It was one of North America’s largest tire retailers when it was bought in June 2005 by a group that included two pairs of Edmonton brothers, George and Ernie Votis and Martin and Roger Gouin.
The Votis brothers made their name in the New York investment banking world, while the Gouins followed their father into Spruce Grove-based North American Construction Group.
George Votis and Martin Gouin were high school pals who kept in touch over the years, and the four teamed up to approach the Coscos about buying Tirecraft. George was the largest shareholder and chairman, while Ernie was vice-chairman. The Gouin brothers sat on the board.
George recruited as president and CEO Jean-Michel Locarnini, a Swiss with no tire experience he had met in Zurich through the plastics business.
Locarnini left last fall when Tirecraft’s financial problems were deepening and was replaced by Bill Teeple, another cohort of George’s.
Another company that George, whose Manhattan townhouse was featured in Architectural Digest, was involved in went bankrupt.
The graduate of Tufts University and the prestigious Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania was chairman and CEO of U.S.-based international plastics company Moll Industries when it collapsed in 2002. (Tire Review/Akron)