20 November 2008
Carlisle Tire: A Market Leader in OTR Tires
Doubling Sales in Only Ten Years
From a simple start supplying tires to Mennonite wagon-makers, Carlisle Canada has grown to manufacturing and supplying OE and replacement OTR tires and wheels to customers from coast to coast.
Based in Waterloo, Ontario, Carlisle Canada has some 80 employees across Canada, with locations in St-Pie, Quebec; Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Founded in 1975
“We were founded in 1975 as Conestoga Tire & Rim, and in September 1997 we were acquired by Carlisle, based in South Carolina,” says Tim Dietz, supply chain manager for Canada on replacement and high-speed trailer. “We sell a full range of tires and wheels from four-inch right up to 54-inch industrial tires.”
The company’s product line includes 4- to 15-inch for lawn and garden, 8- to 10-inch for golf carts, 8- to 12-inch radial and bias ATV lines, 8- to 16-inch trailer tires, 12- to 16.5-inch skid steer lines, 8- to 16-inch industrial tires and 9- to 54-inch agricultural tires, along with tubes and wheels to fit each size. All are found on the company’s Web site at www.carlisletire.ca.
“We’re a market leader, because of our name recognition, the quality, the wide product knowledge of our employees and the great range of products available from one single source,” Dietz says. “To that, we have the added value of our strategic locations throughout Canada with our dealer network.”
Carlisle doesn’t sell directly to consumers; rather, its products go to OE manufacturers and are sold as replacement through tire dealer networks and directly to some retail chains. The company is ISO certified, which assures customers of quality standards, Dietz says. “It’s world recognition and it lets people know our standards are in line for some of the larger manufacturers that require it.”
Strict quality control
Much of Carlisle’s stock is produced in the U.S., which allows the company to keep strict control on manufacturing quality and also get its products to its customers in timely fashion. “We’re about the only manufacturer of these types of tires and wheels that builds in the U.S.,” Dietz says. “We can supply a fast turnaround because we build in the U.S.; we can produce a product in a couple of weeks, compared to six weeks out of an offshore location.
“We do build some products in China, to compete with some of the other products on the market, but even then, we use our U.S. technology in our China facilities. Typically, we have one of our engineers from the U.S. at our plant in China at all times, so we can control the quality.
“Our prices are competitive to that of our competitors, but customers know they’re getting top quality and we can deliver our products very quickly because of our manufacturing and stocking levels within Canada.”
Ten-year anniversary
Having reached its ten-year anniversary under the Carlisle banner, the company has also doubled its sales, and offers its customers value-packed products backed by employees who know every aspect of the tires and wheels that they sell. Dietz estimates there is almost 800 years’ experience among the employees, who are able to answer almost any question about Carlisle’s offerings.
“We like to say that our quality is a leader amongst all the lawn and garden products, and all of our markets, and that’s because of our U.S. technologies,” Dietz says. “We manufacture them all. We have very low return rates with our products. That tells me that our quality is second to none.” | 
