Gray’s Tire & Service Center Inc. is celebrating 20 years in business in 2018. Founder and owner David Gray also is looking to the future, making plans to open a fifth location in Alabama.
“We are grateful to our customers and our community for their support over the last 20 years, and we strive to satisfy our customers’ needs, and hope to exceed their expectations, and be a good corporate citizen.” says Gray. He was 22 when he started the business. He found a vacant tire store in Wetumpka, Ala., and his family and friends helped to clean, paint and repair the building before it opened in March 1998.
Gray's Tire operates four stores in east central Alabama, with two locations in Wetumpka, plus a location in Auburn and another in Montgomery. The fifth store is planned for Prattville. Each location offers automotive repairs as well as tires. Each location has a master technician on staff, and the business is master certified in hybrid and diesel repairs.
The business has more than 35 employees, including Robert Griggs, an ASE Master Certified Automotive Technician who was the company's first employee.
Gray grew up with a passion for the automotive business and all things mechanical, including cars and motorcycles. Growing up he'd spend his Saturdays working odd jobs and helping clean and prepare cars for sale at his grandfather's used car dealership. At the car lot, he pestered Amos Broadway, the chief mechanic, with questions. Broadway later opened his own repair shop in Montgomery, Ala., and Gray purchased the store when Broadway retired. In high school Gray worked at another local automotive shop. He started sweeping floors, became a technician and worked his way up into management.
For more information about Gray's Tire & Service Center, visit www.graystirecenter.com.
