Fountain Tire

Fountain Tire provides tire and automotive services to the general consumer and the commercial, farming, and mining industries. The company employs licensed technicians to service automotive needs ranging from tire services and brakes, to shocks and transmissions.

Fountain Tire also has a Corporate Fleet Program to service companies with large vehicle fleets. Companies enrolled in this program can manage their transactions, purchasing information, and prices using an online system.

History

Fountain Tire was founded by Bill Fountain in 1956 and began as a small double-bay garage in Wainwright, Alberta. With its head office now in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Fountain Tire operates over 130 stores across Canada, spanning from Victoria, British Columbia to Thunder Bay, Ontario. The company was under Bill Fountain’s leadership for 20 years and expanded to 19 stores before a car accident claimed his life in 1976.

In 1987 Fountain Tire formed a business partnership with Goodyear (increasing the number of stores from 19 stores to 30). On September 24, 1987, Fountain Tire sold 49% of its business interest to Goodyear Canada. By the end of the 1990s, Fountain Tire had added 100 new stores across Western Canada. Fountain Tire’s head office changed its role from that of a retail goods supplier to a central resource centre and began providing partnership support in areas such as purchasing, training, accounting, insurance, legal services, and marketing to its stores. Fountain Tire has been one of the “50 Best Managed Companies” in Canada every year since 1994 becoming a Platinum Club Member in 2003.

Ownership Structure

Fountain Tire allows managers employed at Fountain Tire stores the opportunity to own part of the business and become 50/50 partners in their store. The company’s mission is to “create opportunities that enable its employees to satisfy customer needs with integrity.”

Marketing

Thom Sharp became Fountain Tire’s spokesperson in 1994. Current ads feature Thom interviewing bystanders about their knowledge of cars and Fountain Tire. Fountain Tire’s current slogan is “Trust. Fountain Tire”. Previous taglines have been “Home of the Tire Experts”, “Winning the West”, and “Your Alberta Tire Store”.

The company is associated with various industry organizations, including Western Canada Tire Dealers Association (http://www.wctd.ca/), Automotive Industries Association of Canada (http://www.aiacanada.com), Tire Industry Association (http://www.tireindustry.org/), Tire Retread Information Bureau (http://www.retread.org/), and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. Fountain Tire has also been involved with both local and national charitable causes since its inception in 1956. It currently supports Rick Hansen Wheels in Motion, United Way of Canada, and The Support Network, and created the Fountain Tire Foundation in 2000 to focus its fundraising efforts in the community.

As of September 2008 FT has acquired several TIRE CRAFT locations across Canada. Many of these stores large truck centers.

References

[Fountain Tire (Official Website)] [http://www.fountaintire.com Fountain Tire (Official Website)] Retrieved on February 20, 2008