SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Capital Tire Group, a Toledo, Ohio-based tire distributor with 10 distribution centers in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, has opened a 30,000-sq.-ft. warehouse in South Bend.
The South Bend warehouse, which opened July 9, replaces a 10,000-sq.-ft warehouse in Elkhart, Ind., about 20 miles east of South Bend, according to Capital Tire President Tom Geiger Jr.
"We needed more space," Mr. Geiger said. "Also, moving west helps us with our deliveries in northwest Indiana. There are big and small towns in that corner of Indiana where we have customers, and being in South Bend makes it easier for us to serve them."
In addition to the South Bend warehouse, Capital Tire increased the size of its warehouse in Macedonia, Ohio, to 56,000 square feet from 38,000 square feet. The Macedonia expansion opened June 1, according to Mr. Geiger.
"We probably won't add new warehouses, but we'll look for buildings with more space as we need to," he said.
Capital Tire Group was founded by Mr. Geiger's grandfather, Ben Geiger, and will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2019.
It has been a Goodyear distributor since 1947, and in 2017 Goodyear gave the company an award for its 70 years of loyalty to the tire maker.
In addition to Goodyear, Capital Tire carries Continental, General, Cooper and Milestar tires, according to Mr. Geiger.
Capital Tire used to have about 20 retail outlets that operated under the name of Tom's Tires, but it sold the last of them more than five years ago, according to Mr. Geiger.
"We sold the last four to Goodyear," he said. "All the others, we either sold to individuals or closed. We decided to concentrate on the distribution part of our business, which has always been the major part."