The Ties That Bind: How Do Successful Tire Dealers Cope When Home and Work Collide?
What if your boss is Mom or Dad? What if your closest, most trusted business partner is your brother or sister? Do you need a psychiatrist’s couch or a punching bag? Or maybe – just maybe – you don’t have a problem working with and living with relatives 24/7/365. In fact, what if just the
No Big Deal?
Mallory Eddy’s stop was at the bottom of a long, steep hill on two-lane Peterboro Road in Smithville, N.Y., a quiet little burg near Oneida. It was a sunny and clear late-May day when the school bus pulled up hard against the right berm to let three riders off. The cheerful, chatty second grader was
Out of the Ordinary: Cooper’s Top Exec Discusses Recent Transformation, Global Ambitions
To get a sense of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. and its chairman, president and CEO, you need look no further than Tom Dattilo’s corner office. Unlike the vistas other captains of industry enjoy from their lofty perches, Dattilo’s third-floor office overlooks Oler’s Drive Thru, a convenience store that stands as a stark reminder of
Direct Discourse: Have a Plane Spell Out Your Company Name in Smoke
Have a plane spell out your company name in smoke. Hire someone to stand on the street corner in a monkey suit holding a sign. If you’re the conservative type, add store signage or buy an ad on TV, in the local newspaper or on radio. When it comes to advertising, independent tire dealers have
Action and Reaction: Can Private Brands Survive a Shakeout?
When evaluating the private brand tires you carry, ask yourself one critical question: Can they survive a shakeout? “We are a pull through,” says Pat McLaughlin, president of SURE Tire, a cooperative buying group for private brand tires, about his business. “We can’t push anything into the market. We have to trail.” Reactionary. That’s the
Back to Basics: Part 2: Tire’s Belt Package Affects Comfort, Steering, Durability
In the January issue of Tire Review, we talked about the primary role of a tire’s bead and sidewall. Now, we’re going to move to the belt package. Let’s begin with some things you probably don’t know. For example, did you know that there are more parts in a tire’s belt system and carcass than
Flat-Out Progress?
One of the new technologies introduced recently by a major tire company really has the trucking industry talking – at least in certain vocational segments that have consistent problems with downtime due to tire punctures. In the commercial truck tire market, the problem of punctures peaked as the era of tube-type bias ply tires drew
Let’s Get Vertical
For those of you who have been involved in off-road racing, hill climbing and rock crawling, you know what I’m talking about. And for those of you who think that drifting is the only motorsport showing growth, I have something to tell you! Over the last few years, the popularity of all manner of off-road