Ukrainian finds success in tire industry

CHICAGO — It is the oft-told story of a young man who comes to America to make his fortune.

Volodymyr Barabakh came to the U.S. from Ukraine in 2005, mostly to join his family. However, Mr. Barabakh also intended to find success in his new country.

He tried several different businesses with varying success until, in 2013, he joined with his friends Mike Skoropad and Illia Belia to form United Tires L.L.C., a Chicago-based tire retailer that does business as UTires.com.

Each of them had tried other business opportunities, but tires were the product that clicked, according to Mr. Barabakh.

"Tires were not in our initial plans," he said. "However, we were always planning on growing our own business and tried some different ideas before."

Beginning with a container of 1,000 tires, UTires.com now has ready access to 20,000 tires, according to Mr. Barabakh.

"The tire industry is very big, and we are planning to grow as big as we can," he said.

Most of UTire's business is online retail, and the company partners with local tire stores to provide installation, according to Mr. Barabakh.

"I think what makes us different from other websites is that we're customer-friendly and have a very simple processing mechanism, as well as our customer service and people," he said.

UTires.com specializes in passenger and light-truck tires, according to Mr. Barabakh, with a product mix of about 70/30 used tires to new, but the percentage of new tires is increasing, he said.

The site advertises used tires with 60 to 90-percent tread life at half the price or lower on brand names.

Mr. Barabakh declined to name his suppliers but said UTires has a good relationship with its suppliers and is always looking to expand its supplier base.

Outside of work, Mr. Barabakh is an amateur Mixed Martial Arts fighter with a 10-1 record and a brown belt in ju-jitsu. He also enjoys customizing and upgrading classic cars, especially German models.

"We are interested in advanced technology and having fun at work and life," he said of himself and his partners.