Continental has added a new element to its Total Confidence Plan for Gold Dealers. In January, it began offering trip insurance as part of the program, which dealers can offer their customers.

Roffler said the plan provides up to $500 for hotel and other expenses should a customer’s vehicle break down. The pro gram also has expanded its use of a 60-day customer satisfaction trial.

Roffler told dealers current studies show that 86% of consumers are researching tires online prior to purchasing them. When asked by Roffler how many dealers were actively using online and social media platforms to promote their dealerships,

roughly half said they were. He also told dealers that geofencing was quickly becom ing an important way to reach consumers.

Continental has signed to be the sole tire supplier and sponsor of the new Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) Cup series, starting in 2023. The road racing series takes place at seven venues and 14 races and will use identical GR 86 Toyota Supras. Continental will provide its ExtremeContact DR tire for the series, according to Roffler.

When Continental started its sponsorship of Major League Soccer in 2010, Roffler said there were maybe 10 teams using “no-name TV channels.” The league has since grown to 28 teams, with many events receiving national broadcasts and starting in 2023, live-streaming through Apple.

Roffler told dealers that Continental is signed up through 2025 as a major sponsor of the league.

Continental also has continued its spon sorship of NCAA college basketball, with 32 separate schools, as well as pre-conference tournaments in November and December of this year. The season will end with sponsor ships of conference championships with the Big East, Big Ten and Big 12.

Turning to the company’s General brand, Roffler said it also has a new tagline. In refining the General brand’s personality as “a charismatic tire brand that moves with an infectious swagger, born from a steady confidence, not arrogance or rebelliousness”, the tagline simply reads “Delivers,” with an emphasis on the “live” in the middle of the word.

Roffler said the General brand will con tinue its Major League Fishing sponsorship that began in 2013 and is broadcast on CBS, as well as Discovery and the Outdoor Channel. General also has a contract as the sponsor of the ARCA racing series through 2024. These races air on the FS1, USA and MAVTV networks.

NEW PRODUCTS

Gold Dealers were given updates on recent product launches for the General brand by Joe Maher, product manager, Continental.

He said the General AltiMax RT45, which replaced the General AltiMax RT43, executed its phase one launch in June 2022 with the introduction of 100 sizes, representing 73% of volume and achieving a fill rate of 100% for dealers. The phase two launch will take place this month, with 36 additional sizes representing 27% of volume.

Maher also updated dealers on the General Grabber HD Van tire that was launched this past February. He said a key selling point for the tire is its longer tread life than comparable competitors.

Debbie Richards, Gold program manager, congratulated 10 dealers for reaching a 15-year milestone in the program, as well as 21 dealers for achieving 10 years and seven dealers for obtaining five-year status.

Richards also explained that the company is continuing to upgrade its dealer portal, as well as its Gold app for dealers.

Next year’s Gold Meeting will be held March 20-24 at the Atelier Playa Mujeres in Mexico.

Continental Tire the Americas LLC rolled out a new tagline for its Continental brand — “The Smart Choice in Tires” — at the company’s recent Continental Gold Dealer meeting.

Photo: Continental Tire the Americas LLC

Focus on Dealers

Continental execs discuss market conditions, dealer needs and EVs

In this sit-down interview during Continental Tire the Americas LLC’s recent Gold Dealer meeting, Continental executives Bill Caldwell, senior vice president, U.S. PLT sales and marketing; Chris Charity, vice president of sales, U.S. PLT replacement business; and Travis Rof er, director of marketing, discussed the state of the market, tires for electric vehicles (EVs) and more.

MTD: What are current market conditions like?

Caldwell: The industry is still navigating its way out of the last couple of years of supply and demand issues. For the dealer channel speci cally, there is still a mismatch of supply and demand. I don’t think it applies to any one manufacturer. I think we’re all in the same situation right now.

MTD: The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association just increased its prediction for unit shipments. Does that mean the rst half of the year was stronger than the second will be?

Caldwell: There are a couple of numbers — sellout and sell-in. What we’ve seen is there have been a lot of imports that had

headwinds getting into the country, particularly (from) Asia. That is loosening up right now, so if you want to look at comps, it’s an overcompensation, low-comp to high-comp. I’m not sure where it will end, but I think that (the) freeing up at the ports (is) driving a lot of the numbers right now.

MTD: What are the main conversations that dealers are having with you right now?

Charity: It’s different than in the past. We now talk about partnerships. In the past couple of years, dealers have been looking for stable partners. They are having deeper conversations on both sides of the table. Dealers are always looking for pricing, but we make sure we have a great value proposition.

MTD: Has there been a demand for tires designed for EVs?

