Black’s Tire Service Celebrates Biggest Year of Expansion at Sales and Leadership Conference

Black’s Tire Service Inc. hosted nearly 700 team members and 40 vendors to celebrate its 97th anniversary and its biggest year in terms of expansion at its 2026 “Let’s Go Together” Sales and Leadership Conference, which took place Jan. 16-18, at the Hilton at Kingston Plantation in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

“We’re celebrating our 97th anniversary — not a lot of independent owner-operators can say that,” said Ryan Benton, head of Black’s Tire Service’s retail operations, in his opening remarks at the BTS Kenny Bullard “Ace” Awards Banquet on Jan. 17.

Over the past year, BTS has grown and now includes 62 retail and commercial tire and automotive repair shops, 15 wholesale distribution centers, one retread manufacturing facility in Clarkton, N.C., and its headquarters in Whiteville, N.C.

The company most recently merged with Justice Tire Distributors, adding five distribution centers in Virginia to its portfolio at the beginning of January. It now services wholesale customers across Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, eastern Tennessee, Virginia and into West Virginia.

While BTS is excited for what the future holds, expansion isn’t necessarily a focus moving into 2026. Their deals over the past year often happened organically, in scenarios where it made sense to share resources with another family-owned business that shared their core values: team, family, trust and serve.

“Our theme is ‘Let's Go Together.’ This year, we want to go further, we want to go higher, we want to go better,” says Ryan.

‘Let’s Go Together’

For Rick Benton, managing owner, head of wholesale distribution and vice president of sales and marketing, “Let’s Go Together” means bringing his team, vendors and customers together, which starts with internal training and marketing the family-oriented workplace culture BTS has fostered over the years.

“Our real product isn't the tires, it's our people,” says Jeremy Benton, who supports the commercial and retread business.

In recent years, bringing Rick’s three oldest sons, Cody, Cole and Trey, into the fold has strengthened BTS operations across every segment of the business.

While twins Cody and Cole have been full-time with BTS for almost two years, since earning their MBAs in business and analytics from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Rick’s oldest, Trey, officially joined in a full-time capacity within the past year.

Trey was drafted by the Cleveland Guardians in 2019 after graduating from the College of Business at East Carolina University. He retired from professional baseball following a shoulder injury last year.

“I could have played 20 years in the big leagues, and I was still going to come back to work in the company," says Trey.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Trey is primarily focused on the wholesale distribution and logistics side of the company. He’s spent a lot of time on the road with Rick, meeting customers and gaining their perspective of how Black’s Tire does business over the past year. Namely, he was involved in the company’s most recent merger with Justice Tire Distributors.

"I'm still a little green in the tire business, but I know how a successful team is run,” he says.

Cody and Cole have been focused on the retail and commercial operations since joining BTS full-time, and one of their biggest focuses has been building on the brand and culture to attract their generation to the business.

“Our biggest thing is we've gotta be able to adapt to the future, adapt to the working environment. The new generation doesn't wanna work 60 hours a week. So how do we, how do we adapt? How do we keep those good people that just might not wanna work 60 hours? But we can adapt and figure out a way to keep good people. So that's kind of our mindset going to the future,” says Cody.

They’re also focused on keeping up with changes within the industry, specifically when it comes to AI and using technology to meet the evolving needs of the team that works for them, as well as their customers.

“We have to be on top of that moving forward,” says Cole. “Because, just think about the future, how much the industry will change in five years. We've gotta get ahead of that from a certain (point), whether it's retail, wholesale — all parts of our business.”

BTS is currently working on integrating AI into its training programs. It's also expanded its service operations to include BTS To Go, offering customers the convenience of having repair work done at home.

“We're fortunate we see that need, and we have a younger generation that's pushing us (in) that direction, too,” says Ryan.

With inflation pressures persisting, maintaining margins and improving sales of premium-tier tires will also be a focus for BTS in 2026, and that starts with its team.

“We want to control the controllables, and what we can do,” says Rick. “That's our service and people. We can't control the economy and can't control what's going on around us, but we just stay focused on what we're doing, build on our strengths, train our people up on the way we carry ourselves and the core values, and just make sure (that in) everything we do, we involve our core values.”

Team, family, trust and serve were on full display at the BTS Kenny Bullard “Ace” Awards Banquet, as Black’s Tire recognized dozens of its team members. Jason Williamson was honored with the Crowell Black “Make a Difference” Award and Black’s Tire and Auto Service’s Dillon, S.C. location received the company’s Store of the Year Award, highlighting the company’s commitment to excellent service.

“We're building the most disciplined, most trusted, most prepared, organized BTS team in the industry,” Ryan said.