TBC Corp. also has offices in Memphis; near Denver; outside of Philadelphia; and near Atlanta that could have hosted its expanded headquarters.
TBC was based in Memphis for nearly 30 years but moved its executive headquarters to Palm Beach Gardens, in 2004. The company still maintains a proprietary distribution operation in Memphis, where it employs 120 people in a one-million-square-foot warehouse.
In June, Charlie Zacharias, TBC Corp.’s senior vice president of real estate and logistics, told the South Florida Business Journal that several other states also were offering incentives.
“TBC had a choice of locating its corporate headquarters in several other states around the U.S.,” said Kelly Smallridge, president and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, in a prepared statement.
“Without the financial assistance from the state of Florida, Palm Beach County Commissioners, the city of Palm Beach Gardens, and the hard work of the BDB staff, none of this may be possible. The cooperative effort in Palm Beach County will hopefully produce another economic ‘win’ that results in jobs here,” she added.
The planned expansion includes a move to a newly leased facility. The added jobs would pay an annual average salary of $65,147, or 150% of the county’s average wage, according to a news release from the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County.
This is TBC’s second expansion into Palm Beach County.
The biggest chunk of money – $400,000 – will come from the state’s Quick Action Closing Fund, a discretionary performance-based incentive that provides up-front cash to approved economic development projects.
The company also is eligible for up to $200,000 from the Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development, which required a 20% match from the county. As the Business Journal reported in June, the Palm Beach County Commission approved its portion of the award. The $40,000 in local matching funds will come from the county’s Job Growth Incentive Fund.
TBC operates more than 735 company owned stores under the brands Tire Kingdom, National Tire & Battery (NTB) and Merchant’s Tire and Auto, along with nearly 500 franchised Big O Tires locations. The company has more than 300 associates at its headquarters and approximately 10,000 nationwide. (Tire Review/Akron)
