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Episode 203

Joe Tomarchio Jr., Jason Rook, Mike Cioffi, Melanie White, Norris Marshall, and Sonny McDonald

SEMA 2025

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The SEMA Show is where the entire tire and automotive aftermarket comes together under one roof, and in this episode, we bring you straight to the center of that energy. Recorded live from the show floor, this conversation captures what happens when industry leaders, decision-makers, and long-time collaborators finally get to meet face-to-face at SEMA 2025. From market insights to growth strategies, our guests share what’s shaping the year ahead and why attending this event continues to matter.

In this episode…

SEMA has always been known as the place where new products, partnerships, and ideas come to life. But beyond the massive crowds and equipment displays, the real value comes from the people; the leaders who are driving change across the tire and automotive aftermarket.

In Part 1 of our SEMA 2025 Roundup, Mike Edge sits down with a lineup of guests representing buying groups, recruiting firms, manufacturers, and advocacy organizations. They discuss what brought them to the show, what trends they’re watching, and how SEMA helps them plan for the future. The conversations are honest and straightforward, offering a practical look at what’s happening in the market right now.

Whether you’re a dealer, vendor, or industry partner, these insights highlight why staying connected at events like SEMA can make all the difference heading into a new year.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[01:06] Joe Tomarchio Jr. on networking, new technology, and private equity interest in the automotive sector

[08:00] Jason Rook on ITDG’s fast-growing membership and dealer buying power

[14:01] Mike Cioffi’s insights on talent shortages and the realities of hiring Gen Z

[20:24] Melanie White on SEMA’s focus on advocacy, youth engagement, and innovation

[32:54] Norris Marshall on regulatory involvement and SEMA’s expanding work in D.C.

[43:19] Sonny McDonald on Toyo’s presence at SEMA and the importance of real-world product application

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Meet the Leaders Featured in This Episode:

Joe Tomarchio Jr. built a one-store shop in West Baltimore into a 26-location, $100 million business before selling it to Monro. He went on to lead dozens of acquisitions during Monro’s expansion. Now, as Managing Director at FOCUS Investment Banking, he helps auto service owners grow and prepare for successful exits.

Jason Rook leads ITDG’s nationwide network, driving rapid membership growth and expanding dealer buying power across tires, parts, insurance, and marketing programs. He utilizes industry events, such as SEMA, to strengthen vendor relationships and plan upcoming initiatives. His focus is on helping independent dealers gain security, leverage, and long-term stability.

Mike Cioffi is the founder of Tire Talent, a recruitment firm specializing in leadership, engineering, and sales roles across the tire industry. With over a decade of specialized recruiting experience, he also writes a long-time column for Tire Business, analyzing workforce trends, including Gen Z hiring and retention. His mission is to help companies identify and retain top-performing talent.

Melanie White is the Chair of the SEMA Board and President of Hellwig Products, an 80-year-old family manufacturer of load and sway control systems. She champions SEMA’s priorities in advocacy, youth engagement, and technology innovation. Under her leadership, Hellwig continues to grow while keeping U.S. manufacturing at its core.

Norris Marshall is SEMA’s Chair Elect and the CEO of BluePrint Engines, building on more than four decades in engine manufacturing. He is deeply involved in SEMA’s expanding advocacy work in Washington, D.C., especially around aftermarket and regulatory issues. His leadership reflects his long-standing commitment to protecting the industry’s future.

Sonny McDonald leads national training efforts for Toyo Tires, supporting dealers through product education and hands-on engagement. He plays a key role in showcasing Toyo’s lineup at events like SEMA, connecting tires to real-world vehicle applications. His work highlights Toyo’s focus on quality, innovation, and strong dealer partnerships.

Quotable Moments:

“You get to see a whole lot of folks you don’t normally get to see, that’s the power of SEMA.”
“ITDG gives independent dealers leverage they couldn’t get alone.”
“Having a mission and vision is more important than ever when attracting and retaining talent.”
“Advocacy, youth, and technology are the pillars we need to strengthen.”
“If you want to understand this industry, you’ve got to be here.”

