April 17, 2018—The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (Bridgestone) today announced they are forming one of the largest tire distribution joint ventures in the United States. TireHub, LLC, will provide U.S. tire dealers and retailers with a comprehensive range of passenger and light truck tires, with an emphasis on satisfying rapidly growing demand for larger rim diameter premium tires.
TireHub will combine Goodyear's company-owned wholesale distribution network with Bridgestone-owned Tire Wholesale Warehouse (TWW). The transaction is subject to customary approvals and is expected to close mid-year.
"It's critical for U.S. tire dealers and retailers to be able to get the right tires on time to meet the needs and expectations of their customers. TireHub will help position dealers to win in today's dynamic and increasingly complex environment by giving them much needed access to a deeper and broader range of passenger and light truck tires from Bridgestone," said TJ Higgins, president, integrated consumer tire group, U.S. and Canada, Bridgestone Americas.
Headquartered in Atlanta, TireHub initially will have more than 80 distribution centers and warehouse locations throughout the nation. The company's physical assets at launch will be a combination of legacy Bridgestone TWW and Goodyear facilities.
TireHub will be a 50-50 joint venture between Goodyear and Bridgestone and will be managed by an independent management team led by CEO Peter Gibbons. Gibbons is a veteran business and supply chain executive, with 25 years of experience leading manufacturing and supply chain activities in the consumer, retail and specialty chemicals industries. While in senior leadership roles at both Mattel and Starbucks, Gibbons led customer-centric efforts to transform both companies' supply chains, improving fulfillment and speed to market.
