HARRISONBURG, Va. (Dec. 5, 2002) — One Ray Carr Tires Inc. location is under new ownership as the remainder of the company's retail and retreading operations are up for sale.
Lee Diercks, a turnaround consultant with Clear Thinking Group in Hillsborough, N.J., said the Ray Carr store in York, Pa., has been sold to McCarthy Tire & Automotive Centers Inc., a Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-based retail/commercial dealership. Terms were not disclosed.
Harrisonburg-based Ray Carr Tires' remaining six locations, in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland, and one retreading plant are for sale, Mr. Diercks told Tire Business. The plant closed Nov. 1; the retail operations closed later in the month.
He said the company plans to restructure and continue its wholesale business.
“The company has been experiencing some financial difficulties, so Mr. (Ray) Carr…decided to try to restructure the company's financial situation,” Mr. Diercks said.
A clerk for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Western District of Virginia said Ray Carr Tires has not filed for bankruptcy as of Dec. 3. Mr. Diercks said he is not aware of any future plans to file.
Mr. Diercks, whose company had been enlisted in November for restructuring help, said he is not aware of the root of Ray Carr Tires' financial problems.
“That's in the past at this time,” he said. “We're not really focused on that.”
But a downsizing for one operation is an expansion for another. McCarthy Tire added Ray Carr Tires' York retail shop to strengthen its hold in the region between its Baltimore, Harrisonburg and Lancaster, Pa. locations.
“It's very centralized between all three locations,” said Vice President Neil Horn.
McCarthy Tire now operates 19 locations in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and New Jersey. The York location already is open, selling Michelin, BFGoodrich, General, Bridgestone and Firestone brands, Mr. Horn said. The company is not interested in buying any remaining Ray Carr Tires locations, he added.
In November, McCarthy Tire also closed a sale for Howells Tire Services Inc. in Pottsville, Pa. That single-store dealership will sell the same brands as the York store, Mr. Horn said.
While details aren't yet specific, Mr. Horn said McCarthy has other plans for expansions.
“We would probably strengthen where we are right now,” he said.