If you support your community, it’s going to come back around to your business. It's a simple mantra, but sticking to it has worked wonders for Black's Tire & Auto Service.

Today, the business stands 55 Black’s Tire & Auto Service tire and vehicle repair centers in operation across North and South Carolina, and Black's continues to grow. There are also 10 distribution warehouses – seven full-service wholesale distribution centers and three satellite wholesale distribution operations – and a tire retread manufacturing center located in Clarkton NC.

“We try to participate in every community we serve across North Carolina, South Carolina and Southern Virginia,” says Rick Benton Jr., Black’s Tire ­­­­­vice president of sales/marketing, managing director ownership group. “Black’s Tire & Auto Service as a company has long held an appreciation for the importance one can have in the development, success and quality of life of others, particularly those in need.”

We thought the Black's team deserved a bit of admiration for its focus on people. Watch the video above to see us surprise the Black’s Tire & Auto Service team with news that they have been named Tire Review’s 2023 Top Shop Winner.

Tire Review: www.tirereview.com
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Reading the tea leaves is never simple for an OTR tire dealer. With the market so closely tied to typically cyclical industries like construction, mining, agriculture and forestry, many OTR tire dealers will tell you they've experienced their fair share of both feast and famine.

So far this year, though, the OTR tire market has been relatively steady, according to Triangle Tire's OTR Director Stephen Reynolds.

"If there's one thing that I've found to be true in the OTR world, it's that it's a variable rollercoaster. It's always either going up or down. So if you can maintain a flat line, that's something of a moral victory in my opinion," Reynolds says.

In this episode of What's Treading with Tire Review, Reynolds gives us the details on the current state of demand, as well as where he sees the market heading as we approach 2024. Plus, we learn about how freight rates and Triangle Tire's recent warehousing expansion are affecting tire dealers.

Tire Review: www.tirereview.com
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Over the last few years, Wegmann Automotive has found diversification to be a huge boon for business, whether that comes from various wheel weights options or the acquisition of Alligator TPMS in 2019.

"I think everybody's always looking for ways to grow their organizations. We have a very large amount of business in the wheel weight space," says Greg Parker, the national account sales and marketing director for Wegmann Automotive. "In order for us to continue to grow, we need to get outside of that and grow into new product areas. We're excited about this. I mean, obviously, valves are a critical component of wheels and tires. The more that we can put in that box or put on that pallet to ship to our customers, the better it is for them and the better it is for us."

In this episode of What's Treading with Tire Review, Parker discusses the shift from lead wheel balance weights to non-lead alternatives, such as steel and zinc, due to environmental regulations, as well as how Wegmann Automotive is adapting to these changes and investing in non-lead products like plasteel. Parker also delves into how the addition of Alligator's TPMS business has enhanced Wegmann Automotive's business in North America, enabling the company to diversify its product offerings.

Tire Review: www.tirereview.com
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There are four particular American tire shops where the shop floor looks quite a bit different than what you might be used to. Two enormous robotic arms are lifting 80-pound tires with ease, waltzing to an orchestra or shop sounds as they change a set of four customer tires in 20 minutes. According to executives at RoboTire, who've designed and installed these robots, these robots are just at the tip of the iceberg of their capability.

"We're ramping manufacturing, but then we also have continued to make new improvements. So compared to last year, the robots are probably about two times faster [now] than what they were," says Victor Darolfi, CEO and founder of RoboTire. "We've done layout improvements to basically minimize space constraints to going into shops. And then there is a whole new slew of services that RoboTire will be pushing out over the next couple of months from that side of the world to, again, add a better value prop to our end user."

On this episode of What’s Treading with Tire Review, we speak with Darolfi and Ben Wilson, senior manager of Operations for RoboTire, about recent dealer feedback, how the technology was designed to help control the technician shortage and what's next for RoboTire.

Tire Review: www.tirereview.com
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Kumho Tire recently launched the Solus TA51a tire, a grand touring all-season tire that consolidates two products into one. Kumho has also been simplifying other product lines as well; According to Shawn Denlein, president of sales and marketing at Kumho Tire USA, it’s a strategy that will become a huge boon to tire dealers.

“In 2018 we started this strategy of trying to consolidate all the lines, and there's a lot of benefits to this,” Denlein says. “One, you have an extreme benefit from the manufacturing side, because you're able to concentrate obviously just on one tread. From a developmental side, it's also important because it allows the engineers just to focus on one tread. From the dealer side, you're carrying less inventory and it's not as complicated. Back in 2018 we had 13 treads and now we have nine."

On this episode of What’s Treading with Tire Review, we grill Denlein on details about Kumho’s new TA51a grand touring all-season tire, tire segments the company has its eye on, and how expanded warehousing is expected to help tire dealers in North America.

Tire Review: www.tirereview.com
AAPEX: https://www.aapexshow.com/

When your Average Joe or Jane hears the word Continental, what do think first comes to mind? A hotel breakfast? An airline? Plate tectonics? In large part thanks to Brian Beierwaltes, senior manager of marketing at Continental, many consumers out there first turn to the tires manufactured by a global tire brand.

Every tire manufacturer has its own unique marketing strategy. So, how does a Continental marketing executive keep tires top of mind?

