Humanitarian McMahon: Culture eats strategy for lunch – Tire Business

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Kim McMahon, president of McMahon’s Best-One Tire & Auto Care, has a large sign in her office that reads: “It’s easy to slow down, but it takes commitment and dedication not to. ”

McMahon’s Best-One doesn’t plan to slow straight down the growth spurt it’s on after more than 50 years in business.

Just in September, the dealership finalized the acquisition of Best-One of Auburn to give the dealership five full-service tire and automotive service locations along with three truck/trailer repair centers, a distribution center plus a retread plant, acquired in January, which plunged the dealership into the particular manufacturing end of the wheel business.

Last year, the company opened a newly built retail store with 10 bays on Coliseum Boulevard, next to its existing truck tire center.

The dealership generated $55 million in 2021 and expects to hit $58 million this year.

“Our expansion over the last 5 years has been a little overwhelming. And it would be super easy to be like ‘Nope, we’re not really ready for that yet. ‘ We try to say ‘yes’ in order to as much as we can, ” she said.

“Our goal is to continue expanding. I think we need another truck middle and I could see a couple more retail stores, ” McMahon said.

The car dealership plans in order to expand within the Fort Wayne market within northeast Indiana.

“In this market people know our name, and there is a lot of value in that, ” the girl said.

But she has a caveat to the growth plans: “I don’t want to get so big so fast that I don’t know who all the particular employees are.

“Five years ago, we had 50 employees. I knew everyone’s birthday; I understood everything because we have a lot of long-term employees. Now we possess about 160-170. And a lot of them are new. That concerns me.

“I don’t want to get to the point where we lose sight associated with what makes us special, the culture that we’ve created over the many years. I don’t want to drop that. …

“That’s what makes us successful is the people doing the particular work, it’s not me. . It’s the employees doing their jobs and love working here and all of us attempt to do is facilitate that, inch she said.

McMahon said her philosophy that she preaches all the time, and is emblazoned upon another motivational register the girl office, will be “Culture eats technique for lunch. ”

McMahon said she is proud of the positive culture that has been created at the dealership over the years, and it was one of the reasons the dealership was a finalist for the Wheel Business Best Places to Work competition in 2020, based on employee surveys.

“Family is really what we’re all about, inches she stated at the time.

Some of her long-time employees echoed that sentiment.

Clayton Millay, president from the commercial operations and has worked for that store for 17 years.

“The biggest thing for me is nothing is off the particular table. Expression is encouraged, and I have got the ability to do that with my staff, too, ” he said.

He said the leadership will admit it doesn’t have all the answers. “Just due to the fact a decision is made doesn’t necessarily mean it’s inside concrete, since there are usually better ways to do things and individuals have ideas.

“And that’s what I love most about this we’re able to bring those suggestions to the particular table. They’re considered. They may tried. Some things work, some things don’t. Yet at least we tried.

“So there is continuous innovation of what we are going to doing. Nothing is ever stagnant, everything is always changing, evolving and growing. The success of this company’s had is it’s willing to adapt, and it’s wiling to adjust based on the voice of many versus a few, ” Millay mentioned.

He said the single biggest reason he has stayed with the organization so long: “I’m able to contribute, I’m capable to make a difference. ”

Keegan Wentz, chief executive of the newly created technology center, worked with regard to the dealership for seven years before leaving regarding other opportunities. He worked well for an additional auto service center and then for an OE company.

But in September this individual returned to McMahon’s.

“I always knew in the particular back associated with my mind that all roads lead back to right here. It’s the way this particular company is usually. It’s the particular feeling you get when you’re part of something. McMahons is a living, breathing member of the community, ” Wentz said.

“The way we do business and the way that will we interact with our community and customers, it’s really ingrained in the local community portion of the particular business. That was huge. inch

He stated the car dealership felt like family when he first worked at McMahon’s, so it was a difficult decision to leave.

“But I’m glad, in the end, mainly because I gained a ton of industry experience plus, in the particular end, I am able in order to bring it back again to here and use it to help the organization. ”

One of the large challenges for your company is definitely finding workers, and technicians, to work in the new areas.

To that finish, the dealership is creating the McMahon Technology Center, a program to train new employees on “the McMahon way of doing points. ”

McMahon said the lady hopes to attract job applicants who don’t know they want to work on cars but are skilled in electronics and computers.

Last year McMahon’s raised the minimum wage to $15 for entry level positions and saw an initial jump inside applications. But then it died off as other types associated with businesses in the area followed suit.

“I think the training program is going to be actually big for us, ” she said.

“I don’t wish to expand beyond what we can control. But with this training program that we’re going to institute, I believe that’s going to make it easier for all of us to do that, inches she mentioned.

“It’s going to make me feel more comfortable that the people we will have out there will be representing our values and the way we all do something.

“And I avoid feel like I have to be there or one of our management team has to be there. We can expand so that we’ll almost all be on the same page plus know what the expectations are. inch

Her goal is to continue to do what the company is doing and expand on it.

“The best thing we are able to do is make sure that our workers and our own community can be taken care of.

“We are very lucky to be in a position that we can do that. We will ensure that continues, ” McMahon said.

McMahon’s Best-One was founded in 1969 by Pat McMahon Jr. and Paul Zurcher, the particular founder of the Best-One dealer network.

The car dealership is now under the leadership of Dab McMahon’s son and daughter-in-law, Patrick “Bubba” and Betty McMahon, plus long-time employee Randy Geyer.

If the store is passed on to a next generation, it the majority of likely will be run by a McMahon worker, as the McMahons’ two sons have pursued other careers.

The particular Zurcher family, which is a partner in all the Best-One independent dealerships, “completely supports the way we do things, the donations and community involvement, ” Ellie McMahon said.

Large commercial tires account for half of the dealership’s sales; commercial truck mechanical service makes up a quarter of sales; and retail tire plus service accounts for the remainder.

Its store sales are usually split between auto support and tires. The store does just about all vehicle services except transmissions.

“We try to be an all-in-one stop, ” McMahon stated.

The dealership’s locations are surrounded by larger competitors, such as Goodyear Car Service, Pomp’s Tire Service, Discount Car tire, Tire Barn Warehouse, etc.

“There’s not a lot of them that do what we do in terms of being full services, ” the girl said.

“The people that work right here as well as the tradition that we have is very different than Goodyear, Pomp’s, places like that.

“Discount Tire does the great job, like their employees are great. We have got several of them, inch she laughed.

“We can compete with anybody on price. Best-One is a big organization that offers very good pricing. We sell quality, whether it’s Bridgestone, Michelin, Continental, Firestone. We’re not going to recommend a tire that you’ve never heard of.

“We want (tire) companies that all of us can stand behind and who remain with us all.

“We don’t carry value-priced car tire brands If someone comes in plus specifically requests that, we can get all of them, ” the lady said.

The pickup truck center doesn’t sell third-tier tires brands. “That’s usually how coming from gone to marketplace, ” she added.

McMahon said her customers seem prepared to pay for upper-tier tires, even with the recent spate associated with price increases.

“I think even now, probably even more so, every thing is more expensive. We think individuals become numb to this. ”

McMahon’s has a warehouse to shop tires, so it doesn’t have to pass along every price increase if the tires are already within stock, the girl said.

“Since we’re an independent, we are able to replace wheels with some other brands. inches