BOWIE, Md. (Sept. 30, 2003) — Two longtime tire industry executives will be inducted into the Tire Industry Hall of Fame for 2003, the Tire Industry Association (TIA) said.
Thomas Foord, founder and president of Kal Tire in Vernon, British Columbia, and Marvin Bozarth, former executive director of the International Tire & Rubber Association (ITRA) and current senior technical consultant to TIA, will be inducted. The men will be honored during the president's breakfast from 7-9 a.m. Nov. 4 during the Specialty Equipment Market Association/International Tire Expo show in Las Vegas. Tickets for the event are $30.
Mr. Foord founded Kal Tire in 1953 with a single location in Vernon. The independent dealership now has 113 company-owned stores, 50 associate dealers, 15 retread plants, five distribution centers, a subsidiary in Chile and associated operations in Ontario. Kal Tire posts sales of more than $260 million (U.S.) annually, TIA said.
Mr. Foord also was a founder of the Western Canada Tire Dealers Association and a member of a dealer counsel for various manufacturers. He also worked with local charities, including the United Way.
Mr. Bozarth's career in the industry began in 1958 as plant manager of the Missouri Farmers Association Oil Co., a position he held for seven years. His focus on retreading grew in 1965 when he served as general manager for Community Tire Co. in St. Louis. In 1990 he was named technical director of the American Retreaders Association and, a year later, became the ARA's executive director. During his tenure he served as editor of the association's Tire Retreading/Repair Journal and oversaw the ARA's name change to the ITRA.
He resigned that post in 2002 when the association merged with the Tire Association of North America to form TIA. Mr. Bozarth also operates Bozarth Tire Industry Consultants L.L.C., and works as an expert witness, providing tire and wheel failure analysis as well as equipment evaluations, plant surveys, troubleshooting, and fleet surveys.