Rof er: To Chris’ point, dealers want answers to their questions. From us, every Continental tire we build is perfectly suited for EVs. When it comes to Teslas, 100%. Seven of 10 EV manufacturers have chosen us for their tments.

November

Focus on Industry

Industry gears up for SEMA Show, AAPEX

TIA WILL HONOR HALL OF FAMERS ON OCT. 31

Joy KopchaBy

The automotive industry will again converge on Las Vegas, Nev., at the beginning of November for the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show and Au tomotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX).

The SEMA Show will take place Nov. 1-4 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. In addition to the trade show floor and new product unveilings, the show will include more than 110 business professional development seminars.

As of press time, there are 2,400 registered SEMA Show exhibi tors. SEMA says the combined indoor and outdoor show floor spans more than 2.2 million square feet. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event’s attendance was regularly measured at 161,000 people. (In 2021, AAPEX reported its combined attendance at 97,065 people. International travel restrictions remained in place during last year’s events.)

For the second straight year, SEMA is opening its show floor on Friday to enthusiasts who purchase tickets. Those ticketed visitors will be able to walk the show floor from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4, only.

AAPEX will take place Nov. 1-3 inside the Venetian Expo. In addition to a trade show and training opportunities, the event will again include a fully built-out 10-bay garage to showcase and demonstrate products and new technologies.

Among the highlights of AAPEX will include a keynote address featuring two political heavy-hitters one week ahead of the mid-term election: James Carville, longtime political strategist, and Karl Rove, advisor to President George W. Bush. Their presentation is part of an opening-day, ticketed breakfast held from 6:30 a.m. to 8:45

a.m. on Nov. 1. That same event will feature a state of the industry talk by Paul McCarthy, president and CEO of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association, and Bill Hanvey, president and CEO of the Auto Care Association.

TIA EVENTS

The Tire Industry Association (TIA) will host the Global Tire Expo inside the SEMA Show and also will stage several events prior to opening day. On Oct. 31, TIA will host a cocktail recep tion and its annual Tire Industry Honors Awards Ceremony at Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. (Both events are free, but registration ahead of time is required.) The cocktail reception begins at 5 p.m.

During the awards ceremony, which begins at 6:30 p.m., TIA will induct four people into the Tire Industry Hall of Fame:

• The late Larry Day, former chairman and CEO of TBC Corp;

• Christine Karbowiak, retired Bridgestone Americas Inc. executive;

• The late Joe DePaolis, longtime tire dealer and former president of the National Tire Dealers & Retreaders Association, and;

• The late Robert William Thomson, inventor of the pneumatic tire.

Additionally, Redmond “Red” Clark, president of Asphalt Plus L.L.C. in Barrington, Ill., will be honored with the Ed Wagner Leadership Award.

Here’s a look at the training sessions scheduled during the Global Tire Expo — Powered by TIA/SEMA Show:

Nov. 1:

• 10 a.m.: TPMS at 10: TPMS Activation Tool and Sensor Platforms (Upper South Hall, Room 226);

• 10 a.m.: Truck Tires at 10: OSHA Compliance for Commercial Dealers (Upper South Hall, Room 227);

• 2 p.m.: Tires at 2: Successful Tire Dealers Share Their Secrets (Upper South Hall, Room 226)

Nov. 2:

• 10 a.m.: TPMS at 10: The State of TPMS Sensors (Upper South Hall, Room 226);

• 10 a.m.: Truck Tires at 10: Jacking and Lifting Safety (Upper South Hall, Room 227);

• 11:10 a.m.: TIA Press Conference;

• 2 p.m.: Management at 2: How to Investigate an Accident (Upper South Hall, Room 226)

The Tire Industry Association will host the Global Tire Expo in side the 2022 SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Photo: MTD

Your customers depend on you to keep vehicles running smoothly. And you depend on your industry event to keep you in the know about the tools, training, products, and technology to help you do that. Make plans to join your community. With a robust marketplace and experiential learning opportunities, 2022’s event will give you that traction you need in a changing market with new and renewed connections, current insights, training, and a profitable future.

Focus on Dealers

Location, location, location

TED RHODES’ CAR LOT FUNNELS CUSTOMERS TO HIS TIRE DEALERSHIP

Maddie GehringBy

Small town tire dealers understand the highs and lows of owning a business in a community that has a tiny population.

Ted Rhodes certainly does. He owns Dennis Tire and another business, Ted’s Auto Sales Inc., in Louisville, Ohio, a suburb of Canton, Ohio, that has around 9,000 residents.

Neither of his businesses are the size of some others in the area. But they complement and support one another.

One, Dennis Tire, keeps a relatively low profile, says Rhodes.

