Kal Tire is a wholly owned Canadian company based in
Vernon, British Columbia
Vernon is a city in the Okanagan region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is northeast of Vancouver. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped establish the Coldstream Ranch in nearb ...
, where it was founded in 1953 by Thomas J. Foord and Jim Lochhead. 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 and Jim Lochhead with the goal of servicing the commercial logging operations that operated in the Okanagan Valley around
Vernon, British Columbia
Vernon is a city in the Okanagan region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is northeast of Vancouver. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped establish the Coldstream Ranch in nearb ...
and
Nakusp, British Columbia
The Village of Nakusp (Sinixt ''neqo'sp'') is beside the mouth of Kuskanax Creek, on the Upper Arrow Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Lying between the Selkirk Mountains, Selkirk and Monashee Mountains, Monashe ...
by building customers' trust.
[Tire Business Magazine](_blank)
T.J. Foord; Business foundation built on a simple word:Trust.
Kal Tire was named after
Kalamalka Lake, 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, Panama, Colombia, Chile, the United Kingdom, Ghana, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Burkina Faso, 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 uses the brand position of 'True Service'.
[Marketing Magazine](_blank)
Kal Tire rolls with roadies.
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.
Services
Retail
Kal Tire sells and services many name brand manufacturers including:
Bridgestone,
Firestone,
Michelin,
BFGoodrich
BFGoodrich is an American tire company. Originally part of the industrial conglomerate Goodrich Corporation, it was acquired in 1990 (along with Uniroyal, then The Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company) by the French tire maker Michelin. BFGoodrich ...
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...
,
Nokian, Nitto and Multi-Mile products. Kal Tire has 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 is a brand of automotive brakes established in 1902 by Arthur H. Raymond and Arthur F. Law of Bridgeport, Connecticut.
History
In 1906, Raymond and Law invented the woven brake lining, an important innovation in automotive brakes.
Fr ...
friction parts, Truxxx lift and levelling kits, Moog steering parts,
Trico wiper blades and
Pennzoil
Pennzoil is an American motor oil brand currently owned by Shell plc. The former Pennzoil Company had been established in 1913 in Pennsylvania, being active in business as an independent firm until it was acquired by Shell in 2002, becoming a bra ...
lubrication products. Batteries are sold for cars, trucks and marine vehicles using the
DieHard line of batteries.
Commercial and industrial
Kal Tire carries a full range of commercial truck tires and is also the largest retreader
[Tire Business](_blank)
, Tire Distributor Rankings - 2009. of commercial tires in Canada. It has ten retread facilities across Canada that use the
Bandag process. Kal Tire also carries and services industrial-use tires for equipment such as forklifts, excavators and tracked vehicles.
OTR and mining
Off-the-road (OTR) tires are generally larger, for use on heavy equipment that would not normally operate on paved roads. On July 31, 2012, Kal Tire partnered
[Tyre Press News](_blank)
Kal Tire and OTR Tyres Partnership. with OTR Tyres in the UK to create a global earthmover tire sales and service company.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Kal Tire official websiteCommitment to Safety - Work Safe BCWestern Canada Tire Dealers AssociationTire Industry AssociationBC Roadbuilders Association
Retail companies established in 1953
Automotive companies of Canada
Automotive repair shops
Canadian brands
Companies based in Vernon, British Columbia