Fountain Tire partners with Royal Tire

July 9, 2012

Fountain Tire reports it has entered into a 50/50 partnership with Royal Tire, a tire retailer with nine locations across Northern Ontario.

The partnership is an important step in Fountain Tire’s long-term strategic plan to expand into new markets from its base in Western Canada, the company says. The resources that Fountain Tire brings to the table are expected to enable Royal Tire to drive growth across its consumer, light truck, commercial truck and OTR tire businesses.

“The opportunities we envision for mutual growth and shared learning make our relationship with Royal Tire very exciting,” says Fountain Tire’s CEO Brent Hesje. “This partnership is a perfect fit in terms of our shared values of local ownership and concern for the well-being and success of our associates, customers and communities.”

Since the company’s beginnings in 1983, Royal Tire associates have excelled at serving the needs of consumers and commercial tire accounts in the trucking, mining and logging sectors, Fountain Tire reports. Royal Tire’s tire and automotive service network includes locations in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, Marathon, Huntsville, New Liskeard, Wawa and Matachewan.

Together, Fountain Tire and Royal Tire will identify opportunities to grow the business through shared best practices and implementing systems and efficiencies. In particular, the Northern Ontario tire retailer will adopt Fountain Tire’s proven shared ownership structure. Managers who have proven they can offer superior service to their customers will be offered the opportunity to become 50/50 partners in their operation.

“Our shared goal is to surpass the expectations of our valued customers at all Royal Tire locations,” says Phil Shaw, one of Royal Tire’s equity partners. “The new relationship is going to create some amazing synergies. It’s definitely an exciting time to be a Royal Tire associate.”

Royal Tire customers will continue to be served by the associates they have come to know and trust.

“Our partnership with Fountain Tire is good news for our customers,” says Gary Foley, also an equity partner in Royal Tire. “This is very much a collaborative partnership based on common values and the desire to excel at personalized service. In particular, we share Fountain Tire’s belief in the power of shared ownership to attract the best and the brightest people and create the conditions in which superior service thrives.”

Established in 1956, Fountain Tire has154 locations spanning from Vaughn, in Ontario, to Victoria, British Columbia. The company is also a leading provider of tires and tire-related services to commercial truck fleets and off-road vehicles used in the agriculture, oil and gas, mining, construction and aggregate sectors. The majority of Fountain Tire managers own equity in their store.