“It doesn’t need a lot of advertisement and doesn’t try to expand to the neighboring cities around Louisville,” he explains.

The busy tire dealership derives the majority of its traffic from Rhodes’ car lot, which is next door to it. “They come in, see Dennis Tire next to us and then go there for their tire needs.”

Rhodes began sending his car dealership customers over to his tire store. “Owning the (car) dealership before buying the tire shop helped build business,” he says.

“We have about seven employees on the car dealership side and two employees on the tire side.”

The employees work together to generate sales.

“They don’t have to do much since we are right next to each other, but if someone comes in looking to buy a used car and needs a new set of tires or a tire-related service, we send them over to Dennis Tire,” says Rhodes.

“And if a customer at Dennis Tire is looking for a car to buy, (employees) recommend stopping over at the dealership and talking to me to see if I can find them a deal.”

Dennis Tire, whose building is under renovation, offers oil changes and other services. Rhodes estimates the business services about 150 to 200 cars a month and that number is growing.

BUSINESS AS USUAL

Rhodes says the key to his success is the hard work he has put into both businesses.

“When I first opened the car dealership, I was working 72 hours a week. Now, it’s hard to find people with that kind of work ethic.

“I just saw an ad the other day for a part-time school bus driver starting at almost $20 an hour. We can’t compete with that.”

Rhodes stocks his tires in a warehouse and calls American Tire Distributors Inc. (ATD) whenever he needs a specific tire that might not be on-hand.

“They’ll be here the next day or we will run out that day and get it,” he notes.

Rhodes gets business from families who have been coming to either Ted’s Auto Sales or Dennis Tire for multiple generations. But that doesn’t mean customers are the same as they used to be, he adds.

“Everyone does their research now before coming into the tire store and they have more of an opinion on their tires.”

ONE FEEDS THE OTHER

Rhodes is 81 years old. When he was a teenager, his father told him to “go to college, work at the steel mill or start a business.”

Rhodes says he knew he didn’t want to go to college and he “definitely didn’t want to work at the steel mill,” so he bought a Sunoco gas station at the age of 17 and turned it into a used car dealership. This was in 1959.

The car dealership quickly became a staple in Louisville and Rhodes was able to build a loyal customer base.

In 2012, another opportunity presented itself.

The Dennis family had owned a tire dealership next to Ted’s Auto Sales for many years. When they were looking to sell, Rhodes jumped at the opportunity.

Keeping the name Dennis Tire because of its brand recognition,

The most popular brands of tires sold at Dennis Tire are Hercules and Mastercraft.

RECESSION-RESILIENT

Rhodes still comes into the office every day and says both of his businesses will continue to run as separate entities.

He says he has navigated his auto dealership through numerous recessions since it opened and a few economic downturns since buying Dennis Tire.

The current state of the economy doesn’t make Rhodes nervous. In fact, he says there’s no point in worrying.

“Business carries on and it’s business as usual for us. What other choice do we have? All we can do is work and provide a good product to our customers.”

Several years ago, Ted Rhodes was featured in a local news paper. Rhodes, 81, bought his first car lot in 1959 and added a tire dealership to his holdings in 2012.

Photo: MTD

Focus on Industry

TIA announces board members

The Tire Industry Association (TIA) membership has voted in two incumbents, a newcomer and a former director to its 20222023 board.

Re-elected were Russ Devens of McCarthy Tire Service Co. Inc., which is based in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and T.J. Trum of Green Bay, Wis-based Pomp’s Tire Service Inc.

Gary MacCausland of VIP Tires & Service, which is based in Lewiston, Maine, was elected to his rst term. Rejoining the board a er a three-year hiatus is 2019 TIA President John Evankovich of Sam’s Club Tire & Battery Centers.

Devens is director of safety and risk management at McCarthy Tire Service. He is a current TIA board member and chair of TIA’s Training & Education Committee.

Devens has more than 30 years of experience in safety, law enforcement, security, insurance and risk management and is a Level-400 Commercial Tire Service TIA instructor. He also is Part 48 Certi ed and a Part 46 Instructor with the Mine Safety & Health Administration, 30-hour General Industry Certi ed with OSHA and a Certi ed Commercial Vehicle Inspector with U.S. DOT.

In addition, Devens is the co-founder of the Tire Industry Safety Leadership Summit. He conducts ongoing training, evaluations of workplace safety, emergency response, hazardous materials management and facility security for more than 70 McCarthy Tire locations and 1,300 employees. He says he looks forward to continuing TIA’s mission of updating and improving the association’s training programs. “Being a member and end user of all of the programs o ers me a true perspective of the value of the training.”

