Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/394657
MTD October 2014 News/views Tire Discounters adds to management team, makes plans to expand Tire Discounters Inc. has expanded its management team. Four people have joined the company and two have been promoted. New to the management team is Enrique Sanders, regional manager. His 23 years of experience include stints with an independent automo- tive dealer, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and TBC Corp. Abbey Dryden has been named vice president of communications. Her previous employers include Procter & Gamble and Luxottica Retail North America. Adam Hudak has joined the company as controller following tenure at VRI, Contech Engineered Solutions and United Way. Mike Symon is flling a new role as senior director of market research and analytics. His back- ground includes positions with Target Corp. and Supervalu Inc. The company also promoted two employees. Rafe Barber has been named director of sales after having served as regional manager over- seeing the company's expansion into the greater Nashville area. Forry Hargitt is the new director of training and operations after serving as director of sales and operations. The company says it plans to open 12 new stores and remodel many existing stores over the course of the next 12 months. Tire Discounters is No. 9 on the MTD 100. Belle Tire opens 90th retail location Belle Tire Distributors Inc. has opened its 90th retail location in Coldwa- ter, Mich. The new 10,000-square-foot outlet includes 10 service bays, two full-alignment pits and a mezzanine warehouse built to hold more than 3,000 tires. The company says the Coldwater location's priority is the value of its guests' time and building a relationship with the Belle Tire brand. The store's design features sales "pods" and a waiting area with amenities like a fat screen TV, a coffee bar and a workspace that allows custom- ers to stay connected. James Lambrich, a nine-year employee of Belle Tire, is the store manager. The store will be staffed by 16 to 20 em- ployees. Belle Tire employs more than 1,800 employees at locations in Michigan and Ohio. ■ November 4-6 Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX), Sands Expo Center, Las Vegas, Nev. (866) 229-3687 www.aapexshow.com November 4-7 Specialty Equipment Market As- sociation (SEMA) Show and the Global Tire Expo – Powered by TIA (Tire Industry Association), part of Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week (AAIW), Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nev. (800) 876-8372 www.tireindustry.org www.semashow.com November 12-15 Automechanika Buenos Aires, La Rural Trade Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina (770) 984-8016 www.automechanika.com.ar January 17-24, 2015 Ontario Tire Dealers Association Winter Conference, RIU Aruba Palace, Aruba (888) 207-9059 www.otda.com February 4 Montana Tire Dealers Association Lobby Day at the Capitol, Best West- ern Great Northern Hotel, Helena, Mont. (800) 388-0236 www.mtretail.com February 4-5 North Central Tire Dealers & Sup- pliers Association Mid-Winter Con- ference and Trade Show, Treasure Island Resort & Casino, Red Wing, Minn. (952) 544-6805 www.northcentraltiredealers.com February 27-29 Mid-America Tire Dealers Asso- ciation Convention, Prairie Band Casino, Mayetta, Kan. (785) 286-1110 www.matda.org dates The new Belle Tire location in Coldwater, Mich., features pods instead of a traditional service counter. The pods were created to help Belle Tire employees deliver personalized service to customers. 16