Peter Veldman, 87, founder of online tire and wheel sales giant The Tire Rack, passed away this morning.Peter Veldman
The South Bend, Ind.-based company was founded as a retail tire store in 1979 by Veldman and his son-in-law Mike Joines. After three years, the company shifted, adding a mail-order operation. That business took off, and by 1990, The Tire Rack closed its retail store to focus entirely to mail order and eventually online tire and wheel sales.
Today, the company that he founded is the world’s largest online tire and wheel seller, with five warehouses around the U.S.
Veldman, who was inducted into the Tire Industry Hall of Fame in 2012, was skeptical when first approached with the idea of creating a mail-order tire company. Today, the company’s website has over 50 million viewers annually, more than any other tire company and more than most automakers.
Flags fly at half-staff in front of Tire Racks headquarters in South Bend, Ind.
He and his wife, Wilma, retired from day-to-day management of the company in 2005, turning the business operations over to family members.
No other details on planned services are available at this time.