Trum is general counsel for Pomp’s Tire Service and a current TIA board

member, presently serving as chair of the association’s Government A airs Committee and leading the association’s support of Truckers Against Tra cking. He also chairs the American Commercial Tire Network Human Resources and Safety Committee and is a licensed legal counsel and certi ed senior professional in human resources by the Society for Human Resource Management.

Trum “is committed to the servant leadership model that inspires leadership up the organizational structure and believes proper engagement, sta ng and training will be de ning keys to success for industry dealers,” say TIA o cials.

MacCausland is senior vice president of operations for VIP Tires & Service, one of North America’s largest retail tire dealerships with 65 locations, according to the 2022 MTD 100 list.

His entire career has been dedicated to the tire service profession, “with a huge focus on doing it the right way,” he says.

MacCausland has more than 35 years of experience overseeing multi-unit tire

and service operations, working for such companies as Tire America, Sears, Merchants, National Tire & Battery, Pep Boys — Manny, Moe & Jack and others.

He is described as “super-passionate” about training and employee developmen.

Today, VIP employs two advanced TIA instructors, 40-plus TIA Certi ed Instructors and nearly 300 associates certi ed for Basic Automotive Tire Service and Advanced TPMS.

MacCausland currently serves on the board of the Automotive Maintenance Repair Association and its Motor Assurance Program.

Evankovich is director of Sam’s Club Tire & Battery Centers, overseeing more than 580 retail outlets across the U.S.

He has worked at Sam’s Club for nearly 33 years, starting out as a tire installation technician.

The new board members, who will serve three-year terms, were selected from a slate of 13 candidates vying for the four open positions. Voting began in early July and ended Sept. 1.

Mike MangesBy

Russ Devens of McCarthy Tire Service Co. Inc. has been re-elected to TIA’s board. Photo: TIA

DESCRIPTION & OPERATION

When a tire pressure sensor is replaced or tires are rotated, the sensor ID must be memorized by the TPMS control unit. (See TPMS RESET PROCEDURES.)

- Santa Fe -

TPMS SENSOR

The TPMS monitors the pressure of the tire and when it drops below a certain pressure and the TPMS Module (TPMS ECU or TPMS Receiver) makes the

warning lamp turn on to notify the driver. This system consists of a TPMS Module and sensors. The TPMS sensor, installed at each wheel, measures the tire’s air pressure and temperature and signals the TPMS Module via radio frequency (RF).

Function: Detect the pressure, temperature, acceleration and battery condition and transmit information to ECU by a wireless RF. Wheel location is recognized by comparing with wheel pulse of ECS (ABS) and acceleration values of the sensor. (High Line)

Structure consists of four sensors, one for each wheel. Frequency change way is FSK, and High Line is used in common.

Mode consists of the initial factory mode (EOL test mode), the stop and driving mode and the automatic learning mode:

• Valve Type: Clamp

• Threaded length of the valve cam: 8.4 mm

• Material nut AI6061 [Baolong]

• Seal: SR Seal

• Battery Type: CR2450 Type

Warning Lamp

In normal operation, the cluster blinks for three seconds, then o . When operating incorrectly, the cluster blinks for one minute, then stays on.

TPMS RECEIVER Description

TPMS Receiver: BCM (body control module) integrated management:

Mode

Virgin State: The receiver is shipped in this state. Replacement parts should also arrive in this state. There is no autolocation, no sensor wake-up, no sensor monitoring and no DTC monitoring. Platform-specific parameters must be written to the receiver. Sensors are unlearned.

Normal State: In order for tire in ation state and DTC monitoring to occur, the receiver must be in this state. Automatic sensor location/learning is enabled.

Overview

Learn TPMS sensor for underin ation monitoring automatically. e receiver uses sensor information, distance traveled, background noise levels, auto-learn status, short/open circuit output status, vehicle battery level and internal receiver states to determine if there is a system or a vehicle fault.

Operation

1. General Function: Auto-learn takes place only once per ignition cycle. On successful completion, four road wheel sensor IDs are latched into memory for monitoring. Until auto-learn is completed, previously learned sensors are monitored for underin ation/ leak warnings.

2. General Conditions to Learn New Sensors: e receiver must determine the sensor is not temporary. It uses vehicle speed, along with con dence reduction of previously learned sensors. e typical time at driving continuously over 15.5 mph to learn a new sensor is up to 20 minutes.

3. General Conditions to Unlearn a Removed Sensor: It takes less than 20 minutes at 15.5 mph. Con dence reduction is dependent on the time the vehicle is driven at a speed of at least 12.4 mph.