Action Steps:

Stay plugged into industry events: Use SEMA and other gatherings to build relationships and stay ahead of market shifts.
Evaluate your business strategy for 2025: Consider technology, equipment upgrades, and operational efficiencies highlighted by our guests.
Reassess your workforce approach: Understand what today’s talent values and how that impacts hiring and retention.
Follow regulatory updates: Stay connected to advocacy efforts that affect tire dealers, aftermarket parts, and independent shops.
Watch the remaining SEMA 2025 episodes: Parts 2 and beyond will feature more leaders, insights, and practical takeaways.

Transcript

00:00
Joe comes to SEMA for multiple reasons. I would say number one is networking.

00:05
And this is supposed to be only a five minute interview. Just, oh God help us.

00:08
You know, I come to the SEMA show in order to Kickstart 2026 because the reality is that our minds are already well into next year. It’s just a great place to come and see a whole lot of folks that I don’t normally get to see.

00:21
So yeah, we love Gen Z, but I think they’re commonly misunderstood. So all other generations, their top two reasons for staying in a role is simply for the dollars.

00:29
I have the chair of SEMA Melan, and she’s also president and CEO of Hellwig Products.

00:34
I’m the highest volunteer. I can’t volunteer higher than this right now.

00:38
I really do like to volunteer service and I kind of got to a point where I wasn’t on any board and somebody said you should run for the SEMA board.

00:46
I’ve got the great Sonny McDonald here from Toyota Tire. Sonny, Mike, great to see you again, my friend. Can you believe it? Welcome to The SEMA Roundup 2025. The Gain Traction Podcast had the privilege of interviewing many people out at sema. This episode is brought to you by TREAD Partners and Partner Tire Business. So we’re here at the SEMA Show. Welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast. In the tire business booth we got Joe Tamarchio Jr. Man, I’m glad to finally meet you.

01:15
It’s by Sediments. Exactly.

01:17
So let’s talk about SEMA real quick because we love it out here. It’s a great place to, you know, obviously network. But why does Joe come to sema?

01:26
Joe comes to SEMA for multiple reasons. I would say number one is networking. No question about it. I mean, just walking the floor here today, you know, I’m seeing a lot of old acquaintances and, and, and I haven’t even been here, what, not even a half hour. So that’s the main thing. Number one is networking. Two, I like to see the new products, especially in the equipment side and the technology side. You know, I think I always like to be, you know, leading edge instead of trailing edge in our operations. And you know, so I think, you know, those combinations of the networking and looking at new products, looking at new equipment and technologies and I’m also looking for a software system, you know, to implement in one of my projects.

02:18
So, you know, there are the three main reasons why I’m here, I guess you could say.

02:22
Well, and I don’t want to miss the fact that you are with Focus Investments, right? I am, yeah. So how’s that going?

02:28
That’s going pretty good. You know, it’s like anything else. Like when I was with Monroe doing the acquisitions. Mike, you could chase something for 10 years before, and then one day out of the blue, you get a phone call or a text message or an email, says, joke, I’m done. Call me. You know, I’m ready.

02:49
Call me.

02:50
So the same thing with Focus, we got some irons in the fire. You know what? People looking to divest, and some people are looking to capitalize their business because Focus, we do three things. One is we represent sellers. Okay. In the automotive sector. Two, we have the ability for alternative financing other than bank financing. And three, we have private equity firms that look to take a sizable portion of an entrepreneur’s company. They want the entrepreneur to stay on and run it, because, believe me, they do not know how to run it. They don’t want to run it, but it gives the entrepreneur a second bite of the apple. Because the way the private equity firms work is they’ll take a sizable portion of your company, usually not in all cases, 51% or greater, but.

03:43
But you have a contract, you run it, you have skin in the game, and they give you the horsepower, the money, obviously, to fund it, to grow the business exponentially without you risking everything that you and your family potentially.

03:58
Now, is that usually putting you or merging you with other stores that they’ve doing the same thing with?

04:04
It could.

04:05
But. It could, Mike. But in a lot of cases, there’s a lot of private equity firms out there that are looking to get into our sector, and they are looking for a foundation, a base of stores, and then they will bolt on to you and, you know, somewhat concentric as. For the most part, but there’s other platforms that, you know, jump all around the country.

04:29
Quite quite frankly, I think it’s cool, because a guy that wants to cash out, but maybe not completely gets to take some of his chips off the table, and that removes a lot of, you know, future risk. He knows he’s putting back some form of a nest egg for his family.

