Kal Tire acquires Ottawa dealership Frisby Tire

OTTAWA, Ontario — Kal Tire has acquired Frisby Tire, a century-old family-owned dealership with five stores in the Ottawa area, and is transitioning those locations to Kal Tire signage.

The acquired stores are Kal's first in the Ottawa metro area and complement a dozen existing stores throughout the province of Ontario. Overall, Kal Tire has 260-plus outlets coast to coast, including a dozen former GCR Tires & Service stores in Canada's Atlantic Provinces it acquired in late 2021 from Bridgestone Canada Inc.

At the same time, Kal's Total Tire Distributors wholesale arm has taken over Frisby's wholesale business.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Founded by George Frisby in 1920, the family-owned business transitioned to third-generation ownership in 1995 when his grandson Don Frisby took over reigns. The dealership went to market with the motto: "Service that satisfies."

"Since our early days, Kal Tire has looked for opportunities to grow by considering well run businesses that have dedicated team members who strive to provide customers with an exceptional level of service," Kal Tire President Robert Foord said.

"We know from our long-standing relationship that Frisby Tire has all of those attributes, and we're pleased to link our teams and capabilities and join the community they've built in Ottawa."

"It's always been so important to us that our customers are happy with their experience," Don Frisby said, "and we feel very fortunate to know that will only continue with Kal Tire's culture of service-oriented values.

Frisby, who noted he took "great care" to find a partner that would treat his employees like family, added: "Some of our technicians have worked here their whole lives. We've built this legacy together and I know they're all in the very best hands."

The dealerships noted that Frisby's 52 retail-oriented and 26 wholesale employees are joining Kal Tire as part of the deal.

Kal Tire is in the process of rebranding the Frisby Tire locations with Kal Tire signage and expects to have that task completed "in the coming weeks."