Kauffman Tire Inc. has increased its retail store count by two and added a retread plant with the purchase of Ravenna (Ohio) Tire Service Inc. from owner Dan Rhodes.
With 41 retail outlets and 11 wholesale distribution centers, Kauffman Tire has 52 outlets, placing the College Park, Ga.-based dealership 15th on Modern Tire Dealer's "Top 100 independent tire store chains" list. Three of the retail stores are combination retail/commercial outlets.
According to President John Kauffman, the company has no further expansion plans for 2004. Kauffman Tire has outlets in Georgia, Ohio, Texas, Florida and South Carolina.
The purchase will further strengthen Kauffman Tire's presence in northeast Ohio. In Wooster, the company runs a retail and commercial facility, a Bandag retread plant and a wholesale distribution center; in Medina, Kauffman owns a combination retail and commercial dealership.
Rhodes, who will turn 65 later this year, is selling both the Ravenna Tire outlet in Ravenna, Ohio, and his Orwell Tire Service store in Orwell, Ohio.
He will stay on as vice president and run the company for "at least a few more years." He says the company's 32 employees, including managers Jim Smith and Lee Covell, will remain. There also will be no changes in the company's name, products or services.
Ravenna Tire was started by Rhodes' father in 1945. Rhodes purchased it from his father in 1975.
John Kauffman's father started Kauffman Tire in 1936 in Wooster, Ohio. John's son, Mark, runs the company with assistance from John's son-in-law, Tom Money. An e-commerce company, Treadepot (treadepot.com) also falls under the Kauffman Tire umbrella.
Both Kauffman Tire and Ravenna Tire are longtime Goodyear dealerships.