TROUBLESHOOTING

When replacing a sensor:

1. e replaced sensor should be stored in the ID of the receiver, so the sensor key is OFF before changing the receiver. Wait 19

Photo: Mitchell

minutes a er the supervision mode as it enters the parking location ID and learning can take place. After more than 10 minutes of driving at 25km/h, the vehicle speed and location ID are saved automatically.

2. With the tire exchange position, the receiver should recognize the changed location of the sensor. As is the case with the exchange, wait more than 19 minutes a er the KEY is OFF. A er driving for more than 10 minutes at 25km/h or more, the ID is saved automatically.

3. In the receiver exchange position, diagnostic equipment (TPMS exciter included) will conduct the following tasks:

• Vehicles must enter the code.

• Enter the VIN number.

• Makes the sensor ID to enter.

• IG ON IG OFF a er 10 seconds is. (“TPMS” to determine whether the lamp lit)

Diagnostic Procedure Using a Diagnostic Instrument

The following information describes how to diagnose faults using a diagnostic instrument:

1. Connect the diagnostic instrument to the self-diagnostic connector (16-pin) beneath the crash pad on the side of the driver’s seat and then turn on the ignition to activate the diagnostic instrument.

2. In the GDS Vehicle Type Selection menu, select “Vehicle Type” and “TPMS” System and then opt for “OK”.

Register Sensor Method: Check that Write ID and Read ID match.

TPMS RESET PROCEDURES

TPMS Automatic Location Learning

Wheel angular velocity of each wheel is di erent when:

1. Slip per each axis occurs di erently;

2. Rotation radius (the radius of curve) per each wheel is di erent;

3. Tire wear, internal pressure, tire specications, etc. are di erent for each tire.

• e TPMS sensor is transmitted to RF signal at only a speci c phase (the angle of the tire) in the learning mode.

• TPMS receiver checks each tire phase (tire angle) information when receiving RF signals from the sensor.

• RF signal of sensor ID 1, 2.3, 4 is received every time and transmit to

TPMS

ID the most highly correlated among the phase of each collected wheel. (RF signal reception every time, the phase of the tire is transmitted to the constant wheel.)

• TPMS sensor transmits the RF signal at intervals of 16 seconds in the learning mode.

• A er vehicle is stopping or parking for more than 19 minutes, automatic learning for every driving position is performed.

• e sensor is converted into Mode Parking when stopping or parking more than 15 minutes and Mode Parking is converted into Mode First Block when detecting acceleration over 4g (15-20km/h).

DEMOUNTING/ MOUNTING PROCEDURES

CAUTION: e 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 process.

TPMS Sensor Replacement:

1. Remove the wheel and tire;

2. Remove the valve core and de ate the tire;

3. Install using the tire change machine;

4. Push the tire as shown above;

5. Remove the TPMS sensor by loosening the nut.

NOTE: Position the sensor housing horizontal to the plane of the wheel well.

Position TPMS sensor axis coaxial with wheel valve hole axis.

6. Push the TPMS sensor into the valve hole on the wheel;

7. Pre-assemble the nut on the TPMS sensor.

When demounting or mounting, position sensor housing horizontal to the plane of the wheel well. Photo: Mitchell 1

TPMS

e TPMS sensor xing nut must not be reused. Assemble the TPMS sensor without inclination in the right or le direction. e gap between sensor housing and wheel must be within 2.5 mm (0.0984 in).

e TPMS sensor must be safe from harmful impact.

8. Tighten the TPMS sensor nut. Tightening torque: 7.0 - 9.0 N.m (0.7 - 0.9 kgf.m, 5.2 - 6.6 lb. );

9. Remove from the tire change machine;

10. Inject air into the tire until the beads are in the correct position.

Tire pressure: 230 kPa (3 Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) System3 psi)

Tire Removal

1. Remove valve core and de ate the tire:

• e tire bead should be broken 90 degrees from the valve side of the wheel. e bead breaker should not be set too deep

• Avoid tire/tool contact with the valve on demounting.

• Demount should end near the valve.

2. Remove the side of the tire bead area from the wheel using a tire changing machine;

3. Rotate the wheel clockwise;

Tire Installation

1. Apply tire soap or lubrication to the top and bottom tire beads;

2. To t the bottom bead, position the valve at the 5 o’clock position relative to the head on the tire changing machine;

3. Place the tire on the wheel so the bottom bead touches the edge of the wheel a er the valve (6 o’clock). Rotate the wheel clockwise,and push down on the tire at the 3 o’clock position to t the bottom bead;

4. A er the bottom bead is on the tire, rotate the wheel until the valve is at the 5 o’clock position relative to the head on the tire changing machine. Push down on the tire at the 3 o’clock position and rotate the wheel clockwise to t the top bead;

5. In ate the tire until both beads seat. Recommended Tire pressure: 34 psi (234 kPa). ■

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 San Diego, Mitchell 1 has provided quality repair information solutions to the automotive industry since 1918. For more information, visit www.mitchell1.com.

