Stress-free, positive environment crucial at TGI

MIAMI — Tire Group International L.L.C. (TGI) sells happiness. Sure, the company makes a profit selling tires, but what the real money maker is a positive state of mind.

That approach is baked into what brothers Tony Gonzalez and Joaquin Gonzalez Jr., the company's CEO and president, respectively, preach and practice every day.

"Selling happiness. We're all about being a happy place to work. We're all about a place customers come to because we make them happy," Tony Gonzalez said. "We sell a stress-free work environment. We're not about politicking in the office."

This article appears in the Nov. 23 print edition of Tire Business.

Good vibes are what Miami-bsed TGI runs on. All day, every day.

Potential hires are carefully considered and questioned about their attitude about their vocation. Not only do they have to be hard workers, but they must bring a positive approach to the job.

"You are coming to a place that's fun to work at because we don't get into rumor or politics. If that's the kind of person you are, tell me now and we'll avoid a mutual headache," Tony Gonzalez said.

This approach is so ingrained at TGI that happiness supersedes any profit motivation. If someone can't get on board, even if they are otherwise successfully doing their job, well, there's the door.

"We're all about positivity. We're all about finding a better way of doing things," Tony Gonzalez said.

The CEO has been around tires all his life, starting as a young boy helping his father in the trade. His grandfather and great uncle also were in the business in Cuba dating back to World War II. After the Cuban revolution, the Gonzalez family moved to the U.S. in the early 1960s, before the brothers were born.

Trading off his family's involvement in the tire business, Tony Gonzalez founded TGI in the early 1990s with a small staff working out of his townhouse. With connections created over the years in the family business, and his work with Tire Kingdom handling its export business as a contract worker, he was able quickly to make TGI successful.

Over time, the company went from being a middleman facilitating deals without ever touching tires to an operation now that has warehouses in Miami, Tampa and Portland, Ore., to handle inventory. The firm, like other wholesalers, has its own tire brands and handles products from other companies.

TGI specializes in the Tier 3 segment, where price and value come together to attract customers.

For Joaquin Gonzalez, creating a positive work atmosphere is paramount to success.

"It obviously starts from the top down," he said, "all the way down. There's a lot of humbleness. We nurture an environment where ideas can be cultivated.

"Nobody feels entitled. That is something that in a lot of places that isn't nurtured or really isn't celebrated, that diversity of thought."

While he holds the title of president at TGI, Joaquin Gonzalez said he works to strip away the hierarchy of business to create an atmosphere of equals.

"We are about family. It's this inclusive culture that we have. It's something for us that's natural," he said.

Breaking down barriers in the workplace helps people be more comfortable and willing to contribute, Joaquin Gonzalez said.

"I think a lot of people in a management position or running a business may undervalue the intelligence or undervalue the drive of some of their team members. There is so much power in really cultivating that and really giving people the power to make decisions or even make the wrong decision in a measured way," he said.

Joaquin Gonzalez is quick to point out that he wants everyone working in the business to be seen as people first.

"We don't have employees. It bothers me when people say, 'I work for him.' Nobody works for me. We work together," he said. "I'm not your boss."

Undressing his status as a manager or president of the company puts people at ease and more likely to contribute to the overall good, Joaquin Gonzalez said.

This is not the only approach that might seem unconventional to some in the business world.

TGI purposefully does not go after the very large accounts, instead hoping to partner with smaller players that need the wholesaler as much as the wholesaler needs them.

"We'd rather take the smaller and mid-size guy, dedicate ourselves to them and have them dedicate themselves to us and grow together. We've always been very good at that," Tony Gonzalez said.

It's a lesson he learned long ago: "Your customer needs you as much as you need them: That's when you have a winning combination. That's the kind of people we're looking for. We don't call them customers. We call them partners. That's what a truly successful relationship is. … You are both making a profit in the end."

Distributing private tire brands allows TGI to offer its partners exclusivity within their markets, something that some other brands do not provide. Both TGI and its partners can work to establish those brands without fear of having manufacturers swoop in and change the landscape, the owners said.

Tony Gonzalez estimates that about half of TGI's business comes from these private brands and about half from name-brand offerings.

TGI typically sells into 35 to 40 countries in any given year and has sold its products in more than 80 countries over the years.

"But our focus the last three years or so has been the U.S. We're very focused on the U.S. market, especially with our private label Cosmo, which is our oldest private label. We really have made a push in the U.S. market, and we've had really good reception to the product," he said.

"We've put a lot of energy in that brand, and we see something to build on in the future, especially in the U.S.," Tony Gonzalez said.

"The thing about having your own brand is being able to control your market, give people territory and respect it," he added.

The unwavering approach toward happiness can be seen throughout the company, which even has a system to recognize its employees.

A series of nine pins can be awarded to employees who buy into the positive approach, with financial awards available as they rack up those enameled honors.

In what can be a cutthroat world of Tier 3 tires, TGI works to set itself apart not only by its positive attitude, but also its moral approach toward doing business, Tony Gonzalez said. Proving yourself to be honorable means that buyers will be willing to pay a little extra to foster an honest relationship.

"Having a happy workplace and having people who adhere to your principals and ethics and morals, that's what it's all about," Tony Gonzalez said.

Football has played a big part for both of the Gonzalez brothers and has helped guide them in how they want to conduct business. The men lean on their experiences in sports to create an atmosphere of inclusiveness and teamwork that shapes TGI to this day.

Joaquin Gonzalez, an all-star on the field and in the classroom at the University of Miami, was an offensive lineman who won a college national championship (2001) and went on to play in the NFL for both the Cleveland Browns and the Indianapolis Colts.

"Tires are a commodity at the end of the day. And there's a lot of competition. We want to differentiate ourselves not only internally on how we groom our own people," Tony Gonzalez said, but also how the company conducts business. "What we mean by selling happiness is literally that."