Owners Scott and Dean Mueller sold Mueller Tire & Brake to Tire Kingdom Inc. on Wednesday. But they will continue to run their nationwide Dealer Tire automobile dealership supply program.
"We've been focusing on it full-time for the past two years," says Scott Mueller.
Dealer Tire bills itself as the authorized supplier of replacement tires, wheels and accessories for "the leading German and Japanese automobile manufacturers."
It offers Michelin, Goodyear, Dunlop, Continental, Pirelli, Yokohama, Bridgestone, Firestone, BFGoodrich, Uniroyal and General brand tires to more than 4,000 auto dealerships through a network of distribution centers located throughout the United States.
The venture is backed by a business-to-business Web site, www.dealertire.com.
Mueller said Tire Kingdom's purchase of the 19-store Mueller Tire chain is a great opportunity for its employees. Tire Kingdom, a subsidiary of TBC Corp., "has a lot of great resources. They really want to expand what we started.
"What matters the most is that they are tire guys."
Tire Kingdom's acquisition, which is expected to be completed in March, will give the Riviera Beach, Fla.-based chain 207 outlets, making it the fourth largest independent tire store chain in North America.
