Alma Tire Companies, which is headquartered in Alma, Mich., has acquired Jerry’s Tire, a four-outlet dealership based in Lake Odessa, Mich.
Terms of the deal, which expands Alma Tire’s footprint to 12 total locations, were not disclosed.
“We have had the goal of expanding our operations” throughout Michigan, says Alma Tire CEO Tony Grace.
In addition to Lake Odessa, Jerry’s Tire has stores in Flint, Mich.; Wyoming, Mich.; and in the greater Detroit, Mich., area.
According to Grace, Mark Carpenter, the longtime president of Jerry’s Tire, “had been looking for a buyer that would be a good steward of their business, employees and vendor and customer relationships.
“After a few months of discussion, Mark felt that Alma Tire was the company best-suited to carry Jerry’s Tire forward.
“Like Alma Tire, Jerry’s Tire is a family business,” says Grace. “Also like Alma Tire, Jerry’s Tire puts a heavy emphasis on service. So culturally, the values align very well. Then in looking at Jerry’s geographical footprint, their locations were in the markets we were wanting to break into next. It just made sense.”
Jerry’s Tire, which opened in 1948, “is and has been the premier name in the farm and agricultural tire sales and service sector” in its area, according to Grace.
“Whenever we’ve needed special farm tires, wheels or other components – or even expert information and opinions – Jerry's Tire has always been our go-to partner.”
The transaction is Alma Tire’s first acquisition “on the commercial side.” (Jerry’s Tire sells Goodyear, Dunlop, Kelly, Titan and Cooper brand products.)
Alma Tire, which was founded in 1954, goes to market in the commercial truck tire space under the name ATS Fleet Service.
“Like many long-established tire dealers, Alma did a little bit of everything, because that’s traditionally what the customer needed,” explains Grace. “But we’ve seen a shift – a segmentation or specialization – in the marketplace and have determined that to best serve our customers, we needed to specialize, as well.”
Alma Tire formed ATS Fleet Service a few years ago, while catering to consumer tire clients under its Modern Mechanics brand. All ATS Fleet Service and Modern Mechanics locations offer auto repair.
“While Jerry’s locations don’t yet perform mechanical services beyond alignments, the plan is to get them equipped to handle this type of work.”
Grace adds that Alma Tire’s growth “will go beyond” the company’s acquisition of Jerry’s Tire, which “is a big step for us. Once we’re all in alignment and everything is running smoothly, we’ll be ready for that next step forward. How far we’ll ultimately expand is hard to say, but right now the feeling is that we’re just getting started.”
