K&M Tire acquires assets in Oklahoma

July 13, 2015

K&M Tire Inc. of Delphos, Ohio, has purchased the assets of an Oklahoma tire wholesale business.

The purchase of Kelle Oil Co.'s wholesale tire division is effective July 10, 2015. It includes the Braman, Okla.-based company's tire inventory and customer list of wholesale tire customers. Kelle Oil distributed approximately 10 different brands of tires in the farm, commercial, and passenger and light truck tire categories.

Kelle Oil will continue to operate under the Kelle Oil name and focus solely on their retail and commercial tire store and oil distribution services.

“We are very excited about this opportunity with Kelle Oil to expand and add to our customer base in Kansas and Oklahoma.” says Cheryl Gossard, vice president of K&M. “Customer service is our number one priority. We will focus on making sure we have the inventory in stock that they need, along with providing them with dependable deliveries.”

K&M plans to service its new customers from the company’s existing warehouses in the Oklahoma City and Wichita, Kan. areas.

Founded in 1970, K&M Tire operates 18 distribution centers in 11 states throughout the Great Lakes, Midwest, Great Plains, and South Central regions, servicing customers in more than 20 states. The company distributes approximately 20 brands of passenger and light truck tires, 12 brands of truck tires, and 10 brands of farm tires.

In a footnote to its announcement of the Kelle Tire deal, K&M notes, "K&M Tire will continue to look for growth opportunities throughout the Midwest and Southwest regions of the United States."

Since 2011 K&M had been on a rapid growth pattern, doubling its warehouses and employees, and during its January dealer meeting in Dallas the family-run wholesaler said it was open to more growth, but didn't expect it to come as quickly as it had in recent years. Read more here.