Kal Tire

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Kal Tire
Type Private
Industry Retail Distribution
Founded 1953, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada
Headquarters Vernon, British Columbia, Canada
Number of locations 240 (As of September, 2012)
Key people
  • Thomas J. Foord OBC, Founder
  • Robert Foord, President
Products Tires and Automotive parts, sales and service
Employees 4,000 (As of July, 2010)
Website www.kaltire.com

Kal Tire is a wholly owned Canadian company based in Vernon, British Columbia, where it was originally founded in 1953 by Thomas J. Foord OBC. Its business comprises retail tire sales for passenger and light truck vehicles, mechanical services for passenger and light trucks, commercial truck tires, mining and off-road sales and service and retreading of both commercial and off-road tires.

History

Kal Tire was started in 1953 by Thomas J. Foord with the initial goal of servicing the commercial logging operations that operated in the Okanagan Valley around Vernon, British Columbia and Nakusp, British Columbia with his partner Jim Lockhead by building customers' trust.[1]

Kal Tire was named after Kalamalka Lake, the prominent "Lake of Many Colours" landmark in Vernon. The company is still based in its birthplace of Vernon.

Since 1953, Kal Tire has expanded steadily.[2] Kal Tire comprises 165 company-owned branches, 49 independent associate dealers, 11 mining/industrial/commercial locations, 10 retread facilities, one OTR plant and four distribution warehouses. The business covers a market that includes British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northern Ontario, parts of Southern Ontario and Quebec, as well as mining operations in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, South America, The United Kingdom, Ghana and Australia.

Marketing

Kal Tire started with the motto of 'If we sell it, we guarantee it' which is still used by the company today. That was followed by the slogan of 'You'll like us for more than our tires'. This campaign proved very successful for the company but was then replaced by service stories. Kal Tire currently uses the brand position of 'True Service'.[3]

Participation in industry trade shows and participation in organizations is a key part of the marketing strategy of Kal Tire. Some of the organizations that Kal Tire is associated with include Western Canada Tire Dealers Association, Tire Industry Association and BC Roadbuilders Association.

Services

Retail

Kal Tire sells and services many name brand manufacturers including: Bridgestone, Firestone, Michelin, Uniroyal, BFGoodrich Yokohama, Nokian, Falken, Nitto, Maxxis and Multi-Mile products. Kal Tire also recently expanded its service offering to include mechanical work ranging from shocks and struts to brakes and oil service, but it is not provided at all locations. Mechanical part suppliers include Raybestos friction parts, Truxxx lift and leveling kits, Moog steering parts, Trico wiper blades and Pennzoil lubrication products. Batteries are also sold for cars, trucks and marine vehicles using the DieHard line of batteries.

Commercial and industrial

Kal Tire carries a full range of commercial truck tires and is also the largest retreader[4] of commercial tires in Canada with ten retread facilities across Canada that use the Bandag process. Kal Tire also carries and services industrial-use tires for equipment such as forklifts, excavators and tracked vehicles.

OTR and mining

OTR or off-the-road tires are generally larger, for use on heavy equipment that would not normally operate on paved roads. Recently Kal Tire partnered[5] with OTR Tyres in the UK to create a global earthmover tire sales and service company.

References

  1. ↑ Tire Business Magazine, T.J. Foord; Business foundation built on a simple word:Trust.
  2. ↑ Report On Business, How Kal Tire is Making Tracks.
  3. ↑ Marketing Magazine, Kal Tire rolls with roadies.
  4. ↑ Tire Business, Tire Distributor Rankings - 2009.
  5. ↑ Tyre Press News, Kal Tire and OTR Tyres Partnership.

External links

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