web1_TTL040317CurryDonuts2.jpg

Keeping it simple: At Curry, it’s coffee and, well … doughnuts

web1_TTL050117wilkes.unico_.jpg

Wilkes-Barre Unico Chapter number-one in the nation

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; McCarthy Tire Service has done more than stand the test of time.</p><p>Joseph J. McCarthy founded the company in 1926 and opened the first McCarthy Tire store on Main Street in Wilkes-Barre four years later.</p><p>Fast forward to 2017, and McCarthy Tire Service has not only broadened its footprint to most of the East, it is the sixth-largest independent commercial tire dealer in the country.</p><p>A timeline inside the company&#8217;s headquarters on Kidder Street shows the business&#8217; growth. By 1930, McCarthy Tire had eight employees. At the time, according to current company president John D. McCarthy Jr., 52, the business primarily offered passenger and off-road tires, as well as minor service repairs on vehicles</p><p>These days the company has 1,110 employees in nine states and offers a <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/648418/a-hole-lot-of-problems-potholes-plague-nepa-motorists-officials" target="_blank">wide array of services</a>, including:</p><p>&#8226; Tire sales and services for commercial, industrial and off-road vehicles.</p><p>&#8226; 24-hour roadside assistance for commercial trucks.</p><p>&#8226; Mechanical services for medium to heavy-duty trucks.</p><p>&#8226; Mobile on-site fleet services.</p><p>In terms of tire services, John McCarthy explained that when a tire&#8217;s tread is worn all the way down, it is called a &#8220;casing.&#8221; Retreading is the process of giving casings new treads so they can be reused.</p><p>&#8220;A new truck tire might be $500, a retread might be $200,&#8221; he said. &#8220;For someone who&#8217;s running a true tire program and wants to have their lowest operating cost per mile, retreading is the way to go.&#8221;</p><p>In any given year, McCarthy said his company manufactures approximately 400,000 retreaded tires at its eight retread plants.</p><p><strong>Family business</strong></p><p>As the company has expanded, one thing has remained the same &#8212; it is owned and operated by the McCarthy family.</p><p>Both John McCarthy and his sister, Katie McCarthy Lambert, grandchildren of Joseph J. McCarthy, had the same answer when asked when they became involved in the business.</p><p>&#8220;As is true with many family businesses, you start from the day you were born,&#8221; McCarthy Lambert said.</p><p>John recalled working as a janitor at the Kidder Street location when he was 13, and McCarthy Lambert said she worked in the car wash when she was nearly the same age.</p><p>McCarthy Lambert now serves as the company&#8217;s chief financial officer.</p><p>She and her brother recognize that challenges come with running a family business, but they said the essence of family keeps everyone united.</p><p>&#8220;We all work hard, we all get along, and there are no games being played,&#8221; John said.</p><p>He added that the company has an executive committee that meets monthly to discuss any issues that might be present. The committee consists of four family members and the chief operating officer, Joseph Doyle.</p><p>John McCarthy said he once saw a statistic that said 85 percent of family businesses fail before they get to the third generation, and only 3 percent make it to the fourth generation.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re very proud,&#8221; he said of his family&#8217;s accomplishment. &#8220;It didn&#8217;t come without hard work.&#8221;</p><p>McCarthy Lambert also attributed the company&#8217;s success to their upbringing as children. She explained that within the household, there was no competition among family members &#8212; instead, their parents encouraged everyone to develop their own strengths.</p><p><strong>Onward and upward</strong></p><p>As McCarthy Tire looks ahead, further growth is in the sights of the management team.</p><p>John McCarthy said company executives have spent time building relationships with competitors and other dealers. When those other owners retire, McCarthy said an effort will be made to buy the business.</p><p>McCarthy Lambert said if an acquisition does happen, there is a &#8220;seamless transition&#8221; that involves every employee from the purchased business being retained under the McCarthy banner.</p><p>The company took 2016 to help assimilate companies it had acquired, including Hartman Fleet Services, Inc. in Manassas, Va., the previous year.</p><p>John McCarthy said the company has acquisitions in the works for this year, but he declined to name them.</p><p>He added that other tire-service owners have approached him about selling their companies because of McCarthy Tire&#8217;s standing.</p><p>&#8220;We have developed a very good reputation doing business the right way,&#8221; McCarthy said.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL04xx17excellingmcarthy5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">CEO John McCarthy listens to his sister and CFO, Katie McCarthy Lambert, at corporate headquarters on Kidder Street. &#8216;As is true with many family businesses, you start from the day you were born,&#8217; McCarthy Lambert said. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL04xx17excellingmcarthy5.jpg</photo0><caption0>CEO John McCarthy listens to his sister and CFO, Katie McCarthy Lambert, at corporate headquarters on Kidder Street. &#8216;As is true with many family businesses, you start from the day you were born,&#8217; McCarthy Lambert said. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL04xx17excellingmcarthy2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Retreaded tires are commonplace at McCarthy Tire. In any given year, the company manufactures approximately 400,000 retreads, according to John McCarthy. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL04xx17excellingmcarthy2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Retreaded tires are commonplace at McCarthy Tire. In any given year, the company manufactures approximately 400,000 retreads, according to John McCarthy. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL04xx17excellingmcarthy4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The McCarthy Tire retreading factory in Wilkes-Barre. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL04xx17excellingmcarthy4.jpg</photo2><caption2>The McCarthy Tire retreading factory in Wilkes-Barre. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader)</caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL04xx17excellingmcarthy1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">An employee works in the retreading factory at McCarthy Tire Service in Wilkes-Barre. The company was founded in 1926. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL04xx17excellingmcarthy1.jpg</photo3><caption3>An employee works in the retreading factory at McCarthy Tire Service in Wilkes-Barre. The company was founded in 1926. </caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Family business has 1,100 employees in nine states</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Travis Kellar</p><p>tkellar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>MCCARTHY TIRE SERVICE</strong></p><p>&#8226; <strong>Year opened</strong>: 1926</p><p>&#8226; <strong>President</strong>: John D. McCarthy Jr.</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Main address</strong>: 340 Kidder Street, Wilkes-Barre</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Phone</strong>: (570) 822-3151</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Website</strong>: <a href="http://www.mccarthytire.com/" target="_blank">mccarthytire.com</a></p><p>&#8226; <strong>Notable</strong>: McCarthy Tire has more than 50 locations in nine states, all in the East &#8212; Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The locations include eight retread manufacturing plants &#8230; The company received the &#8220;Large Business of the Year&#8221; award from the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce last year. </p></factboxMeta></div>

McCarthy Tire on a roll: Family business has gone from Wilkes-Barre to 9 states