Southern Tire Mart Continues to Expand.

This article was originally published by Modern Tire Dealer.

Southern Tire Mart LLC quietly made another acquisition during the first part of 2023.

The Columbia, Miss.-based company – which is the largest commercial tire dealership and retreader in the United States, according to MTD research – acquired Heintschel Truck Tire Center of Texarkana, Texas, during the first quarter.

The single-location dealership, which had been owned by Garry Heintschel, started as a Southern Tire Mart outlet on Feb. 1.

Heintschel Truck Tire Center was founded in 1973 by Arlen Heintschel and had been both a Pre-Q Galgo and Marangoni retreader.

On April 1, in a more widely publicized deal, Southern Tire Mart acquired Friend Tire Co. from its longtime owner, Yokohama Tire Corp.

The transaction gave Southern Tire Mart nine additional distribution centers across a multi-state footprint. The Friend Tire outlets began operation as Southern Tire Mart locations on April 3.

During 2022, Southern Tire Mart expanded its footprint by nearly 40 locations via the acquisitions of Phoenix, Ariz.-based Redburn Tire Co. and 26 Bridgestone Americas Inc.-owned GCR Tires & Service locations.

Jim and Tommy Duff, the owners of Southern Tire Mart, were recipients of MTD’s Tire Dealer of the Year Award in 2021.