04:44
Absolutely.

04:45
But he keeps. He gets to stay involved, and he still has an investment.

04:48
He gets the second bite of the app. And in a lot of cases, that second bite of the apple is a lot larger than the first bite.

04:56
That’s what’s cool.

04:57
Yes. Because they give you the funds to grow the business exponentially in several forms. You know, one is Greenfield stores. One, of course, is acquisitions. You know, and then, of Course, as you mentioned, there may be a platform that they already have. How to, how can they get the synergies and the leverage, you know, out of those platforms? That’s, that’s the key to acquisitions.

05:17
So do you, when you get out here at sema, do you happen to plan any of those meetings? Meetings with some of these guys?

05:24
Yes. Tomorrow. Tomorrow is sun up. The sundown.

05:26
That’s awesome.

05:27
Yeah.

05:28
Yeah. I tell people when I come up to sema, they think you’re out here in Vegas having a good time. I’m like, and I have a good time working, but it’s 8 to 11 o’ clock for me at night and it’s, it’s just run and gun.

05:39
That’s what you got to do. You know, you gotta keep beating the drum.

05:44
You gotta maximize your time. But the cool thing is, it is a little bit like shooting fish in a barrel. Everybody’s out here at sema. I love the fact that, you know, it’s almost like a family here in south hall, you know, everybody knows everybody. Yes, it’s a small world, but it’s cool to. Everybody gets to reconnect, hug, shake hands, see each other again once a year and possibly do business. And you might not do business, but the thing is, it’s that long play game. You’re just, you’re connecting with people, you’re standing.

06:12
Absolutely.

06:12
You’re being relevant and. Absolutely.

06:14
Yeah.

06:15
The thing that I’ve seen change in SEMA, because you got to remember, I’ve been going to. Before sema, it was the National Tire Dealer and Retreaders association, you know, that I went to in the 70s. Okay. Yeah. I’m an old guy.

06:28
He’s really old.

06:29
I am.

06:30
And you know, all the tire manufacturers were displaying back then. You go on the floor here today. There’s none of the majors are really here, with few exceptions. It’s all, you know, the Pacific Basin products. So I miss that, honestly, because you got to meet that person, you know, face to face, like you and I are doing, instead of just on the phone, right. And you build that rapport.

06:56
I think it’s advantageous for these folks that are here and let’s say that, let’s call it some of them in tier 3 and some tier twos here on the floor. And I think they went over a lot of business because they’re sitting here right now being relevant to, you know, the people walking through. I think deals are made. I think it builds relationship and I know what those guys do, they’re all off campus a little bit and. And doing that. But at the same time, you’re.

07:22
You’re.

07:22
You’re cherry picking who you want to meet with, and you’re lining that up. But there are opportunities that you might be missing that just. Absolutely engaged.

07:29
Absolutely. But as you well know, I don’t need to tell you guys, it’s very expensive.

07:34
Oh, yeah.

07:35
To put a facility, you know, out here on the floor and, you know, bring your people in for a week.

07:42
It’s a big deal.

07:43
It’s.

07:43
It’s a huge deal.

07:44
Yeah.

07:45
And that’s what makes some of the vendors hesitate, because I’ve had these conversations with them.

07:49
Yeah.

07:50
But I. I think. I think the view is worth the climb. Now. It’s easy for me to say. It’s not my money being spent.

07:58
You know, that’s the truth. All right, we’re here with Jason Rourke, president of itdg. Jason, welcome to the game Traction or Welcome back to the gang Traction very much.

08:07
Mike. It’s a beautiful morning here in Las Vegas.

08:10
So what is going on with ITDG right now? You guys seem like you’re shaking and baking all the time.

08:15
It is doing very well in 2025. You know, we’ve added a lot of members, about 40 new members this year, which was a big number for us. You know, we Normally add between 12 and 20 members a year.

08:30
How many rooftops does that include?

08:33
245 new rooftops. Although that’s awesome, that doesn’t include the rooftops that our members are acquiring.

08:40
Yeah.

