When it comes time for Modern Tire Dealer's April 2008 issue, the "Top 100 Retreaders in the U.S." list will have a new member in the top 10.
McCarthy Tire Service Co. Inc., 15th on our list, will jump to ninth following its purchase of Walters Tire Service Inc., number 27 on the list. (Walters Tire officially became McCarthy OTR Retreading Inc. on Sept. 27, 2007.)
Prior to the purchase, McCarthy, based in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., retreaded truck and light truck tires at its three Bandag shops. Walters Tire retreads 42 OTR tires a day at its Somerset, Pa., facility.
The addition was a perfect fit for McCarthy Tire, according to the company. McCarthy OTR Retreading not only will provide a complete line of OTR retreads and repairs, but also the "products and services (Walters Tire) customers have come to expect."
Walters Tire Service was founded by B.F. "Bud" Walters in 1941. Jim Walters has carried on the family's business traditions as president since 1977.
Joseph McCarthy opened his first tire service center in 1926 in Wilkes-Barre. Today, McCarthy Tire operates 31 retail and/or commercial service centers and four retread plants, led by President John McCarthy Jr. and CEO John McCarthy Sr. Its newest truck tire service centers opened in Pittsburgh, Pa., Duncansville, Pa., Old Bridge, N.J., and Albany, N.Y., respectively.
The company services Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia with more than 350 service trucks.
Wingfoot Commercial Tire Systems LLC, a subsidiary of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., is the largest retreader in the United States, according to MTD's list. McCarthy's Bandag plants retread an estimated 834 truck tires and 154 light truck tires a day.
