Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/449261
MTD January 2015 bites Pearson Tire founder Raynal Pearson dies Raynal Pearson, the 87-year-old founder of Pearson Tire Co. in Rich- feld, Utah, died Dec. 9, 2014. "He has always been a gentle giant and will certainly be missed by all who have known him," says his son, Larry, who took over the eight-store dealership years ago. Pearson started the business 64 years ago with a simple mission statement: "to provide customers the highest qual- ity products, furnish them with excep- tional service, and make a fair proft for ourselves and the company." Pearson grew up on a farm in Marys- vale, Utah, and served a mission for the LDS Church in the Pacifc Northwest. He was a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He owned and operated Pearson Tire and multiple wholesale and retail tire operations throughout the state. His businesses also included Sevier Valley Oil, gas stations and hotels in several states. Goodyear sells 7 distribution centers Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. sold seven Midwest distribution centers to U.S. Autoforce, a division of Wisconsin-based U.S. Venture Inc. Financial details of the deal were not revealed. The seven centers are in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado, plus two in Wisconsin and two in Illinois. The centers distribute consumer and commercial tires. Jim Davis, public relations manager for Goodyear North America, describes the move as being part of Goodyear's "aligned distribution strategy." He says the company uses a combination of company-owned and aligned warehouse distributor (WD) centers. U.S. Autoforce is an existing WD for Goodyear products. "There are no plans to divest of all the company-owned WD centers," Davis says. "We still have 45 of them." RMA predicts fewer replacement tire shipments in 2015 The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) predicts total tire ship- ments in the U.S. will increase to more than 310 million units in 2015 but expects demand for replacement passenger tires to drop by 1.2 million units in 2015 compared to 2014. Total U.S. tire shipments were estimated to reach 309.9 million units in 2014. The RMA predicts 310.6 million units will be shipped in 2015. Passenger original equipment shipments are expected to increase 2.5% in 2015 while replacement tire shipments are expected to decline 0.6%. The RMA expects light truck tire OE shipments to grow 2.1% and commercial truck tire OE shipments to grow 3.7%. Replacement LT tire shipments and commercial truck tire shipments are forecast to grow 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. News/views Trailer tires recalled Dynamic Tire Corp. is recalling 17,369 trailer tires manufactured between June 15, 2014, and Oct. 14, 2014. The affected Towmax STR tires, size ST225/75 R15, may have the incorrect load capacity and inflation pressure stampings. Cooper's lawsuit is dismissed The Delaware Chancery Court dismissed the lawsuit filed by Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. against Apollo Tyres Ltd. for damages related to their former merger agreement. Falken campaign honored Falken Tire Corp.'s "Conquer Your World" advertising campaign has been recognized by the International Academy of Visual Arts (IAVA) with three Davey Awards for Print Advertising. Retreads earn SmartWay label Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s G392A SSD UniCircle and G394A SST UniCircle wide-base retread products recently earned SmartWay verification. Discount Tire adds stores Discount Tire has opened stores in St. Charles, Ill., Evansville, Ind., and Parma Heights, Ohio. Part of the Reinalt-Thomas Corp., Discount Tire has more than 875 stores. Maxxis sponsors the Braves Taiwan-based Maxxis International will sponsor the Atlanta Braves in 2015. The company's U.S. headquarters is in Suwanee, Ga. Michelin upgrades app Michelin Americas Truck Tires, a division of Michelin North America Inc., upgraded its dealer locator app that offers drag-and-drop capability, type-ahead functionality, more search options and one-click access to all key dealer information. Bosch signs Cantore Robert Bosch LLC has signed Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore as spokesperson for Bosch Icon wiper blades with ClearMax 365. An advertising campaign will run through the first quarter of 2015. Raynal Pearson was Modern Tire Dealer's Tire Dealer of the Year in 1999. He died Dec. 9. 12