08:40
So those are all new members coming in. So it’s. It’s very exciting. Of course, I always look at everything with a grain of salt, and I say, why are we becoming more successful than were? And I think part of that is the uncertainty in the marketplace. And I’ve been preaching it for years that these dealers need that extra layer of security. And I think that ITDG provides that. They know that they have more negotiating power. They know they have someone between them and the manufacturer. And we see larger and larger organizations come into ITDG with that kind of help.

09:16
So total rooftops. Where are you guys at now?

09:19
We’re knocking on the door. 1500 right now.

09:21
Yes. That’s fantastic. Because I think when you had me down a couple years ago and I spoke on stage, it was. I don’t say about 1150 or something like that.

09:30
We were trying to get. We were pushing to get to 1200.

09:32
That’s right. It’s fantastic. Man.

09:34
So it’s been a lot of growth.

09:36
That’s awesome. And look, ATDG is a really simple concept in the fact that you become part of a network, a family in a sense, and all of a sudden your buying power increases, but you get access. It’s not just the tires though, right?

09:51
Correct. Only about a third of our programs are tire programs. We have parts programs, we have lubricant programs, we have marketing programs. We, we own our own insurance company for workers comp insurance called Cell itdg, which provides the same model for workers comp insurance.

10:08
Well, think about that. I mean, because I do know dealers that aren’t members of yours and they’re not really part of any network. They’re just, you know, true independence, you know. And I think that they could benefit so well, but everybody’s afraid to. They, I think they feel like they give up some autonomy or something, and that’s just not the case.

10:26
It’s not the case. They feel like they give up autonomy. They say, well, if I’m dealing with ITDG or if I have a good relationship with this vendor already, this manufacturer, ITDG will get in the middle of that. And it’s quite the opposite. We’re, we’re very, we very much allow folks to continue their current relationships. We help out where we can, and that’s why we allow people in other groups to join itdg. Also, at the end of the day, we want the best deal for these independent dealers.

10:53
And what you guys are doing with all of the buying power that you have, really what it resonates for me is that the vendors out there that want to sell to the independents realize, oh my gosh, I’ve got to cater to these guys. And, and they really do have a lot of rooftops that benefit me as a vendor, if I was selling. And it’s. But it gives every individual member leverage that they get. It’s like a, all of a sudden you’re, you went from a 10 pound gorilla to an 800 pound gorilla.

11:25
That’s right.

11:25
And they have to, they, you get that benefit.

11:28
That’s correct. So if we’re buying 200,000 units from a manufacturer and you’re buying 5,000 and you join ITDG, now you’re in that group where you’re buying 200,000, which is what independent dealers are looking for. They’re looking for that little bit of extra leverage. And we have folks from 200 stores down to one store, and they all have different types of. We have different types of programs that serve each well.

11:53
Tell me about. Why does Jason Rook come to sema? What do you guys gain?

11:59
You know, I come to the SEMA show in order to sit down, talk to folks like you. Also to. It’s a great place to kickstart our 2026 programs. It’s the beginning of November. It gives us eight weeks to talk about what’s going to happen in 2026 with these different manufacturers. And it puts all these vendors into one area where I can get a whole lot of them. And I always bring, you know, Francisco Rivera, our director of programs. He’s here with me and we use it to kickstart 2026 because the reality is that our minds are already well into next year before this one gets wrapped up. So it’s just a great place to come and see a whole lot of folks that I don’t normally get to see.

12:42
And that’s the best part about it. I try to constantly be a champion for SEMA because I think if you are in this industry and you want to maximize your opportunities, you know, as quickly as possible, utilizing your timeframe, I mean, this weave is power punching. And for a lot of, not just the networking, but like you said, you get to. You get to see a lot of the new equipment, a lot of other things that are out there. Whatever’s out there, it’s going to be here that’s going to benefit your business. And, and everybody knows that. So it’s like, just come find out, spend a day or two. You don’t have to spend the whole week.

13:19
And honestly, what you say there is important. I. I also support the SEMA organization and what they do for the industry. A lot of people see SEMA as a show.

13:27
I know.

13:28
And they don’t understand that there’s so.

13:30
Many more layers in Washington D.C. that’s correct. That’s right. It’s a big deal.

