Members of the Independent Tire Dealers Group LLC (ITDG) and employees of Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels celebrated a new partnership and a new tire on Oct. 31, 2018.
They gathered at the Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels booth during the 2018 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show.
The ITDG has entered into a partnership with Mickey Thompson to distribute their products throughout the group’s network, according to ITDG President and CEO Dave Marks. The group currently has 150 members in 675 locations in 42 states.
“It is a great opportunity for ITDG to be partnered with a company like Mickey Thompson, which has history and longevity in the specialty tire business,” says Marks.
“Mickey Thompson cherishes the dealer relationship over selling a set of tires. That’s the priority for them,” says Marks.
Blake Warner leads ITDG market development for Mickey Thompson. He says Mickey Thompson is founded on the basis of being a partner to retailers. “The retailer is the heart and soul of our business. We want to be a part of the ITDG members’ businesses, and we want them to feel like partners in our business.”
A new tire: Baja Boss
The gathering at the Mickey Thompson booth to mark the new partnership did double duty as an official product launch. Mickey Thompson unveiled its newest tire, the Baja Boss extreme mud tire, to ITDG members.
The new mud terrain tire has a 3-ply sidewall and 6-ply tread. Improvements over the prior model of the tire include side biters that are 50% larger and one ply that is 150% stronger, according to Robert Dejarnette, marketing program manager.
“Our size offerings are 17-inch up to 24-inch wheel diameters. Height-wise the sizes go up to 40 inches,” he says. Features include mud scoops and stone kickers. “It is a premium mud terrain tire.”
The Baja Boss will be available in 18 high load-carrying capacity sizes from 17 to 24 inches for a variety of light truck and SUV models—with 18 additional sizes coming later. The load ranges are developed for today’s popular and extreme leveled/lifted applications.
The new Baja Boss will be built in Texarkana, Ark. “We are one of the few companies left that are U.S. owned,” says Dejarnette.
A 38 15.50 R24 size Baja Boss is on display at the 2018 SEMA Show. The Baja Boss will be available in March 2019.
