Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/714120
MTD August 2016 Passing the torch e extended Burt Brothers family relies on togetherness to succeed I first met my good iends Wendel and Ron Burt at the old Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. headquarters in Akron, Ohio, in 1987. At the time, they worked for Triangle Tire Service in Bountiful, Utah. ey were young , bright, and talked about the importance of family and religion. e elder brother, Wendel, was hoping to take back an overview of the management seminar Goodyear was sponsoring for its dealers. He got his wish. "e business simulation was an eye-opener for me," he said at the time. "ere is nothing more important than the sale, but controlling expenses and inventory can make or break a business. e simulation made you more aware of the cash flow circle." In August 1991, they opened their own Burt Brothers Tire & Service outlet in Bountiful. "Without a doubt, the most pivotal turn in my career was the willingness of my brother, Ron, to join me in a leap of faith to begin Burt Brothers," says Wendel. "Our goal at that time was simple: sell at least one tire every day. Fortunately we met that goal with only a few misses, and now, with nine stores, have our sights set on 340 tires a day." As they added stores, I kept in touch, visiting their operation in 2001. Along the way, I also have goen to know their five sons, who now find themselves in management roles. At the Goodyear Dealer Conference in Washington, D.C., earlier this year, on the eve of the company's 25th anniversary, I caught up with the sons, Jake (the oldest), Jeremy, Brandon, Jason and Cory, millen- nials all, as they prepare to take the family business into the future. — Bob Ulrich MTD: Do the five of you plan to work together running and perhaps growing the company, or do you plan to run off and do your own thing? Brandon Burt (general manager): I feel like we've done a really good job growing up, working hard together, but playing hard together. My vision, at least for the five of us, is to stick together. I know, obviously, we'll have our differences, but I feel like we're really strong as a group. We all have strengths we bring to the party, and I think that will allow Burt Brothers to grow. Cory Burt (manager of the Farmington, Utah, store): I think our success really will be measured on how we stick together. I love each of us as brothers. I would consider all of us brothers, and we all play a significant role. Finding our niche and working hard and the mutual respect that we have for each other and grew up having for each other — that's going to be a key to our success. J a s o n B u r t (manager of the Riverton, Utah, store): We were a l l ra i sed w i t h those same core values of hard work. Wendell and Ron trained us all really well. ey got us fied for brooms really early in life, and I think that's been really the key to our success. Our concerns or growing pains have been finding the people who share those values, to represent our company at the highest level. We ran out of Burts a long time ago, and so we need every Burt we can get! Jeremy Burt (warehouse and marketing operations man- ager): We're able to grow because each of us wears a different hat in the company. If there was only one of us going off to do it, he'd have to wear all the hats. We're somewhat stronger as a team, and if you have that negative or bad day, you just have to remember what it would be like to Focus on dealers The second generation Burts at Burt Brothers Tire & Service are, from left to right: Jake, 38; Jeremy, 33; Brandon, 36; Jason, 33; and Cory, 32. Jake, Jeremy and Jason are the sons of Wendel Burt. Brandon and Cory are the sons of Ron Burt, who, with Wendel, founded Burt Brothers 25 years ago this month. 66