13:35
They act like a national version of some of the regional, you know, Alabama tire dealer associations and the matda, which is. They’re very active in the lobbying piece. And SEMA does the same thing. They’re well affiliated with TIA and ASA and all these different folks who, whether you want them to or not, they’re out there fighting for independent tire dealers every day.

13:58
Amen.

13:58
I love that about them.

13:59
I do, too. All right. All right. We’re back with Mike Joffe with Tire Talent. Mike, welcome to the GAIN Structure podcast.

14:06
Yeah. Thank you for having me.

14:07
Yeah. So tell me a little bit about tire talent. Sure.

14:12
So we’re a specialty, what’s called a boutique recruitment firm, talent firm that focuses on the tire industry. And we help companies find senior leadership positions, engineering positions, sales reps, and then all channels of distribution as well. So manufacturer, wholesale, retail. So we help shop managers, branch managers, district managers, etc.

14:38
So how long has tire talent been around?

14:39
So we’re actually in our. We’re about to celebrate our 11th year since we’ve actually started recruiting for the tire industry.

14:47
Congratulations.

14:48
Yeah, thank you. And then I’ve always been passionate about our industry. Been in automotive my entire career. And Don Detour and I were just speaking before I jumped on with you and we said, you know, how long have I been writing for tire business? And we thought it was about five or six years. And we look back, we’re actually almost 10 years now. Yeah. So, yeah, pretty exciting.

15:10
That’s a great relationship too. Tire business, obviously we’re partnered with them as well. And you guys, you write a great column for them.

15:18
Thank you.

15:19
Anything coming up that you’re thinking about writing about?

15:22
Yeah, so we’re gonna write a year end piece. Right now we’re focusing on also in terms of how important it is to have a mission and vision. If you look at our past article, when it comes to attracting and retaining Gen Z, so Gen Z makes up about 20% of our workforce.

15:42
That’s amazing. Already there.

15:44
Yeah. So they’re. They’re technically like almost 19%, but let’s just say one in five. Right. When we look at that cohort, they’re obviously growing. They’re the ones that are growing. They really want to be part of something bigger. But they’re really misunderstood amongst hiring managers in terms of the way they communicate, what’s important to them, et cetera. So having a mission, vision, in my opinion, is more important than ever. And that was just the entire business. So now we’re gonna. That article just got released, so our next one’s gonna kind of keep growing on. On that piece.

16:16
Well, you touched on something that I want to ask you. So I find the Gen Z generation, I like them. I think there are a lot of really good youth in that generation and they are eager. I’ve got some kids in that generation, so I know, and they seem to be. I mean, my son’s a hard worker and some of his friends are too. But what do you guys see in regards to how they want to communicate? How do they want to receive information?

16:49
Sure.

16:49
So, yeah, we love Gen Z, but I think they’re commonly misunderstood. So in terms of a recent McKinsey study, for example, they are the least likely to stay in a role because of money. So all other generations, their top two reasons for staying in a role is simply for the dollars where they’re more likely to leave for other reasons versus the other generation. So we need to understand that in the way that we’re attracting, retaining them and again, going back to that mission vision, they also are conflict averse. And I’m talking as a whole. Right. That doesn’t mean that all of the millennials. Not millennials, sorry, Gen Z. Gen Z. So in terms of the way that we communicate, they don’t like confrontation. So they may be, yes in you, but in reality they don’t. They’re not really going to take that step.

17:37
So an example would be when it comes to hiring actually someone in Gen Z, they may, yes, the recruiter or the HR manager of a company the whole way. But when it comes time to actually starting, I’ll write an email the night before and say this is the hardest decision of my life. But really along the whole way, they’re very risk averse to changing a potential opportunity that they’re already in because they work so hard for that role. But the, but the complicating factor is when I speak to, let’s say I, I spoke with a VP of HR last week from the manufacturer. They said that they’ve never seen a generation just so likely to leave and not really care. So it’s very conflicting in terms of like what we’re hearing.

18:22
But yeah, they are risk averse, a lot of them, because, and the reason why is they work so hard to get their first job potentially that they may not want to lose and, or have to redo what they did to gain where they are in that position.

18:38
That’s so interesting. But I mean the data doesn’t lie. So I mean, that’s very interesting because I’m trying to think of my kids and I think about, and my son is actually 21 this month and he has been at the same job for five years.

