After nearly 40 years in the tire industry, Yokohama Tire Corp. executive vice president and COO Jim MacMaster is retiring.

MacMaster will close out his career on June 30, and plans to move to Georgia with his wife to spend more time with his family.

Yokohama did not name a replacement for MacMaster, and may consider reshuffling executive responsibilities.

After a three-year stint in the U.S. Navy, MacMaster worked in a variety of tire manufacturing and dealer jobs before landing at Yokohama in 1981. MacMaster served as RMA chairman in 2007-09.

“The tire industry has been home for most of my adult life,” said MacMaster. “I’ll certainly miss the everyday challenges at Yokohama and all of the great people I’ve worked with for so many years, but I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family in Georgia and doing a lot of traveling.

“When I look back, my proudest achievement at Yokohama was the acquisition and expansion of our Salem, Va., facility in 1989,” said MacMaster about the factory that produces a large majority of the passenger tires Yokohama sells in the U.S. “The flexible architecture of that plant lets us build an array of types and sizes of tires, which adds to YTC’s competitiveness in the North American marketplace.

“I have also been very fortunate to have wonderful relationships with our customers, our marketing partners and industry leaders. My time at Yokohama is full of so many favorite memories.”