McCarthy Tire to expand Pa. retread plant

WILKES BARRE, Pa. (Aug. 22, 2016) — McCarthy Tire Service Co. Inc. is planning to build in Wilkes Barre what it claims will be the largest Bandag-system retread plant in the U.S., capable of producing 1,000 units a day at full capacity.

McCarthy Tire said it plans to establish the plant in a 75,000-sq.-ft. warehousing facility about a quarter mile from its existing plant in Wilkes-Barre. The dealership will invest $3.28 million in the project, which is expected to create 49 full-time jobs over three years and secure the jobs of 197 employees currently active in the retreading sector.

McCarthy Tire is working closely with Bridgestone Americas' Bandag unit to engineer the plant, according to McCarthy Tire President John D. McCarthy Jr., who said: “It seemed fitting to locate [this plant] in Wilkes Barre, the city where my grandfather started McCarthy Tire Service 90 years ago.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf lauded the dealership for the job creation, saying, “We applaud McCarthy Tire for its continued success and for the support it provides for the region's economic well-being.”

The project was coordinated by the governor's action team, a group of economic development professionals who report to the governor and work with businesses that are considering locating or expanding in Pennsylvania. The Greater Wilkes Barre Chamber of Commerce also was involved.

The investment includes the leasehold, infrastructure improvements and new equipment purchases.

The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development dced.pa.us is contributing as well with a $150,000 Pennsylvania First Program grant, $49,000 in job creation tax credits to be distributed upon creation of the new jobs and $22,050 in WEDnetPA funding for employee training.

Pennsylvania State Senator John T. Yudichak noted that the McCarthy family has been investing in Wilkes-Barre for three generations.

“In partnership with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, McCarthy Tire's most recent investment will bring a new and world-class manufacturing facility to Wilkes-Barre,” he said, “proving that our workforce and our great city can compete with anyone for quality, twenty-first century jobs.”

Established in 1926, McCarthy Tire is considered the sixth largest commercial tire dealer in the U.S. with more than 50 locations up and down the Eastern Seaboard. It has grown significantly in recent years via acquisition, the most recent of which was Ragan Tire Group L.L.C., the Concord, N.C.-based OTR tire and retreading specialist serving construction, quarrying and mining customers in North and South Carolina and Georgia.