SURE Tire Co. is celebrating the 35th anniversary of its Summit brand, one of its three wholly owned private brands.
Summit was created by a group of independent tire distributors who wanted to develop a private brand "that they could manage and control with protected territories," says SURE Tire President Pat McLaughlin.
"As they were traveling to meet with a manufacturer in Akron, Ohio, from the Cleveland airport, they passed a sign welcoming them to Summit County, Ohio. The sign caught their eye and one of them stated that 'Summit' would be a good name" for the new brand. Thus, Summit Tire & Battery Inc. was born, says McLaughlin.
He adds that the Summit brand "is stronger than ever" and continues to be a brand "dedicated to independent tire distributors throughout the United States."
SURE Tire currently has 23 distributor-members throughout the U.S. It also markets the Heritage and Kreed private label tires.
