CMC Tire, the commercial tire business owned by Les Schwab Tire Centers Inc., has acquired BestDrive Commercial Tire Center’s two Arizona locations from Continental AG through its subsidiary, Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, expanding the CMC Tire network into Phoenix and Tucson.

The acquisition gives CMC Tire its first operations in Arizona and marks Les Schwab’s first physical presence in the state — commercial or retail.

The deal closed in late August after approximately six months of work, according to Mike Morast, vice president of commercial operations for Les Schwab and co-founder of CMC Tire. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“We’re not waiting for the market to give us growth,” Morast told MTD. “We’re going to go after it.”

CMC Tire will retain the employees at both former BestDrive locations, including their management teams. Morast said the company is also remodeling the Phoenix and Tucson facilities and plans to invest in inventory, technology, service trucks and other resources to support transportation fleets, construction customers and mining operations.

Why Arizona?

Morast said CMC Tire and Les Schwab have wanted to enter Arizona for several years and see opportunities across several sectors of the state’s commercial market.

“There’s a lot of construction in Arizona right now,” he said.

That includes significant semiconductor and data center development. TSMC is building out a major semiconductor manufacturing operation in Phoenix that is planned to include multiple wafer fabs, advanced packaging facilities and a research and development center.

Morast also pointed to Arizona’s mining industry and large transportation fleet base as opportunities for CMC Tire.

Existing customer relationships were another factor in the expansion. Morast said Les Schwab and CMC Tire already work with customers elsewhere in their footprint that also have operations in Arizona.

“I think it’s a 50-50,” Morast said of the importance of those existing relationships and the growth opportunities within Arizona itself.

“If you look at our geography and where our infrastructure is, we have a lot of synergies to Arizona because we have a lot of relationships outside of Arizona that have infrastructure inside Arizona,” he said.

Morast said the company has received a strong response from existing customers with operations in the state.

“We’ve wanted to be in Arizona for a few years, and we’re finally there.”

Commercial expansion continues

The Arizona acquisition is the latest in a series of investments by Les Schwab to expand its commercial tire business throughout the western United States.

Les Schwab acquired CMC Tire in June 2024. Founded by Morast and Tommy Servine in 2014, CMC had 11 commercial tire locations in Utah, Nevada and Colorado at the time of the acquisition, along with expertise in the commercial, mining and construction markets. CMC has continued to operate under its own brand and Les Schwab ownership.

Les Schwab’s commercial footprint expanded again in December 2024 when CMC Tire acquired Grubs Tire & Service in Las Vegas, Nev. Les Schwab also acquired Pete’s Road Service, a Southern California commercial tire dealership with 10 locations, in February 2025.

More recently, Les Schwab has continued to invest in the CMC Tire network. In July, MTD reported that the company was opening a CMC Tire commercial location in Colorado Springs, Colo.; developing a combined Les Schwab retail and CMC Tire commercial campus in Boise, Idaho; and planning to expand the CMC Tire network into Arizona.

Morast said the Colorado Springs location opened roughly four weeks before the Arizona acquisition was completed and confirmed the investments are part of a broader, long-term effort to grow Les Schwab’s commercial business.

That investment is extending across transportation, construction, earthmover and mining, areas Morast said continue to present growth opportunities despite a highly competitive commercial tire market.

“We continue to invest in our people and our inventory … and our locations and our service capabilities,” he said.

“There’s a lot of opportunity ahead of us.”