Expansions Snider Tire Inc. of Greensboro, N.C., has opened a truck tire center in Charlotte, N.C.
The 34,000-sq.-ft. building has drive-up bays, offers roadside assistance and sells Michelin-, General- and Bridgestone-brand tires, Bandag retreads and powder-coated wheel products.
The new location is Snider's 12th facility in the southeastern U.S.—including seven retread plants. Snider was the ninth-largest commercial tire dealership in North America, with 1998 sales of $63 million. It also was the 11th-largest truck tire retreader, according to Tire Business rankings.
Keene, N.H.-based Tire Warehouse Central Inc. will open its second location in Concord, N.H., in late February. The new franchise is owned by Jamie Jobin, a former Tire Warehouse executive and store manager.
The 6,000-sq.-ft., seven-bay store will carry both major and private brands and an assortment of parts and accessories for cars and pickup trucks.
Tire Warehouse now has 52 locations, 22 of them franchised. The company said it plans to add five to seven new locations per year.
Acquisition
Colony Tire Corp. in Edenton, N.C., has acquired franchise rights from Mighty Distributing System of America Inc. to be the wholesale distributor for Mighty-brand replacement parts throughout northeastern North Carolina.
Colony also will stock Mighty-brand products in its retail stores.
Mighty is a Norcross, Ga.-based franchiser of 146 distributors in 44 states, including other multiple-store tire dealerships.
Colony has 28 locations in North Carolina and Virginia, including retail and commercial tire stores, two wholesale distribution centers and a retreading plant.
Fire
A 4,000-sq.-ft. building at T.O. Haas Tire Co. in Blair, Neb., was damaged extensively by fire Jan. 21.
The fire was caused by a leaky fitting in a natural gas line, President Randy Haas said.
Mr. Haas said damage to equipment and inventory was "fairly minimal" and no one was injured. No damage estimates were available.
The Blair location will remain open and operate from another building on the same site.
"We'll still try to conduct business, " Mr. Haas said.
Relocation
Pacific Tire Distributors in Portland, Ore., moved to a new site within that city on Dec. 1.
The location of the new 24,000-sq.-ft. facility is "more convenient for getting trucks out of here," said Branch Manager Don Day.
Greenball Corp., a Long Beach, Calif.-based tire manufacturer, formerly owned Pacific Tire, and the two companies shared a building in Portland.
Last June, Greenball sold Pacific Tire and three California warehouses to Silver State Tire Co. of Sparks, Nev.
"We're a full-service distributor," Mr. Day said. Pacific Tire regularly ships passenger, light truck, industrial and other types of tires to more than 300 dealerships in Washington and Oregon, he said.
"I think it's (the new warehouse) more centrally located for our Washington and Oregon customers," he said.