*Do

SRNA completes Falken Azenis line

The new ultra-high performance allseason Falken Azenis FK460 rounds out Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc.’s (SRNA) Falken Azenis high performance lineup. The tire was developed using Falken’s Advanced 4D Nano Technology, which produces a rubber compound “that achieves the multi-faceted balance of high-performance capability, fourseason traction and long tread life,” according to SRNA of cials. The Falken Azenis FK460 is available in 85 sizes, tting wheels from 17 inches to 22 inches in diameter.

SUMITOMO RUBBER NORTH AMERICA INC. www.falkentire.com

Continental unveils next-gen AltiMax

Continental Tire the Americas LLC has launched the General AltiMAX RT 45 , which is a “long-lasting, all-season touring tire for passenger cars and crossovers,” according to Continental officials. The tire replaces the General AltiMAX RT 43 and offers many of the same performance benefits, plus 10% improvement in tread wear. The AltiMAX RT 45 is available in more than 135 sizes, giving it 85% passenger car and SUV coverage.

CONTINENTAL TIRE THE AMERICAS LLC www.generaltire.com

Nokian adds to Hakkapeliitta line

Nokian Tyres plc’s new Hakkapeliitta R5 is the rst non-studded winter tire that Nokian has released for electric and hybrid vehicles. The tire features Nokian’s new, traction-enhancing Double Block Grip design, which consists of a stiff row of tread blocks, plus the company’s unique Arctic Grip Crystals, which are “mixed in the tread compound and work like built-in studs, creating sharp, tough grip edges inside the rubber,” say Nokian of cials.

NOKIAN TYRES PLC www.nokiantires.com

BendPak offers lift for electric vehicles

BendPak Inc.’s new QuickJack 6000ELX is a compact, portable, frame-engaging scissor lift with an open-center design for complete access to a vehicle’s undercarriage. The QuickJack 6000ELX has a robust lifting capacity of 6,000 pounds. Its extra-long frame provides access to a wide range of lifting points from 47.5 inches through 76 inches.

BENDPAK INC. www.bendpak.com

Goodyear expands electric vehicle tire portfolio

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has launched its Goodyear ElectricDrive all-season tire. With the addition of four new sizes to its electric vehicle (EV) tire lineup, the Goodyear ElectricDrive is now “a t for 44% more battery electric vehicles operating in the United States today,” according to Goodyear of cials. The tire comes with a 60,000-mile limited warranty and is available in sizes 215/50R18 95V XL and 215/55R17 94V SL.

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO. www.goodyear.com

Bridgestone launches all-season UHP tire

Bridgestone Americas Inc.’s new Firestone Firehawk AS V2 all-season ultra-high performance tire is inspired by the company’s Firestone Firehawk racing tire and provides “relentless performance in inclement weather,” among other bene ts, according to the company. The tire also boasts a combination of interlocking lugs and 3D sipes for enhanced traction. It is backed by a 50,000-mile limited warranty.

BRIDGESTONE AMERICAS INC. www. restonetire.com

never

Aston® CCD Truck Wheel Alignment Machine

AWA-CCD7

…they’d tell you they’re about to make a sudden impact with your customers. Because when drivers are looking to really shoot for the stars, you want to offer a set of treads built to rock it anywhere. Atturo’s lineup of hardcore off-road Trail Blade Series and highperformance AZ Series tires are engineered to navigate a full constellation of driving conditions in style. So whether drivers are on a mission to explore Earth’s outdoor limits or seeking to speed around city street corners, Go with Atturo.

WHAT WILL YOUR TIRES SAY ABOUT YOU?

ExtremeContact™ Sport02

A dynamic, summer ultra-high performance tire for passenger cars, the ExtremeContact™ Sport 02 ranges in size from 15-21 rim diameter. [Coming Soon]

SportContact™ 7

An adaptive, summer ultra-high performance tire for passenger cars, crossovers and SUVs, the SportContact™ 7 ranges in size from 19-23” rim diameter.

ExtremeContact™ DWS06 Plus

A premium, all-season ultra-high performance tire for passenger cars, crossovers and SUVs, the ExtremeContact™ DWS 06 Plus ranges in size from 16-22 rim diameter.

PureContact™ LS

A luxury, all-season touring tire for passenger cars and crossovers, the PureContact™ LS ranges in size from 16-20 " rim diameter.

TrueContact™ Tour

A long-lasting, all-season touring tire for passenger cars and crossovers, the TrueContact™ Tour ranges in size from 15-19 " rim diameter.

