Beasley Tire adds MRT plant, 3 outlets

HOUSTON — Beasley Tire Service, a Houston-based commercial dealership in business since 1968, is in the midst of a considerable growth spurt, jumping into retreading for the first time and opening three commercial service locations in the past year.

The dealership's growth is being steered by Bob Beasley, son of founder E.B. Beasley, who took over the business in 2001 after the elder Mr. Beasley's death.

Beasley Tire registered 10.5-percent growth last year, to $34 million, and is forecasting 53-percent growth this year to $52 million-plus, based in part on the addition of retreading and the new sales/service locations in Corpus Christi, Pleasanton and Victoria, Texas.

The Pleasanton location previously operated as Homann Tire & Automotive, while the Corpus Christi and Victoria facilities are considered greenfield additions to the service network.

Beasley also has stores in Kennedy, Houston and San Antonio, Texas.

All told, the company has 90 commercial sales and service employees and 30 service vehicles at its six locations, plus 28 employees at the retread plant.

Beasley Tire's move into retreading, as a Michelin Retread Technologies (MRT) licensee, coincided with the cessation of that activity last year by Strouhal Tire & Recapping Ltd. of Hungerford, Texas.

In effect, Beasley assumed Strouhal's franchise license late last year after Michelin North America terminated Strouhal's franchise agreement as part of a lawsuit in which Michelin alleged the Texas dealership had "breached numerous provisions of the agreements" and also was in breach of a promissory note worth $1.04 million.

Family-owned Strouhal Tire ceased its retreading activities and closed several Houston-area stores last year as it coped with the death of long-time President Don Strouhal Sr. and the extended recession in the Texas oilfield industry that produced significant losses over the last few years, the firm said in a prepared statement.

Strouhal Tire had been a retreader since 1972 and converted its Hungerford plant to the MRT system in 2004.

The company said it is evaluating "the viability of continuing the business in some reduced capacity." It continues to operate a couple of locations. As recently as 2013 it reported annual sales of $46 million.

Mr. Strouhal in 1967 acquired the company his father had founded and built it up to a leader in the commercial industry in southern Texas, according to his obituary.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Ann Supak Strouhal; daughter Nancy Strouhal Macha; sons Don Strouhal Jr. and Gene Strouhal; and four grandchildren.

MRTI terminated Strouhal's franchise agreement on Oct 18, 2016, according to the lawsuit filed by Michelin in October 2016 in the U.S. District Court in Greenville, S.C., and was at that time attempting to recover the plant's equipment.

Southern Tire Mart now operates out of Strouhal's former Conroe, Texas, outlet.