18:55
Oh, wow.

18:56
Yeah.

18:57
So it may not be for him. Right.

18:58
But what’s interesting is he is risk averse and he’s climbed the ladder, let’s say inside this company already. You know, as, as a young man can. But it’s just interesting to watch him grow. But he, he’s a steady Eddie, if that makes sense. Absolutely. He’s, and he is motivated by money. But I can Tell he likes the pat on the back too, you know, from the company and he gets a couple stars or whatever. They give little bonuses and things like that. But it. That’s. That’s interesting to hear your data. I can’t wait for you to come out with that.

19:34
Absolutely. And if you. The final point, if you think of what they went through Covid, seeing a lot of their parents get laid off, just like I did when I graduated in 2007 during the financial crisis, seeing companies and folks losing their job, this. This is also another reason why they could potentially be risk averse.

19:51
Very interesting.

19:52
Yeah.

19:53
So why do you come to sema? I don’t. I want to throw in a little bit of SEMA chat here real quick.

19:57
Yeah, so I haven’t been since before COVID and just super excited to see my clients see the tire business folks like Don Detour finally meets you in person and really network with our industry. And then lastly, I’m actually presenting tomorrow upstairs on attracting retaining talent for sema.

20:18
Yeah, I wish I could make it. What time is it?

20:20
That’s at 2pm okay, good deal. Good luck in South Hall.

20:23
All right, folks, I have the chair of sema, Melanie White, and she’s also president and CEO of Hellwig Products. Welcome back to the Gang Traction podcast.

20:33
Thank you. It’s great to be back with you, Mike. Thanks for having me on.

20:35
Glad to have you. So now that you’re the chair, what does that mean?

20:40
Yeah, so now that I’m the chair. So the chair of the board. I’m the chair of the board of directors and I’m the highest volunteer. I can’t volunteer higher than this right now.

20:50
That’s a great way to describe it.

20:51
Yeah. But I think that, you know, the chair is. Is really in charge of making sure that the SEMA board does what we’re supposed to do as well as, you know, the CEO is executing to what we want as the board, so.

21:06
Yeah, well, we had. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but we had Mike Spagnolo on the podcast back in, like, April.

21:12
Oh, perfect.

21:13
Yeah, So I got to know him and seems like you got the right guy for the job.

21:17
Oh, my gosh. He is really the right guy for the job. And I like to joke. I’m now his boss. Yeah. I’ve known Mike for years and he really is the. The right guy for the job. I mean, he’s so passionate about this.

21:30
Industry and he’s a real car guy. Like.

21:33
Like, he’s Gonna go do it on all of his free time. If his wife let him, he would do it all the time, right?

21:39
I mean, that’s what I gathered. It wasn’t like he was. He’s just not a president, CEO type. He sees. He’s like, no, I’m hands on. You know, I like to do the work. I’m. Yeah. So what is your biggest go with the. Being the chair now? It’s for sema.

21:54
Yeah. So, I mean, I have my own initiatives that I’m looking at focusing on that really align well with what we’re doing.

22:01
I’m sorry to interrupt, but when did you take this? I mean, when does it. I don’t remember where the cycle starts.

22:06
It starts in July.

22:07
July, that’s it.

22:08
So the end of July. I took the position. I got sworn in at that point. And so July, the summer, and then I’ll. I’ll be in this position for two years. So, yeah, it feels like it’s going to go really fast because this is, it’s a fun position. I mean, it’s fun, it’s challenging. There’s big things, but that’s what I, I really love to be able to, you know, tackle big problems. And at sema we can do that and we have to be doing that for the industry right now. I mean, you know, I’m focusing on three different areas that I think are really key. So gyt, so I’m calling it gyt. So government advocacy, youth engagement, and then technology innovation. So I think those are the three things that we really need to work on.

22:55
Not that we need to work on them, but really ramp them up.

22:58
Feel like I’ve touched on the G and the T, but what about the youth? What’s your goal there?

23:04
Yeah, so the youth engagement, I mean, if there’s a lot when I say.

23:07
Touched on, I mean with some other guests from sema.