CrossContact™ LX25

A premium, all-season touring tire for crossovers and SUVs, the CrossContact™ LX 25 ranges in size from 16-22 " rim diameter.

TerrainContact™ H/T

A premium, all-season touring tire for SUVs and light trucks, the TerrainContact™ H/T ranges in size from 16-22 rim diameter.

TerrainContact™ A/T

A premium, all-season all-terrain tire for crossovers, SUVs and light trucks, the TerrainContact™ A/T ranges in size from 16-22 rim diameter.

VikingContact™ 7

A premium winter tire for passenger cars, crossovers, SUVs and light trucks, the VikingContact™ 7 ranges in size from 15-22 rim diameter.

On and off the road, the Country Hunter MTI tire is built to tackle performance demands! Its self-cleaning tread design allows you to take on any terrain and it will work just as hard for you on your daily commute. Its tread block design and continuous road traction make it ideal for daily driving on or off road.

The Country Hunter MTII. This generation mud terrain tire will deliver maximum performance in aggressive off-road conditions. The bold, aggressive tread design will chew up and spit out off-road obstacles, and yet, it will still provide a comfortable road driving experience.

The Country Hunter RT will deliver a thrilling off road experience in wet and dry conditions, while still offering the continuous highway manners of low noise and a smooth ride. It is ideal for daily driving on or off the road.

The Country Hunter AT is a versatile all terrain tire made for light trucks and SUVs. Designed as a road tire, the Country Hunter AT is prepared to handle any adverse road conditions, while providing a smooth and comfortable ride on all roadways.

G-MAX™ RS

POWER

An excellent, summer ultra-high performance tire for passenger cars and crossovers, the G-MAX™ RS ranges in size from 16-20" rim diameter.

AltiMAX™ RT45

GENERALTIRE.COM

G-MAX™ AS05

A long-lasting, all-season touring tire for passenger cars and crossovers, the AltiMAX™ RT45 ranges in size from 14-20" rim diameter.

Grabber™ APT

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.

AltiMAX™ 365 AW

A durable, all-season all-terrain tire for crossovers, light trucks and SUVs, the Grabber™ APT ranges in size from 16-22" rim diameter.

A versatile, all-weather touring tire for passenger cars and crossovers, the AltiMAX™ 365 AW ranges in size from 15-20" rim diameter.

Grabber™ A/T X

Grabber™ UHP

An aggressive, all-season all-terrain tire for light trucks and SUVs, the Grabber™ A/T X ranges in size from 14-20" rim diameter.

Grabber™ HD

A long-lasting, all-season ultra-high performance tire for crossovers, light trucks and SUVs, the Grabber™ UHP ranges in size from 16-24" rim diameter.

Grabber™ HTS60

A long-lasting, all-season touring tire for crossovers, light trucks and SUVs, the Grabber™ HTS60 ranges in size from 15-22" rim diameter.

Grabber™ X3

An extreme, all-season mud-terrain tire for crossovers, light trucks and SUVs, the Grabber™ X3 ranges in size from 15-22" rim diameter.

Grabber™ HD Van

A durable, all-season commercial tire for light trucks and SUVs, the Grabber™ HD ranges in size from 16-18” rim diameter.

A durable, all-season commercial tire for cargo vans, the Grabber™ HD Van ranges in size from 15-16" rim diameter.

Technician-favored

POWER

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 Greaves use on the track to take home the championship. With the A/T2, R/T and the NEW M/T2, 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

KLEVER R/T

Series: 80, 75, 70, 65, 55

Sizes: 22, 20, 18, 17, 16

Load Ranges: D, E, F

Speed Rating: R

Triple Threat 3-ply sidewall

Studable

KLEVER M/T2

Series: 85 — 60 & Floatation

Sizes: 22, 20, 18, 17, 16, 15

Load Ranges: C, D, E, F

Speed Ratings: Q, R

Triple Threat 3-ply sidewall

Kyle Greaves 2022 National Champion Champ Off-Road Pro-Lite Division

KLEVER M/T2

KLEVER R/T

KLEVER A/T2

NEW

INTRODUCING

THE NEW GALAXY AT GRIP STEEL RADIAL

THE

The Galaxy AT Grip Steel combines a variety of features for outstanding radial performance in skid steer applications:

• Stiff undertread belt for larger footprint

• Flex-dampening ring reinforces sidewall

• Sturdier sidewall adds stability, reduces bucking

• Rim/sidewall guards

• Dense-center block pattern combines stable ride, great self-cleaning

• Retreadable casing

The new Galaxy AT Grip Steel, now being launched by Yokohama OffHighway Tires America, Inc., was designed from the ground up in close consultation with OTR tire dealers and skid steer operators. The result is a revolutionary radial that delivers all-around performance and longer tire life for skid steers.

