Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/394657
MTD October 2014 Top 25 Commercial Dealers Nebraskaland Tire Co. Inc., which does business as Ne- braskaland Tire, Kansasland Tire and Coloradoland Tire, invested in its retreading operations in 2014 in response to market conditions. "We added some new equipment into our retreading business to increase our capacity. Our mix to Tier 3 has increased slightly, but we are holding premium sales prety well by educating our customers on the entire cost of truck tires through the second retread and casing values," says Nick Phillippi, general manager of the No. 25 ranked dealer. Graham Tire Co. is emphasizing customer service and reliability to stay competitive, according to Jen McCann, marketing manager. "Each day we struggle to keep our margins where they need to be while also moving necessary units. Tis said, we go beyond pricing and make sure retail customers know what they can beneft from when choosing Graham Tire as their commercial tire supplier. "For any size feet, we ofer feet surveys and inspections to make sure they are using the correct tire for the specifc application and geting the most out of their tires for the budget they have alloted," she says. "Goodyear Fleet HQ offers great programs to track this information, so we look like the commercial tire experts and are able to address their needs when they are ready to purchase." Graham Tire has stepped up its activ- ity with OTR tires, says McCann. "For both commercial and OTR customers, minimizing downtime is crucial for their botom line, so we have worked hard to give them the products and service they need as soon as they need it." Graham Tire, which is not ranked on this year's top 25 commercial dealer list, operates two retread shops, four commercial and 26 commercial/retail outlets in four states. Roughly half of the companies on the Top 25 Commercial Tire Dealers list experienced increases in commercial sales (in dollars) from 2012 to 2013, according to Modern Tire Dealer estimates. ■ How the rankings are determined To make the MTD Top 25 U.S. Com- mercial Tire Dealers list, a dealer has to: 1) sell truck tires, 2) have at least one retreading plant, and 3) offer 24/7 road service. Points are tabulated based on number of outlets. Each commercial-only outlet received two points and each retread plant received one point. The number of combination commercial/retail stores is mul- tiplied by the estimated percent- age of commercial sales and then multiplied by two. The highest 25 point totals make up the list, and then the dealers are ranked based on estimated commercial sales. Quik-Link: 800-687-1557 ext. 21121 38 38