23:10
So youth engagement really is making sure that next generation knows us, understands what we’re doing here. It gets passionate about it, just like us. We want them to catch the bug. This is. We’re doing amazing things here and we want that next generation to come in and be interested in that. And, you know, there’s all of these statistics out there talking about how many kids don’t drive right away. Right. It’s.

23:35
How weird is that?

23:36
It’s so weird. I have. My son turned 16 and he’s just chomping at the bit to get his. He turned 16 yesterday and he has his driver’s test Tomorrow.

23:45
So.

23:46
So I don’t really get it. I. I’m raising a car guy, right. But he’s already caught the bug because he’s been exposed to what we do.

23:52
Even if you’re not a car. I mean, not all my friends are car people. I wasn’t absolutely. I mean, I like cars, but I just wanted the freedom.

24:00
I know.

24:01
Like the day I could get it, I wanted it.

24:03
Me too.

24:04
But I had a nephew that waited, I’m going to say about a year.

24:10
Oh yeah.

24:11
And I would be like, don’t you want. Yeah, driver’s license, man.

24:15
Yeah. My son is dying for it.

24:17
Oh yeah.

24:18
He is so ready for that freedom. And we live in the country, so it really does matter. You know, he can’t get in without us. So he’s really excited for that freedom and.

24:29
Oh, he’s been real dependent then.

24:31
He has.

24:31
And it’s killing him because he’s kind of an independent kid in general. And I think some of the kids just aren’t as interested in it because they’re fine having mom and dad drive them. But also I think it has, you know, I’m going through this process and it’s kind of expensive to have a 16 year old drive. Like the insurance is like a car payment alone and.

24:54
Oh, my brother is my insurance agent and so I’ve had five. We’ve got my wife and five kids and it’s like every one of them has come on. He like, yeah, we’ll put them on the policy, you know. Yeah. I mean, yeah, you’re making money off. I mean, I know 16 year old who. And the boys. Really.

25:10
Yeah, yeah. So I think as I’ve looked at it, you know, it’s. I think it’s less about kids not wanting to drive as much as it’s also, it’s just, it’s kind of logistically and financially it’s pretty impactful.

25:24
Well, we, like I said we had five. So when the. You get, you start getting one that drives, you’re like, oh man, we got another driver. That’s a big deal.

25:34
I’m so excited about like someone helping me with groceries.

25:37
Yeah, it’s a big deal. So I’ll tell you something funny that happened to us. The. So our youngest is 18. He’s a senior in high school. But we, he has a brother that’s three years older than him. So the. He’s 21. So when he graduated we kind of forgot that, hey, he’s not 16 yet. We, we Gotta drive again. We all of a sudden had to start driving again because we just make the brother, you know, it’s like, yeah, all the practices, this was terrible. But he would go to football practice, crossfit, whatever he was doing. And he was such a patient kid. But he just texts, does anybody come to get me? We’d be like, oh, no. And you know, and then you feel bad because the one coach has to stay after 30 minutes till you get there.

26:23
Yeah.

26:23
And you’re like, sorry about that. I really forgot. And we did. We truly forgot. We forgot him all the time.

26:29
Yeah. Poor guy. You get up like, brother, like, come home.

26:34
It was, it was funny. But when you lose that driver after you’ve had one, somebody was doing it for us, you know?

26:41
Yeah.

26:42
It was just. And that poor kid, he just. He went through some torture.

26:45
Yeah.

26:45
All we get is that. And he was real nice about it. Is anybody coming?

26:48
Yeah.

26:51
But anyway, going back to sema, it’s exciting. We’re glad to be here. Love to be in the tire business. Booth.

26:58
Yeah. This is awesome here.

26:59
Yeah, this is fun. Yeah, we’ve had a. This is only day one where. Yeah, yeah, I think my brain’s fried. We’ve done so many interviews. But that’s good. That’s what it’s about.

27:09
I know.

27:10
And we’ve got a lot of champions of SEMA that have been on here, which is great. And you know the Hunter Engineering Company, they have a fabulous booth. They’re huge in our industry. And we just had their. John Zentz, their senior vice president of global sales on the podcast. He’s a big advocate for SEMA, says that they. They’ll meet somewhere between 50 plus percent of their north American customers here.

27:37
Oh, wow.

27:38
How powerful is that?

27:39
That’s super powerful.

27:40
Yeah.

