5 Things to Know About the Future of McCarthy Tire

June 17, 2016

McCarthy Tire Service Co. is celebrating its 90th year in business. How does one of the largest tire dealers in the U.S. mark such an occasion? By getting bigger and better.

Here’s a rundown of the initiatives underway at the tire dealership with its headquarters in Wilkes-Barre, Penn.

  1. Five stores are relocating to larger facilities.
  2. Eight stores are expanding services for commercial tire and truck repair capabilities.
  3. The company is building two new Bandag retread plants — in Wilson, N.C. and Wilkes-Barre, Penn. (The North Carolina location opened this winter.)
  4. The new $3.5 million Pennsylvania retread plant will be one of the largest in the U.S., moving into a 75,000-square-foot warehouse. It will have a capacity of 1,000 units a day, double the output of the current plant less than a mile away.
  5. McCarthy has named Joseph Doyle, its vice president of finance since 2008, to chief operating officer. Doyle will oversee all of the company’s operations and procedures and will report to President John McCarthy Jr.

McCarthy says, “My grandfather firmly believed that excellent customer service was the foundation of his business. This continues to be our core philosophy. As a family business, we have a personal investment in our customers. They depend on us, and we do whatever it takes to make sure they are completely satisfied.”

McCarthy is no. 23 on the Modern Tire Dealer 100, and is the sixth largest independent commercial dealer and the eighth largest independent retreader according to MTD.

90 years of service

Joseph McCarthy, a General Tire sales representative, founded McCarthy Tire Service in 1926 in his hometown. He started with one store, and in 1936 moved to a larger location in Wilkes-Barre. His son, John “Jack” McCarthy Sr. joined the business in 1957, and the company moved to its current site at 340 Kidder St. in 1962. Growth continued at that site with the addition of a retread plant, and in the late 1970s and early 1980s the second-generation leader acquired stores in Kingston, Hazleton, Scranton, and Williamsport, Penn.

In 1990 Jack’s three children, Kathleen, John Jr. and Mary Ellen, acquired three General Tire stores in Allentown, Reading, and Lancaster, Penn. A member of the third generation, John Jr., became president in 1997, and since then McCarthy Tire has continued steady expansion through organic growth and acquisitions while under the operation and ownership of the third generation.

The company has grown to more than 50 locations along the East Coast — 47 stores and eight retread plants. Members of the fourth generation are learning the business and joining the management.

Organic growth, plus acquisitions

McCarthy opened a new retread plant in Wilson, N.C. this winter, and relocated its existing Wilson store to the larger 44,000 square-foot facility. The retread plant creates 132 units a day, and plans are to utilize the capacity of 198 retreads a day. The Wilson store handles commercial tire sales and services, truck mechanical services, off-the-road tire sales and services, as well as automotive tire sales, services and mechanical services.

The dealership also moved its Prospect Park store to Trainer, a town at the mid-point between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Del. The store is convenient for truck traffic especially as it’s just one mile from Interstate 95. It offers commercial tire sales and services, truck mechanical services, and OTR tire sales and services. It specializes in fleet work, and offers drive-in service for tractor trailers and service vehicles.

In June 2015 McCarthy announced its acquisition of 10 Ragan Tire Group LLC locations. Six Ragan stores in North Carolina were folded into existing McCarthy locations, while the three stores in South Carolina and one in Atlanta, Ga. helped McCarthy expand its presence.

The three South Carolina stores, which previously serviced only OTR tires, expanded to include a full line of commercial tire sales and services, plus 24-hour commercial roadside assistance.

The McCarthy Greenville, S.C.  store moved into a larger 19,000 square-foot space in April, allowing it to provide drive-in commercial service. The former Ragan store in Cayce, S.C. relocated in June to a 15,000-square foot facility in Columbia, S.C. with easy access to Interstate 20. And the North Charleston, S.C. store reconfigured its existing space to add commercial tires and services. The Atlanta location remains dedicated to OTR tires and services.

“The acquisition of the Ragan Tire Group stores extended our footprint in the southeast region,” says McCarthy. “We are adding commercial tire services to three of these stores to better serve our customers with large fleets.”

Another 2015 acquisition is delivering growth in 2016. When McCarthy acquired Hartman Fleet Services it moved the personnel and assets to an existing McCarthy store in Manassas, Va. The company is adding technicians and equipment to build out this store’s capacity for fleet services. It now offers heavy duty truck repair, fleet diagnostic work, and diesel engine repair in the shop, as well as via mobile truck repair units.

The Hagerstown, Md. store is moving to a 31,000 square-foot location north of Hagerstown, in Maugansville, in July. The move will allow the store to add fleet mechanical services, fleet diagnostic work and heavy duty truck repair inside a former Volvo truck repair shop adjacent to Interstate 81.

More on the new COO

Doyle has more than 30 years of financial management experience in manufacturing, health care, real estate, and acquisitions.

“Joe is an integral part of our executive team,” says McCarthy. “He has a keen eye for detail and an ability to ask the right questions. This has been invaluable during our growth in recent years as we opened new commercial tire stores, expanded our capacity for truck repair in several locations, and acquired nine companies, which added 24 stores to our footprint along the East Coast.”

For more information on McCarthy Tire, visit www.McCarthyTire.com.