Private brand tire pioneer Albert Hoffman dies at 94

BOYTON BEACH, Fla. — Longtime tire industry veteran Albert Hoffman, a member of the inaugural Tire Industry Association (TIA) Hall of Fame class, died Dec. 3 after a battle with cancer. He was 94.

Mr. Hoffman founded Jetzon Tire & Rubber Co. Inc. in the early 1960s. According to his family, he helped pioneer the private brand segment of the tire industry.

Mr. Hoffman was the first tire dealer to serve two terms as president of the Delaware Valley Tire Dealers Association, and was director of the National Tire Dealers & Retreaders Association for five years.

"While my father and my brothers and I say we were 'born' into the tire business (my grandfather started it in 1930), dad found his niche as one of the first private branders," Marc Hoffman, one of Albert Hoffman's four surviving sons, said.

"He loved being among the early ones, and he reveled in the marketing of a brand name that he can call his own."

Among Mr. Hoffman's numerous honors were:

• Recipient of the Legion of Honor Award in 2013 as well as the Certificate of Normandy Landing given and signed by French President Francois Hollande, given in 2016;
• Chairman in 1983 of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Philadelphia chapter of the Friends of Multiple Sclerosis Group;
• Recipient of Israel's Sword of Haggadah award; and
• Recipient of a Bronze Star at age 19, as he and his fellow soldiers liberated one of the Nazi concentration camps in Europe.

Mr. Hoffman graduated from North East High School in Philadelphia in 1942. He served in World War II from 1942-45, spending much of that time in Europe.

After returning to the U.S., Mr. Hoffman began working at his father's tire shop in Philadelphia.

Mr. Hoffman was inducted into the TIA Hall of Fame in 1985, joining a class that included C. Earl Branick of Branick Industries; Roy J. Carver of Bandag Inc.; E.L. "Red" Davis of the American Retreaders' Association; Harvey S. Firestone of Firestone Tire & Rubber Co.; James Harlan Heafner of Heafner Tire Co.; J.P. Hennessy Sr. of Hennessy Industries Inc.; William Francis O' Neal of General Tire & Rubber Co.; Frank A. Seiberling of Goodyear; and Winston W. "Bill" Marsh of the NTDRA.

"He treasured the many friends that he developed over the years," Marc Hoffman said. "He remained in contact with many of them until the end of his life."