Carrying McArthur Tire’s Legacy

McArthur Tire’s origin story still resonates today, as the values that define the business can be traced directly back to its beginnings.

Mary says her father returned home to Owen Sound after a successful hockey career in the American Hockey League and saw an opportunity to build a stronger regional tire service — and he was willing to take a risk to provide it.

At the time, Mary says, her parents were living with her maternal grandparents and her father couldn’t find a bank willing to finance his vision. Instead, a local businessman in the shipping industry took a chance on him.

“My dad could not get a bank to lend him the money or even look at his business plan,” says Mary. “But a local businessman here who had been extremely successful in the shipping industry took a chance on my dad, lent him the money personally to get started and my father never forgot that.”

That act of faith stayed with J.D. McArthur throughout his career. According to his daughter, it shaped how he treated others and reinforced his instinct to pay kindness forward.

One story, shared with Mary after her father’s funeral, has stayed with her. A woman told her that years earlier, she had applied for an accounting position at the tire shop but lacked both experience and money for further schooling. Rather than turn her away, J.D. McArthur told her to get the education she needed and promised to help. When she returned after completing her training, he forgave the debt and she went on to have a successful career.

“He paid it forward with the kindnesses that have been given to him,” says Mary.

For Mary, the story captured something essential about the company her father built: Service isn’t limited to selling tires.

Ahead of its time

From the beginning, McArthur Tire was built to provide the best possible service. The original Owen Sound location was considered one of the most advanced tire shops north of Toronto, according to Mary. Highway 10 served as the major connection from Toronto to Owen Sound, but at the time, there was limited commercial tire service available in the region. J.D. McArthur responded by building a large shop, stocking deep inventory and investing in equipment and service capabilities that customers in the area couldn’t easily find elsewhere.

He worked closely with Goodyear, a primary supplier, to ensure the business was equipped to operate at a level comparable to larger dealerships. The company put two boom trucks and four service trucks on the road and maintained strong inventory across passenger, farm and commercial tire segments. The goal was to create a dependable destination where customers could get quality service without delay — that mindset still shapes the business today.

“We’re known for that service and for that trust in our service,” says Mary.

After her father’s passing in 2002, Mary began guiding the company, determined to preserve the trust and values that already existed between the company, its employees and its customers.

One of the company’s strengths during that transition was the loyalty of veteran staff members who helped maintain continuity. Now, some employees have spent decades with the business and their loyalty has become one of McArthur Tire’s defining traits. 

Mary credits McArthur Tire’s high retention to consistent leadership and a culture built around empathy, respect and support.

“Consistent leadership is so important and consistent leadership that’s comprised of empathy, realizing and recognizing the importance of your employees, their contributions,” she says.

For Mary, building culture means more than offering thanks once in a while. It means celebrating life events, supporting employees through difficult times, recognizing the value of skilled labor and making sure every team member understands the impact of their contributions.

“We’re like family because we … try to make sure if anyone’s going through a hardship, that they’ve got support from both ourselves as the owners and from our management team,” she says.

That people-first approach extends to how the company talks internally about technicians and service staff. Mary says the company makes a point of celebrating skilled labor and ensuring employees have the equipment and resources they need to succeed.

“I think each member of our team recognizes the importance of our technicians and them having every tool that they need to be successful at their job, because otherwise there is no tire business,” says Mary.

Growing without losing the foundation

Mary describes her leadership philosophy in two words: consistency and communication.

Consistency and communication have helped guide McArthur Tire as it has evolved from a business built on its founder’s personal presence into one with a broader management structure, more formal communication systems and a sharper operational framework.

“That’s something both my husband and I jumped right into after my father's passing,” she says.

Mary and her husband, Jeff Armstrong, worked with managers and staff to strengthen communication, accountability and transparency throughout the company — not to reinvent the business, but to build on the values that were already there and give employees a clear roadmap for growth.

Mary says that work continues today in regular staff meetings, close collaboration with managers and a strong emphasis on shared responsibility.

“The most challenging is making sure that you’ve set your communication out and coordinated it well so that everyone can see the vision, buy into the vision and be part of shaping that vision as well because it takes their input to make it all work,” she says.

While Mary has preserved the company’s culture and leadership rhythm, Armstrong has played a major role in modernizing its operations.

A former civil engineer who owned his own company and worked across Ontario, Armstrong brought a different perspective when he joined McArthur Tire. Today, he serves as the company’s CEO.

Armstrong’s engineering background helped push the company toward new technologies, more efficient systems and stronger long-term planning. His efforts have been especially visible in the retread operation, where McArthur Tire has focused on equipment upgrades, data-driven production improvements and closer integration with Bridgestone Bandag.

“Jeff’s engineering background brought a fresh perspective on how McArthur Tire could go forward in a different direction to be stronger and to have more longevity,” says Mary.

McArthur Tire became the first pilot company in Canada to use BASys Global, Bridgestone’s software platform for tracking customer work orders, plant inventory and tire location within the retread process. That reporting capability has been especially valuable for fleet customers and has helped support growth in larger markets.

Celebrating 40 years

The company’s Bandag retread plant will mark its own 40th anniversary in 2027. The operation began after a former business partner of J.D. McArthur’s encouraged him to consider the retread business as a growth opportunity.

Today, Mary describes the plant as a medium-sized facility with room to grow. Its primary retread customers include local fleets, regional long-haul carriers, bus operators, waste haulers and construction accounts.

The retread plant has benefited from both staff longevity and close support from Bridgestone Bandag in areas such as equipment, training and operational audits. It has earned high marks in Bridgestone audits and maintains a retread failure rate of less than 1%, according to Mary.

When asked what has enabled her to succeed for nearly 75 years, Mary’s answer circles back to relationships.

“People do business with people,” she says. “They’re the most important.”

That mindset shapes how McArthur Tire views both customers and community. The business supports hospitals, youth sports, arts initiatives and other local causes, and it plans to make community engagement part of its anniversary celebrations.

The official anniversary date is Nov. 20, 2027, but celebrations will stretch across the year. The company is planning events for employees and their families, customers and affiliates and the communities it serves, which include Brampton, Hanover and Owen Sound, Ontario. The retread plant will also receive its own recognition as part of the milestone year.

McArthur Tire’s story proves longevity in the tire business is rarely accidental. It is built through trust, consistency, adaptability and a willingness to keep improving.

As the company looks ahead, Mary says she is focused on asking what comes next.

“How can we be better again? How can we make it better for everyone who works for us and for our customers? It's a lofty thing, but you can't lose sight of that or what keeps you ticking,” she says.