Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/567620
MTD September 2015 moved to the suburbs of Monroe County. Henrieta is directly south of the city and is right in the middle of the county with access to the major highways. "Te goal was to strategically locate a 'super center' in the middle of the county. We built our commercial, retail and retread operations all under one roof with enough room to grow. We kept the store downtown until the mid 1980s and then closed it. "My grandfather had quite a bit of foresight because when he built the store in Henrieta, there was mostly farmland around us. Now it is one of the busiest streets in the county and is covered with car dealers and retail stores." Te dealership performs every retail tire service imaginable, plus complete undercar service; most under-hood services, including transmission repair; and state inspections. On the commercial side, it ofers new truck and OTR tires and retreading. With its strong ties to the past — in addition to the General brand, Craig's father and uncle, Steve Lewis, are retired but serve as consultants to the business — Lewis General Tires continues to look to the future. McCarthy Tire, 85 years "The establish- ment of a nation- wide team of fercely loyal, aggressive, c o m p e te n t a n d independent deal- ers enabled General Tire to meet the challenge of making it the unquestioned premium tire pro- ducer in the feld." Tat's how General Tire described its f ledgling dealer network in 1918. Joseph J. McCarthy Sr. began selling tires for the company in 1926. W hen a territory opened up in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., in 1930, he decided to strike out on his own, and, as the Depression was geting started, McCarthy Tire Ser vice Inc. was born. McCarthy 's experience selling truck tires as a General Tire salesman made the decision to become a combination commercial/retail dealer a logical one. Te decision coincided with General's increased involvement in commercial tire manufacturing. In 1928, General created rubber faps for truck tires. Two years later, the company began selling a complete line of low- pressure truck tire "balloons," which positioned the company as a major commercial tire manufacturer. In 1934, the General brand was original equipment on International Harvester Co. vehicles. By 1937, General Tire was on the OE list of all major truck manufacturers, which, according to the company, provided "an entrée by General Tire dealers for replacement and retreading sales." McCarthy Tire has grown under the guidance of the McCarthy family for three generations. John D. McCarthy Sr. followed his father at the helm; John D. McCarthy Jr. is the current president. In 2014, McCarthy Tire was the sixth largest commercial tire dealership in the U.S., based on Modern Tire Dealer's rankings. The company has six Bandag retreading plants, one OTR retreading plant, 43 full-service locations, more than 300 commercial ser vice trucks and more than 900 employees. McCarthy Tire services consumers and feets in Pennsyl- vania, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland, with additional commercial service in Ohio. John D. McCarthy III recently joined the company as a salesman in the Philadelphia area. When Continental purchased General Tire, McCarthy was already selling the Continental brand, "so that meshed well," says McCarthy Jr. "Back in the day, General Tire was a presence. Tey are still a good company to do business with." ■ Plant obsolescence In the mid-1940s, the U.S. government faced a critical World War II-related tire shortage. More manufactur- ing plants were needed, and General Tire & Rubber Co. agreed to help. It selected a Waco, Texas, site for its second domestic facility. Tire production began there in November 1944. Eventually, the plant became obsolete, and tire produc- tion was phased out. The facility was closed in 1987. General's frst plant, built in Akron, Ohio, in 1915, was closed in 1982. Subsequent plants in Mayfeld, Ky. (1960), Bryan, Ohio (1967), and Charlotte, N.C. (2006), also were shuttered. The company's sixth plant, equipped for full radial tire production, went into operation in 1973 in Mount Vernon, Ill. It is still in operation. General Tire President William F. O'Neil wished McCarthy success on the opening of his new store in 1936. Joseph McCarthy Sr., far left, moved his business to this location in Wilkes- Barre in 1936. He moved it again to the east end of the city in 1962. General Tire 100th anniversary 62