"From the tire side, I really think we leverage our performance side of things and the value that we bring to our consumers, creating great products that ultimately showcase themselves and how they help people on a daily basis when they're driving," Beierwaltes says.

On this episode of What’s Treading with Tire Review, we pick Beirwaltes's brain about creating a successful marketing campaign for an industry giant; what consumers care most about with their tire purchases today; and what tools Continental gives tire dealers to help them close the next sale.

Tire Review: www.tirereview.com
AAPEX: www.aapexshow.com

A cloud of smoke arises from the GT Radial Champiro SX2 RS tires as Formula Drift Driver Odi Bakchis brakes to a halt. The tires are hot and worn after a few laps drifting, but they’ve kept Odi on the track for the full afternoon. So, what does in to the technological marvel that is race tires?

To answer this, David Poling, Giti Tire USA’s director of tire development and product marketing, sits down with us on this episode of What’s Treading with Tire Review, presented by AAPEX. Dave not only explains the technology that goes into race tires, but also how GT Radial’s tires for Formula Drift are built for the conditions and how this racing circuit serves as a proving ground for the company’s technology at a dealer’s counter.

• How motorsports is the ultimate proving ground for tire technology (1:02)
• The history behind GT Radial’s Formula Drift partnership (2:15)
• What GT Radial need to consider in making a tire for Formula Drift (5:55)
• How GT Radial’s Formula Drift partnership influences its brand awareness and can be a selling point for dealers at the counter (9:00)
• Ways race tire technology can influence the compounding and construction of other performance tires (12:22)
• Major advances in race tire technology in the market today (17:22)

Subscribe to the audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts and find the video version on YouTube.

A myraid of tire changers exist on the market today, so how do you know which one is right for your shop? Saying a new tire changer is a huge investment is an understatement, yet in order to service the wheel assemblies you’re seeing in your bays today, as well as those coming down the line, identifying the technology your techs need to perform proper and efficient tire service each time is a must.

In this episode of What’s Treading with Tire Review, presented by AAPEX, we’re joined by Rick Kennedy, product manager for tire changers at The Coats Company, who shares what new technology is essential for investing in a tire changer today and how Coats is looking to make the tire technician’s job easier.

EPISODE OVERVIEW

• Tire changer technology to look out for to service both today’s wheel assemblies and those in the future (0:52);
• How Coats designed its new Maxx series of tire changers to address technicians’ biggest pain points (4:44);
• Rick compares the Maxx series to previous Coats tire changer models to emphasize the convenience features they added through field research (9:54);
• The testing process for the Maxx Series (12:08);
• Examples of tire changer technology that allow technicians to perform their jobs safer and change tires faster (15:10).

Subscribe to the audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts and find the video version on YouTube.

The number of electric vehicles sold in North America is only going up, which has led many a tire dealer wondering how the characteristics of these vehicles will affect tires. EVs have heavy batteries and instant torque, which creates a perfect storm for these vehicles to eat up tires. However, that's not always the case, and tire manufacturers today are evaluating their current tire lines and working on strategies for how to address this vehicle segment.

In this episode of What's Treading with Tire Review, presented by AAPEX, I wanted to share an interview I did for our EV sister publication, The Buzz, on its podcast, "The Amped EV Podcast." Myself and the Tire Review team have interviewed tire manufacturers over the last few years asking about their strategies for addressing the unique characteristics of EVS in their product lines. In this podcast, myself and David Sickels, editor of The Buzz and senior editor for Tire Review, look to answer some burning questions about tires for EVs, delve into examples of how different tiremakers are addressing this vehicle segment and give you some actionable answers as to how your shop can prepare to see more EVs in your bays down the line.

EPISODE OVERVIEW:

• How different tire makers are approaching the EV segment (0:44);
• If the EV designation or dedicated EV tire lines are actually needed (5:20);
• Are EVs good or bad for a tire dealer’s business? (8:11);
• The level of training shops should seek out to handle EVs (12:11);
• How EVs are the next evolution in tire technology and why more education around EVs and tires is needed for shop owners (15:27)

Subscribe to the audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Already this year, Big O Tires added 12 locations to its network of stores and is promising even more growth in the years to come. The franchise hit the $1 billion sales mark in 2021 and announced its eastward expansion. But Brian Maciak, president of Big O Tires, explained that while growth is the goal, the franchise can’t do that without a mutually beneficial relationship with Big O Tires and TBC Corp. So, how is Big O promoting this type of healthy growth?

In this episode of What’s Treading with Tire Review, presented by AAPEX, we connected with Maciak to discuss how Big O plans to grow its footprint, the resources it gives its franchisees and the organization’s plans for a more digital customer experience.

OVERVIEW

• How Big O plans to achieve “monumental” growth (0:40);
• The way analytics play a role in finding markets for growth (3:53);
• Spreading brand awareness through digital transformation (7:27);
• Ways Big O is staying close to its franchisees and helping them with succession planning (11:57);
• What sets Big O apart from other automotive repair franchises (15:27).

Watch the video podcast here or on YouTube and subscribe to the audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. You can also read the full interview below.