McDowell Tire Co., based in North Kansas City, Mo., purchased General Tire Service of Springfield, Mo., late last year from former owner Don Borgschulte, who has retired from the tire business. Following the acquisition, McDowell Tire moved its existing Springfield operation several miles away into the General Tire facilities.
John Boschen, who had been a General Tire Service salesman for three years, is manager of the Springfield outlet, which is operating under the McDowell Tire banner. The dealership had been owned by Akron-based General Tire Inc. until about four years ago when the tire maker sold its company-owned stores.
In addition to Springfield, McDowell Tire has Kansas outlets in North Kansas City, Olatha and Pittsburg, Mr. Boschen said.
J. Mark McDowell is president of McDowell Tire, which was founded in 1938.
The commercial/retail dealership sells off-road, passenger and truck tires and provides sales and service to the construction industries, according to Mr. Boschen.
``Business has been good-especially for this time of year,'' he said, noting that an increase in road construction in the state has proved beneficial to the company's OTR business.
Flynn's Tire Co. purchased the retail division of O.I.S. Tire Inc., consisting of a single outlet in Dover, Ohio, Feb. 13.
The purchase gives Hermitage, Pa.-based Flynn's Tire five retail stores and a wholesale location in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and allows O.I.S. to concentrate on its core retreading business, according to Gary Hites, O.I.S. general manager.
O.I.S. continues to operate a medium truck, light truck and passenger tire retread plant in Midvale, Ohio, that consumed about 1.4 million pounds of tread rubber last year, Mr. Hites said.
Flynn's Tire Owner John J. Flynn confirmed the purchase but declined to release details of the acquisition.
Expansions
Beggs Tire Factory opened its third store, located in Corvallis, Ore., March 1, after leasing a former Neilson Tire Warehouse building.
The 6,500-sq.-ft., five-bay dealership gives Beggs Tire locations in Corvallis, Philomath and Albany, Ore.
Beggs Tire Owner Arnold Beggs left Les Schwab Tires Inc. as an associate store owner June 15 to join the Northwest Tire Factory Group L.P.
The new Beggs Tire location gives the Portland, Ore.-based buying group 69 stores.
The Corvallis store will be the first Beggs Tire outlet to offer exhaust work, Mr. Beggs said.
Relocations
Relocations
Last August, Homer, Alaska-based Peninsula Tire relocated its single, combination retail/commercial outlet into a newly constructed 6,000-sq.-ft. building with two tire changing bays, according to Owner Mike Harmer.
Peninsula Tire, which employs between five and eight depending on the season, opened in Homer in May 1991, Mr. Harmer said. The primarily Goodyear dealership performs only tire changes in its automotive bays, Mr. Harmer said, adding he does not want to get into the automotive service field.
``They say you can't survive without it (service business),'' he said. ``But we've done it.''
East Bay Tire Co. consolidated its headquarters and warehouse operations into a single facility located about 50 miles outside of its two former Oakland, Calif., sites, Jan. 9.
The truck, farm and industrial tire wholesaler moved its operations into the Fairfield, Calif., warehouse that had been built in 1983 by Michelin Americas Small Tires, which had previously relocated to another warehouse in Sparks, Nev.
East Bay Tire President Joe Pehanick said the consolidation has increased the efficiency of the operation.
East Bay, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 1996, also distributes all-terrain and earthmover tires along with tubes and flaps.
The company's address is: 2200 Huntington Drive, Unit C, Fairfield, Calif. 94533; Phone: (800) 831-8473 or (707) 437-4700. Fax: (707) 437-4800.
In December, Jess Martinez, former service manager for Bakersfield, Calif.-based Clerou Tire Co., became the fifth recipient of the California Tire Dealers & Retreaders Association-North ``President's Appreciation Award,'' presented to an association member recognized as an outstanding volunteer.
Mr. Martinez, who continues to work part time at Clerou Tire, has been a CTDRA-N board member since 1984 and worked for Clerou Tire for nearly 35 years before retiring at the end of December.
He has been a scoutmaster for the past 10 years and is secretary/treasurer for the East Bakersfield Progressive Club, which sponsors scholarships for graduating seniors, according to CTDRA-N Executive Director Stephanie McCoubrey.
As a member of the association, Mr. Martinez monitors local regulations and laws that could affect Kern County tire dealers, she said, and has helped organize area meetings and tire rodeos.
CTDRA-N photo