Attn: Women (and Shops that Employ Females)
Being a female in the tire industry, and even auto care industry, you can often feel alone in a sea of men. Not that working with men isn’t great, but sometimes it’s nice to interact with other females. I’m here to reiterate to all the females in the industry that you’re not alone. There are
Goodyear’s Kramer: Eliminating Friction From Tire Sales Process is Our Moonshot
Editor’s Note: Chairman and CEO Rich Kramer, as he does each year, closed out the annual Goodyear Dealer Conference. In the past, Kramer has focused on broader issues, but this year brought a finer focus on Goodyear in North America, its relationship with dealers and its relationship with consumers going forward. On the heels of Goodyear’s
A New Model
Over the last several months, BKT Tire’s operations in North America have undergone considerable change. Where once BKT Tires USA Inc. in Akron handled all of the India-based tiremaker’s business here, now BKT Tire based in Nashville handles all OTR tire sales and service, and BKT Tires USA Inc. focuses on ag, industrial and ATV
Effective and Desirable
2014 was a hell of a year, wasn’t it? The ups and downs were familiar from past years, but there was also a growing sense of optimism pervading the country and our industry in particular. A positive feel in the business – and in people’s wallets – for the first time in quite a few
Soothing the Wild Beast
Basil is not known for blowing his own horn, but when a simple repair degenerates into an overhaul from hell, the soothing tones emanating from the lunchroom let the rest of us know that somebody is undergoing musical therapy. Basil calls it musical yin-yang. “So how long you been playing the clarinet, Basil?” “Yeah,” said
Ever Changing Tech
Tis the season when a person’s fancy turns to holiday cheer and thoughts of really cool Christmas gifts you crave this year. [Editor’s Note: You are likely reading this post-Christmas 2014 – perhaps a few days into 2015 – but it was Cyber Monday when I wrote this column. When you work on a monthly
Top 10 Goal Spurs Nexen Growth
The Heung-A Tire Co. was established in 1942 in what is now South Korea, and became that country’s very first tire manufacturer. The name today is Nexen Tire Corp., a Korean derivative of “next” and “century,” which constantly points the company in one direction – forward. With a marked goal of becoming a global Top
How Cuba, North Korea and Rosekind Can Impact on the Tire World
Never thought I’d see the day that I could travel to Cuba, or that North Korea – a country that can’t even keep the lights on at night – would actually cause knees to buckle. Welcome to a whole new world. So what does Cuba and North Korea have to do with tires and the
U.S.-Canada Tire Price Gap Closing, Legislation Still Pending
CBC News reported recently that some Canadian tire retailers have been dropping tire prices, effectively closing the gap on U.S. retailers and helping keep Canadian tire buyers home. The Canada-U.S. tire price gap, long a headache for Canadian retailers thanks to a lack of legislative support by their government, has tightened in recent months, and
Bridgestone Americas Stu Crum Reveals His 2020 Vision
In August 2013, Stu Crum left Shell Oil Co. where he served as president of Jiffy Lube International to join Bridgestone Americas as president of its retail store group, overseeing more than 2,200 company-owned stores under the Firestone Complete Auto Car, Tires Plus, Hibdon Tires Plus and Wheel Works brands. Crum made news this past
Exploring and Explaining the Pieces of a Truly Weird Tire Day
The day after what was truly the most bizarre day for the American tire industry that I can recall, things got even weirder. Oh, before I forget, Welcome to National Tire Safety Awareness Month!!!!! Your White House thanks you for your cooperation. Anyway, by now you have read that the National Transportation Safety Board held
Random Notes From the South Side
Back from another SEMA Show/Global Tire Expo, as are a supposed 140,000-plus other people in Las Vegas for the automotive world’s biggest week. Word was that the combined SEMA-AAPEX world was up considerably from the year prior, good news coming on the back-end of a seemingly endless recession. Colleagues over at AAPEX report that it