Kal Tire
Encyclopedia
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1953, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada |
| Headquarters | Vernon, British Columbia Vernon, British Columbia Vernon is a city in the south-central region of British Columbia, Canada. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped found the famed Coldstream Ranch, the City of Vernon was incorporated on December 30, 1892. The City of Vernon has a population of 35,944 , while... , Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
| Key people | Thomas J. Foord , Founder |
| Robert Foord, President | |
| Industry | Retail Distribution |
| Products | Tires and Automotive parts, sales and service |
| Locations | 230 (As of July, 2010) |
| Employees | 4,000 (As of July, 2010) |
| Website | www.kaltire.com |
Kal Tire is a wholly owned Canadian company based in Vernon, British Columbia
Vernon, British Columbia
Vernon is a city in the south-central region of British Columbia, Canada. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped found the famed Coldstream Ranch, the City of Vernon was incorporated on December 30, 1892. The City of Vernon has a population of 35,944 , while...
, where it was originally founded in 1953 by Thomas J. Foord . Its business comprises retail tire sales for passenger and light truck vehicles, mechanical services for passenger and light trucks, commercial truck tires, mining and off-road sales and service and retreading of both commercial and off-road tires.
History
Kal Tire was started in 1953 by Thomas J. Foord with the initial goal of servicing the commercial logging operations that operated in the Okanagan Valley around Vernon, British ColumbiaVernon, British Columbia
Vernon is a city in the south-central region of British Columbia, Canada. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped found the famed Coldstream Ranch, the City of Vernon was incorporated on December 30, 1892. The City of Vernon has a population of 35,944 , while...
and Nakusp, British Columbia
Nakusp, British Columbia
The Village of Nakusp is a small community located on the shores of Upper Arrow Lake, a portion of the Columbia River, in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia...
with his partner Jim Lockhead by building customers' trust.
Kal Tire was named after Kalamalka Lake
Kalamalka Lake
Kalamalka Lake is a large lake in the Interior Plateau of southern central British Columbia, Canada, east of Okanagan Lake and approximately south of Vernon. The lake is named for the Okanagan Kalamalka Lake (aka "Kal Lake") is a large lake in the Interior Plateau of southern central British...
, the prominent "Lake of Many Colours" landmark in Vernon. The company is still based in its birthplace of Vernon.
Since 1953, Kal Tire has expanded steadily. Kal Tire comprises 165 company-owned branches, 49 independent associate dealers, 11 mining/industrial/commercial locations, 10 retread facilities, one OTR plant and four distribution warehouses. The business covers a market that includes British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northern Ontario, parts of Southern Ontario and Quebec, as well as mining operations in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, South America, The United Kingdom, Ghana and Australia.
Marketing
Kal Tire started with the motto of 'If we sell it, we guarantee it' which is still used by the company today. That was followed by the slogan of 'You'll like us for more than our tires'. This campaign proved very successful for the company but was then replaced by service stories. Kal Tire currently uses the brand position of 'True Service'.Participation in industry trade shows and participation in organizations is a key part of the marketing strategy of Kal Tire. Some of the organizations that Kal Tire is associated with include Western Canada Tire Dealers Association, Tire Industry Association and BC Roadbuilders Association.
Retail
Kal Tire sells and services many name brand manufacturers including: BridgestoneBridgestone
The is a multinational rubber conglomerate founded in 1931 by in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi, meaning "stone bridge" in Japanese....
, Firestone
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles. The company...
, Michelin
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
, Uniroyal
United States Rubber Company
The United States Rubber Company was founded in Naugatuck, Connecticut in 1892. It was one of the original 12 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and became Uniroyal Inc...
, BFGoodrich
BFGoodrich
BFGoodrich is an American brand of tires. Separated from the Goodrich company and now owned by Michelin.Some Michelin competition tyres are now branded BFGoodrich to increase brand awareness....
Yokohama
Yokohama Rubber Company
is a tire company based in Tokyo, Japan. The company founded and started in 1917 in a joint venture between Yokohama Cable Manufacturing and B.F. Goodrich. In 1969 the company expanded to the United States as Yokohama Tire Corporation. The Aspec A300 was the driving force behind its tremendous...
, Nokian, Falken
Falken Tires
Falken Tire Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of automobile tires. Originally created in 1983 as a brand for Ohtsu Tire and Rubber to sell their lineup of performance tires under, Falken became part of Sumitomo Rubber Industries when they acquired Ohtsu in 2003...
, Nitto, Maxxis and Multi-Mile products. Kal Tire also recently expanded its service offering to include mechanical work ranging from shocks and struts to brakes and oil service, but it is not provided at all locations. Mechanical part suppliers include Raybestos
Raybestos
Raybestos is a brand of automotive brakes begun in 1902 by Arthur H. Raymond and Arthur F. Law of Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1906 Raymond and Law invented the woven brake lining, an important innovation in automotive brakes. From 1919-1989 Raybestos brand was manufactured by Raymark Industries,...
friction parts, Truxxx lift and leveling kits, Moog steering parts, Trico
Trico
Trico is an American company that specializes in windshield wipers. Trico, then Tri-Continental Corporation, invented the windshield wiper blade in 1917. Its original Trico Plant No. 1 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
wiper blades and Pennzoil
Pennzoil
Pennzoil is an American oil company founded in Los Angeles, California in 1913. In 1955, it was acquired by Oil City, Pennsylvania company South Penn Oil, a former branch of Standard Oil. In 1963, South Penn Oil merged with Zapata Petroleum; the merged company took the Pennzoil name. During the...
lubrication products. Batteries are also sold for cars, trucks and marine vehicles using the DieHard line of batteries.