There has been a minor reorganization at Treadways Corp. following Sumitomo Corp. of America's decision to place its subsidiary under the direction of TBC Wholesale. Fourteen people in sales and management have been laid off.
"The expenses for the level of business (Treadways) had were too high," says Ken Dick, CEO of Treadways Wholesale. "We consolidated some responsibilities for brands."
Sumitomo Corp. of America (SCOA) purchased TBC Corp. in 2005. TBC Wholesale, a division of TBC Corp., also oversees the TBC Private Brands division.
Dick says Treadways and TBC Private Brands operate in much the same way. However, they have two different customer bases. "We will continue to operate Treadways totally separate from TBC Private Brands."
TBC distributes four private brands: Multi-Mile, Cordovan, Sigma and Vanderbilt. Treadways also has four private brands: Laramie, Jetzon, Telstar and Eldorado. In addition, Treadways sells the Sumitomo brand.
TBC Corp. is a holding company for TBC Wholesale, TBC Retail (Tire Kingdom, NTB and Merchant's) and Big O Tire franchises.
The realignment of Treadways began earlier this year, when Jim Hannon, vice president of business development, left the company after his position was eliminated following SCOA's acquisition of TBC Corp.
SCOA is wholly owned by Sumitomo Corp.
