TCi sells outlets in Ohio, Michigan

DUNCAN, S.C. — Tire Centers L.L.C. (TCi) has sold commercial tire centers in Ohio and Michigan to Shrader Tire & Oil and Meekhof Tire Sales & Service Inc., respectively, and said its remaining TCi centers in Arizona, California and Colorado now will operate under the Michelin Americas Truck Tires business.

The latest deals — four locations, including one retread plant, in Ohio to Shrader and one outlet in Michigan to Meekhof — reduce the TCi network of commercial stores to 10 locations, according to TCi parent Michelin North America Inc. — five in California, three in Colorado and two in Arizona.

Michelin has divested or closed 48 TCi commercial sales locations in 2017 and has refocused efforts on expanding the TCi wholesale distribution footprint and increasing the capacity of its distribution network to support new commercial customers and new product categories.

Michelin divested 16 locations in Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Texas in September to T&W Tire and 27 in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia in July to Snider Fleet Solutions.

Toledo, Ohio-based Shrader takes over TCi service locations in Columbus, Heath, Pemberville and West Chester, Ohio, expanding the dealership's reach to 17 outlets in three states — Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.

The Pemberville location includes a Michelin Retread Technologies (MRT) retread plant; Shrader operates one other MRT plant, in Melvindale, Mich., that it opened in 2006.

The deal allows Shrader Tire to solidify and expand its business in the greater Columbus and Cincinnati metropolitan areas, Shrader Tire President Joe Shrader said, where it has been serving a growing customer base for the past several years.

"It puts us in a better position to service those customers we already have," Mr. Shrader told Tire Business, "and will provide some sales growth with customers that TCi has been servicing."

The deal also provides Shrader Tire with increased flexibility both on the new tire and retread fronts, he added, noting that the Pemberville MRT plant — which he said was highly regarded with customers and within the MRT community — essentially doubles the dealership's retread capacity .

Mr. Shrader declined to discuss financial details of the deal or comment on the size of the business being acquired, other than to say he expects the volume of business to grow measurably under his company's ownership.

The acquired stores will become part of the Michelin Commercial Service Network along with Shrader's existing 13 locations. One change worth noting: Shrader will be taking on the Hankook commercial tire line that TCi handled.

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Meekhof Tire acquired the assets of the TCi commercial service outlet in Saginaw, Mich., and incorporated them into other nearby locations, including one in Saginaw. The TCi location ceased operations Nov. 30.

Meekhof Tire operates a network of 10 commercial service locations in central Michigan.

Michelin bought TCi, then considered the nation's No. 2 independent commercial tire dealership, in 1999. At that time it operated 163 locations in 34 states, including 17 with retread shops, and was generating more than $470 million in annual sales.

As recently as 2009, the TCi commercial tire network comprised more than 75 outlets and a dozen retread plants.

Other significant TCi divestitures have included:

• Service Tire Truck Centers Inc. (STTC) taking over 16 TCi outlets and one retread plant in February 2010 in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Virginia;

• Colony Tire Corp. buying a pair of commercial centers and a retread plant in Virginia in May 2009; and

• Snider Tire buying 10 TCi commercial service locations in Georgia and North and South Carolina — including a pair of retread plants — in April 2009.

TCi operates 89 wholesale distribution locations throughout the U.S. and continues to promote the T3 retail marketing program nationwide.