Company History
Black’s Tire Service was founded in 1929 when William Crowell Black opened what was then called Black’s Service Station located on South Madison Street in Whiteville, North Carolina, which is about 45 miles West of Wilmington, North Carolina, and about 45 miles north-northwest of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He operated the service station and lived in a garage apartment behind it. The business was successful during the hard times of the Great Depression with Black’s being the surrounding counties only designated tire dealer by the rationing board. In 1954, he tore down the old service station and opened a retail tire business on the property, naming it Black’s Tire Service. The business continued to operate on this single property until the early 80’s, when Ricky Benton, who had been in business with W. Crowell Black in another location took over the duties of Black’s Tire Service. Before this, Mr. Benton owned and operated a small-town garage and gas station in which Mr. Black supplied him with all the oil and gas products.
Mr. Benton and team worked to build the business attracting customers from the surrounding counties by promoting it as a full service retail tire store. In the months that followed he hired qualified personnel and began a wholesale route that sold and delivered tires to small retail tire dealers and commercial accounts within a 150 mile radius.
In 1983, a second retail store was opened in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In 1986 and 1987 three more stores were opened; one in Lumberton and Bolton, North Carolina and one in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The next three years were spent stabilizing the company and building the clientele after such rapid growth.
In 1990, Black’s Tire Service went to Shallotte, North Carolina to serve existing customers in that area and to attract new ones. In the summer of 1995, Black’s Tire Service opened a store in Conway, South Carolina to better serve that area and to strengthen its overall customer base. On February 1,1996, Black’s Tire Service opened its 1st retail location in the port city of Wilmington, North Carolina and in January 1998 opened a second location in Wilmington. Since then Black’s Tire Service has expanded into Florence, SC (Spring 1999), opened a 2nd location in both Whiteville and Lumberton in the Winter of 2000 and also have opened new locations in Marion, Dillon, & Bennettsville, SC (March 2001). Black’s Tire Service has now expanded into the totally new market of Monroe, NC. In early 2002, Black’s Tire opened a new distribution center and also relocated the corporate offices in Whiteville, NC. Black’s Tire Service closed out 2002 by opening its 3rd location in Wilmington, NC on December 1st. The newest store is located off of I-40 down from the intersection of College & Market St. In September 2004, BTS opened its 4th location in Wilmington on Oleander Drive. This location gives Black’s Tire 15 retail locations across Southeastern North Carolina and Northeastern South Carolina. In 2004, Black’s Tire split off its Wholesale operation in Whiteville, NC and created new wholesale distribution operations in Whiteville, NC and Monroe, NC. The new wholesale division, BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors, services independent dealers throughout North & South Carolina. In March of 2005, BTS opened 3 additional locations in Florence, SC thus bringing BTS to 20 servicing locations in the Carolinas.
In March of 2007 Black’s Tire purchased 10 former Briggs & Sons Tire locations, 5 in Fayetteville, NC including one commercial facility, two in Raleigh, NC, one in New Bern, NC, Jacksonville, NC, and Clinton, NC. They also purchased a recap facility in Clinton, NC in order to be able to better serve their commercial customers. In December of 2007, the wholesale division of the company was expanded with the opening of a warehouse/distribution center in Charlotte, NC. The latest expansion was made in mid 2008 with the opening of a 6th location in Fayetteville, NC. These latest expansions now bring the service locations for this company to 34.
Business Philosophy
The ideals and attitudes of Black’s Tire Service may be partially expressed in buildings and equipment but its essence is a composite of the ideals and attitudes of the men and women who constitute the personnel of the company. Black’s Tire Service expects that every member of its force shall not only know how to do the things for which he or she is employed but shall actually do them well. It seeks to employ only those who are capable of mastering the position. Then, it furnishes its employees adequate equipment and wholesome working conditions. It endeavors to keep up with the best practice in every part of its service.
Another ideal of Black’s Tire Service is that the members of its workforce shall be friendly in their dealings with one another and with customers and with those, whether customers or not, with whom they come in contact. An attractive building, the recommendation of a friend, an advertisement, or an accident may bring a customer to your store, but the way he feels when leaving your store is the feature which builds or breaks the business. The way he feels will depend upon the way he is treated.
Friendliness inside the business manifests itself in helpfulness to one another throughout the day’s work. The ideal of Black’s Tire Service in this respect is not that one will build a wall around himself and his job, as if to say,
“This is my place; these are my tools; this is my job; when my job is done, my work is over; let everyone look after his own business, and I shall do the same.” No, the ideal of the business, rather, is revealed in such statements as these: “We are all working together to a common end. I will not be a clock-watcher or a time-counter or a dollar-passer or a fault-finder, but in every possible way I will be friendly and cheerful, counting it an opportunity and not a burden to render extra service to my associates and to the business that employs me.”
Mission Statement
Black’s Tire service is primarily a family business with a family atmosphere that is engaged in the sale of tires and services in various locations in Southeastern North Carolina and Northeastern South Carolina. We aim to be the leader by offering exceptional value to customers with high quality, cost competitive, highly focused customer mentality based products that contribute to a more productive lifestyle. We want to be the very best place for our customers to buy and the very best place for our associates to work, grow, and succeed together.