“In short, the AT Grip Steel combines all the advantages of radial construction with the extra sidewall reinforcement that customers wanted, all at a price point aggressive enough to allow dealers to position the AT Grip Steel against top-quality bias-ply tires,” says Dhananjay Bisht, Product Manager— Earthmoving, Construction and Industrial Tires for Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America. “This is the perfect time, and the perfect tire, for switching skid steers over to radials.”

STURDIER SIDEWALL

In many radial applications, extra sidewall flexibility is a major plus for ride comfort and flotation. But Bisht says skid steer operators made it clear that they wanted sturdy sidewalls for the ideal construction skid steer radial.

“Skid steer tires are under constant strain as they skid, turn, start and stop,” Bisht says. “We designed the AT Grip Steel with an extra sidewall ply for stability, cut and puncture resistance, and to minimize bucking and bouncing. We molded dual rim/sidewall guards into the tire. And we added a flex-dampening ring below the bead to prevent damage from lower-sidewall flexion.”

TOUGH AND RETREADABLE

The Galaxy AT Grip Steel is 3 to nearly 4 times more puncture-resistant than competitive bias-ply tires. In rigorous field testing, the AT Grip Steel radial outlasted conventional bias-ply skid steer tires by as much as 50%. And with its retreadable casing, the AT Grip Steel can deliver even longer service for equipment owners and retread business opportunities for dealers, says Bisht.

“The Galaxy AT Grip Steel radial brings skid steer tires to a new level because this is literally the tire that our customers asked for,” he notes.

260/70R16.5 300/70R16.5 360/70R17.5

Ad Index

ADVERTISER

PAGE WEBSITE

1-800EveryRim OEM Wheels 24 www.everyrim.com/MTD

31 Incorporated 32 www.31inc.com

AAPEX Show 73 www.aapexshow.com

Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance Inc. 31 www.hawaiigetaway2023.com

Alligator 80 www.alligator-tpms.com

American Express 49 www.americanexpress.com/business-solutions

American Omni Trading 5 www.thunderertireusa.com

Aston Technologies 36 www.astontechnologies.com

Atturo Tires 15 www.atturo.com

Autel 47, 77, 79 www.autel.com

BendPak Inc. 43 www.bendpak.com/ergochair

BKT USA Inc. 11 www.bkt-tires.com

Bridgestone Tire 23 www.bridgestonetire.com

Centric Parts 45 www.centricparts.com

Continental 76 www.redi-sensor.com

Continental Tire 13 www.continentaltire.com

Cosmo Tires 61 www.cosmotires.com

EasyPay Finance 67 enrollment.easypayfinance.com/mtd

Falken Tires 9 www.falkentire.com

Fury Off-Road Tires 63 www.furytires.com

Gaither Tool Company Inc. 71 www.gaithertool.com

General Tire 25 www.generaltire.com/promotions

GT Radial 27 www.gtradial.com

Hunter Engineering Company 40 www.hunter.com/tire-changers

Hunter Engineering Company 51 www.hunter.com/hd

K & M Tire Inc. 41 www.kmtire.com/mrtire

Katapult 38 www.katapult.com

Ken-Tool 57 www.kentool.com

Kenda Tires USA IBC www.kendatractionrewards.com

Linglong Americas Inc. 7 www.linglongtire.com

Maxxis Tires 37 www.maxxis.com

Mighty Auto Parts 39 www.mightyautoparts.com/try-vs7

Milton Industries 28 www.miltonindustries.com

Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc. OBC www.nittotire.com

Nokian Tyres Inc. 35 www.nokiantires.com/weather

Pre-Q Galgo Corporation 59 www.pre-q.com

Prinx Tire North America Inc. 30 www.prinxtire.com

Raybestos 33 www.raybestos.com

Schrader TPMS Solutions 78 www.schradertpms.com

SEMA Show 69 www.semashow.com

Sentury Tire USA 19 www.delintetires.com

Sunbit 65 auto.sunbit.com/learnmore Tireco Inc. 29 www.milestartires.com

Transamerica Tire Company Ltd. IFC www.venompowertires.com

Tyres International 52 www.tyresinternational.com

Van Batenburg's Garage 58 www.fixhybrid.com

WheelerShip LLC 75 www.wheelership.com

Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America Inc. 17 www.yokohama-oht.com

Yokohama Tire 21 www.yokohamatire.com

ZC Rubber America Inc. 53 www.arisuntires.com

WHEN

BE SURE TO MENTION YOU SAW

TRACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN

Kenda

Full

Kenda Traction