Acquisition
Service Tire Truck Centers Inc. (STTC) of Bethlehem, Pa., has agreed to acquire Klausmeyer Tire Inc. in Baltimore. The transaction is slated to close Sept. 1.
Klausmeyer owner Joe Lynch will remain with STTC as a regional general manager.
Klausmeyer, founded in 1934, has two locations in Baltimore and a third in Aberdeen, Md.
With the acquisition, STTC will have 17 outlets and three Bandag retread plants in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.
New equipment
Beverly Group Inc. in Flamborough, Ontario—which does business as Beverly Tire—has purchased a large "boom" truck to provide tire service to steel mill operations in southern Ontario and the Toronto area.
Custom-designed by Bob Birks, Beverly Tire senior vice president of commercial centres/OTR, the new service truck features a FEC 25017 Maxiduty crane on a 2000 Western Star chassis. The unit also has a 160-inch tire positioner, 30-hp hydraulic compressor, an on-board, open-loop calcium system and an automatic greasing unit.
The boom is capable of lifting 14,700 pounds to a height of 17 feet and can clamp a tire with a 160-inch outside diameter.
"It's (the boom truck) the largest of its kind in Ontario," Mr. Birk said. "And by keeping it stationed in southern Ontario, we are able to provide service to our steel mill customers that is currently not available from other suppliers."
Beverly Tire currently has a total of 26 locations and a retread plant in Ontario.
Openings
V.I.P. Discount Auto Centers Inc. has opened a new store in Bangor, Maine.
The six-bay, 11,500-sq.-ft. facility will offer tire and undercar auto service and retail auto parts.
V.I.P. carries private brands from TBC Corp. as well as Ohtsu, Pirelli and General tires. The Lewiston, Maine-based firm's 1999 sales were estimated to be about $72.5 million.
"Our core business is tires, parts and accessories to the retail market," said V.I.P. Owner Tom Auger. "But recently we are finding a niche in the market servicing new and used car dealers with original equipment tires and an aggressive wholesale line."
Cal Hersom, commercial division manager, said V.I.P. has doubled wholesale sales in each of the last two years. He wouldn't divulge V.I.P.'s sales in this market, but said they are "in the seven-figure range."
V.I.P. also has fleet accounts for companies with light trucks and vans, Mr. Hersom said, but the dealership doesn't offer medium truck tire service.
V.I.P. now has 46 locations in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and plans to open stores in two Maine cities—Farmington and Winslow—as well as another unspecified location by the end of the year, Mr. Hersom said.
On Aug. 10, Merchant's Tire & Auto Centers opened a new location in Concord, N.C., about 20 miles northeast of Charlotte, N.C.
The 7,000-sq.-ft. facility has eight bays and about 20 employees.
Merchant's has opened seven new stores this year and has four additional Charlotte-area outlets under construction: Mooresville, N.C.; Rock Hill, S.C., and two in Charlotte.
The company said it plans to open more than 20 locations in the Charlotte area in the next two years.
The Manassas, Va.-based dealership has a total of 121 outlets in the mid-Atlantic states and plans to double that number in the next three to five years.
Pete's Northside Tire Inc. opened Feb. 3 in Slidell, La.
The six-bay dealership sells Heafner Tire Group's Regul private brand and offers front-end alignment and shock replacement.
The site was formerly Darby's Northside Tire until owner Manuel Darby decided to lease the building to Pete Adams Sr.
Mr. Adams met Mr. Darby through his involvement in auto racing. "Business is pretty good," Mr. Adams said. "It's picking up now."
Mr. Adams formerly spliced cables for the shipping industry and decided to set up his own tire dealership because "I got tired of working for other people."
His wife, Althea, and son, Pete Jr., also work in the business.
Relocation
International Tires Corp. (ITC), founded in the Atlanta area in 1996, has settled into a 26,000-sq.-ft. warehouse and corporate office in Miami.
ITC purchased the structure in December for $1.62 million.
ITC imports agricultural, fork lift and off-the-road tires from manufacturers in China and India and distributes them throughout the U.S., Central and South America.
Company President Mohammed Javed said the ITC recently added a mezzanine level to the building to increase office space. The company's 16 employees process orders for about 200 SKUs ITC carries, Mr. Javed said, and major U.S. customers include Dunlap & Kyle Inc. and Maine Industrial Tires Ltd.