Pangle takes over as Tire Industry Association president

EDMONTON, Alberta — Jim Pangle, senior vice president of operations at Fountain Tire, brings more than 50 years of experience to his new role as president of the Tire Industry Association (TIA).

In the next year, he hopes to guide a "cohesive" board to stay true to the TIA mission of supporting its members through updated training, networking opportunities and by lobbying on behalf of tire dealers in Washington, D.C.

Just the second Canadian to lead TIA, Pangle was scheduled to take over the trade group's presidency on Oct. 31 at TIA's annual membership meeting in Las Vegas.

"The tire industry is evolving at a faster pace than ever," Pangle said. "So, it's becoming increasingly difficult, I believe, for tire dealers to stay on top of these changes."

That's where TIA comes in.

"Our training programs drive our membership — members get a better price for training — so people come into our program through the training program, and then they stay as members because they get the other benefits," TIA CEO Dick Gust said.

TIA's training programs continue to evolve. TIA will release an updated Certified Commercial Tire Service training in 2023 and plans to release an update to the Basic Earthmover Tire Service training in 2024.

"Technology, tools, practices change, and our training needs to adapt as well," Pangle said.

Training and electric vehicles (EV) are key issues facing tire dealers, and Pangle said finding workers remains a big issue for the industry, as well.

"That's something we all have to take very seriously and address head on," Pangle said. "How are we going to get, develop and retain these people?"

But as technology evolves, there's an opportunity for young people to enter the tire industry and find a career, he said.

"A lot of the young people coming out of school are very techie, and working on the vehicles is going to be more of a 'diagnostic tech' position than the fellow that used two wrenches and a hammer," Pangle said.

"These young people, once they get to see what the tire industry is like and what it has to offer, they realize it could be a possible career for them. And there's lots of career paths in the tire industry."

Pangle saw a chance to network with others in the industry as a great benefit when he became a member of the International Tire & Rubber Association, a TIA predecessor organization, in the mid-1990s.

"I was running a fairly large operation that I was a partner in, and I wanted to get involved and learn more from all sides of the business and connect with people that were in the same type of business as I was," Pangle said. "As well as the training that was underway, I thought it was a great opportunity."

The opportunity to grow business is one way TIA hopes to attract the next generation of tire shop owners.

"Look at some of the shops out there that are really growing, some of those are being run by people in their 30s and 40s," Gust said. "We want them to look to TIA as the avenue where they can become more professional and make their businesses better."

Another important aspect of TIA, Pangle said, is that it serves as a watchdog for independent tire dealers and the industry as a whole.

TIA has members in 24 countries and every state. Membership is around 13,400, but Gust said the number is misleading. Discount Tire, for example, has 1,119 stores but only counts as one member.

TIA uses its collective "weight" to lobby Congress on behalf of the industry. Gust said it is one of the most important — though maybe least visible — things they do.

"When you get a smaller dealer to become a member, they quickly realize the benefits," Pangle said. "A lot of times these little shops are out there operating on their own, and they have no idea of the resources that are available to them."

Pangle started in the tire industry in 1970 at a small service shop in Whitecourt, Alberta.

"I was working in the gas sector, what they call a 'sour gas plant.' ... It was dangerous and caustic, and I hated it," Pangle said. "I kept going to this (tire) shop in Whitecourt looking for a job, and they finally gave me one."

From the outside, it looked like an interesting career path, he said. He soon moved to Edmonton to work for Goodyear for a number of years before joining Fountain Tire.

When first approached by Fountain Tire founder Bill Fountain, Pangle turned him down because he liked the job he had.

"In hindsight, I am so glad (Fountain) was persistent, because he kept calling me until I finally agreed to meet with him," Pangle said. "He gave me the chance to run one store, and then partner with him, and I never looked back."

Today, Fountain Tire is ranked as the 11th largest independent retail tire dealership in North America, based on 165 company-owned stores, according to the Tire Business top dealer rankings released Oct. 24.

Gust said Pangle is interested in many subjects and brings good perspective to the TIA board.

"He is of the utmost character, extremely honest and very straight-forward," Gust said, calling Pangle a good friend. "It's something you can really value of the person coming into the chair.

"One thing we never have to worry about is what Jim thinks about a certain position," Gust said with a laugh. "He's never hesitant to let us know what he thinks."

Pangle has been an active member in the association work since joining in the 1990s. Over the years, he has served as a TIA general board member, as well as sat on a number of advisory councils — the most recent being the EV advisory council.

When they first met, Gust was on the board of the ITRA and forming an environmental advisory council.

"This meeting was all tire-recycling people and equipment people, and in walks Jim, and he goes, 'I'd like to learn more about this tire-recycling thing,'" Gust said, adding at the time there wasn't a lot of interest in tire recycling.

Pangle said he could see the problem with junk tires coming into Alberta and wanted to learn other views out there.

"Landfills started getting a little antsy about taking them for scrap," he said. "They would bury them, but the frost would push them back up."

Pangle became a member of that council and said he really "got hooked" on association work.

Pangle has participated in the TIA training/education, strategic planning, nominating, membership and government affairs committees.

Pangle is the second Canadian to serve as TIA president, after Paul Hyatt, a TIA Hall of Famer, who served the 2006-07 term.

As president, Pangle hopes to have a "cohesive board with no personal agendas."

"As time goes on, we as a board want to be cautious that we are building a team focused on the goal of TIA — supporting the members," he said, promising to "deal with issues head on until they're resolved."

Pangle succeeds Mason Hess, director of the global mining division at Purcell Tire & Service Center.

Keith Jarman, president of AME International, will serve as president in 2023-24.