Back in 1911, when residents of Whittier, Calif., and its surrounding communities needed new tires for their Ford Model Ts, they turned to R.F. Daniels.
And while much has changed over the past 100 years, Southern California still depends on the Daniels family for tires, automotive service and expert advice.
From its humble beginnings as a one-man operation, Daniels Tire Service (originally named Whittier Vulcanizing) has grown to become one of the largest full-service tire dealerships on the West Coast.
The company, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this month, now has operations across the region, including seven automotive service centers, five commercial truck tire centers and a Goodyear retreading plant.
“Expert tire dealers such as Daniels Tire Service have been vital in representing Goodyear in local communities across North America,” said Todd Pickens, Goodyear’s senior director of consumer sales. “We appreciate all the hard work of the Daniels team over the years and congratulate them on this important milestone.”
This month, Goodyear joined Daniels in commemorating its centennial, with customers receiving rides in the Goodyear Blimp. The dealership is also running special 100th anniversary mail inserts and coupon books, along with other in-store promotions.
“When starting this company, my great-grandfather’s mission was to sell only the best products and provide superior customer service,” said John Daniels, executive vice president of administration and consumer operations. “To this day, those principles are still the driving force behind our continued growth and success.”
In 1939, Arden G. Daniels, who succeeded his father, joined with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., a move he credited with helping drive the company’s success for decades to come. Previously, Daniels Tire Service was a Firestone dealer.
When his father started the business, “A tire shop was mostly a fix-it shop,” said Arden. “The big income was derived from patching tubes. There weren’t many vehicles in those days, but there was plenty of work in the tire business.”
He recalls his father was the one who introduced the gas pump to Whittier. “It was one of those one-gallon pumps. You pumped a gallon at a time – by hand – and drained it into the customer’s tank. Those were the days when an exceptional tire was one that ran 1,000 miles before it was worn out.”
Arden became president of Daniels Tire Service at the age of 22, practically on the eve of the Great Depression. “I thought the bottom fell out of the whole world,” he said, “but you know, we did some growing during the depression.
“When the Japanese hit Pearl Harbor, I thought the bottom had fallen out of the whole world again,” Arden said.
But his company continued to prosper despite tight times during the war. It blossomed during the 1950s and 1960s as the company expanded into farm and OTR tire sales and service. “This philosophy has been a link to our past, and the vision for the future. Anyone can sell a tire, but our secret to our success is that we sell the total program, the tire, the service, and the retreading. We wanted to provide it all,” Arden said.
Starting in 1967, Daniels Tire Service took on locations in multiple states and countries, adding mining tire operations in New Mexico, Wyoming and Canada. Those operations were sold some years later to finance the commercial truck tire expansion in Southern California, with the opening of its Riverside and San Diego locations. Nineteen sixty-seven was also the year that Doug (now chairman and CEO) and Barry (now executive vice president and CFO) Daniels entered the business, working day-to-day operations and running the business alongside their father, Arden Daniels.
The first retreads were sold by Daniels Tire Service in 1942. In 1987, Daniels Tire Service ended a 21-year association with Bandag. Having been a Goodyear dealer for 41 years, the decision was made to conversion to Goodyear’s retread system. In 1989, Arden Daniels passed away.
From 1911 to 1928, R.F. Daniels, who passed away in 1959, operated the business with one employee. Today Daniels employs some 135 people.
A fourth generation is working in the business with Arden D. Daniels as the executive vice president of commercial operations, and John B. Daniels as the executive vice president of administration and consumer operations.