27:41
Yeah. I mean, there’s so many things that the SEMA show does. Right. So it becomes this. It, you know, it. Logistically, it’s. You can come and you can meet all of your customers. It would be so expensive to, you know, go travel and see all of the customers, like you get to see here. But I think the one other thing, though, there’s just an energy. There’s like a positive, like what’s going on energy here that you don’t get to. You don’t bring the whole SEMA show to someone. Right. So you bring all of that excitement.

28:12
It’s like John said about their booth over there. I mean, you know, he goes, yeah, we’re here to meet people, but we’re. We’re not Necessarily here to sell you everything. Ours is about touch, feel and move the equipment.

28:24
Yeah.

28:24
You know, and let you be hands on with the kind of a show and tell type thing and just experience. Experience it.

28:30
Yeah.

28:30
We’ll worry about sales later. It’s going to happen, but we need you to. And you get to experience a lot of it in one spot.

28:36
Yeah, yeah. But I know they sold some stuff. Some people were in my booth earlier and said, I bought some stuff from Hunter today and they added a great deal.

28:43
So I know a guy that said he spent six figures with them.

28:46
Yeah.

28:46
You know, so I’m like, yeah, they’re doing all right.

28:48
I know. I was like, well, there’s. They’re making sales, so.

28:52
Oh, yeah.

28:52
Good for them.

28:53
Absolutely.

28:54
Yeah.

28:54
I mean. And that’s what Mike Spagnola said back in April. He goes, look, I want deals done on the floor again.

29:00
Yeah.

29:01
You know, in South Hall. I want the tire companies, I want everybody here to see, you know, come together as an industry and then interact with everybody. Because this is, I mean, it really is kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. You just get them all in one spot and just get to have so many good conversations. Like you said, you don’t have to jump on a plane and go see 20 people. Those, you might get 15 right here.

29:22
Yep. Definitely. Yeah, yeah. And just the conversations that you’re having too, you’re building off of those conversations with one customer, with another customer. So it just. There’s just a momentum that happens here for sure.

29:36
Real quick, before I let you go, talk about Hellway products, what are you guys up to?

29:40
Yeah. So at Hellweg, you know, we’re really showcasing a lot of our load and sway control. So we’ve been making helper springs since 1946. Next year we’re going to turn 80 years old.

29:50
That’s fantastic.

29:51
So, yeah, eight decades of making helper springs. And then we added sway bars on a little bit later on.

29:57
If I remember correctly, it was your granddad that started it. Great, great granddad. And he did it out of the back of his car.

30:03
He did it in garage. And then they. What they would do. So they would manufacture. My great grandpa had a full time job. I think he had two at the time. And then. And then had this like side hustle where he would manufacture helper springs and a. In a garage. So he actually like rented out someone’s blacksmith shop. And then on the weekends, my grandpa was a senior in high school. My great grandpa would go sell door to Door. And they’d sell through small shops, too, but door to door, so if your vehicle is sagging, it’s real obvious that you need hellwig. So they’d go knock on the door and say, hey, I can install that.

30:43
And my grandpa, who was a senior in high school, would lay on his back in the driveway and install hell wig at that time, and they would do it for $7. So, yeah, I don’t think we get to do anything for $7 anymore. But, yeah, so that was how we got started. But it’s kind of fun to, like, think about. We’re now, you know, we’re global, we’re shipping global. We’re helping, you know, military vehicles. Like, we’re doing a lot of cool stuff. And then a ton of stuff in the aftermarket here, too. But that is not something, you know, I love to talk about that, because it’s something, you know, we started with really, like, grassroots.

31:23
Totally.

31:23
Yeah. And we’re not the only one, right. In this industry. I mean, I think that, like, that passion, that drive, but that passion to start something so much that you did that.

31:34
You know, I tell you a quick story. Lance Bullock, he’s a couple boots over with OE Wills Foreplay Wheels. Defiant Wills.

31:40
He.

31:41
He literally got his start by working for his uncle, going to the salvage yard, getting wheels, taking them to his grandparents, and having them scrub them clean. So they turn around and sell them.

31:51
No way.

31:52
That’s their will business.

31:53
Yes.

31:54
That’s amazing.

31:55
Yeah.

31:55
And I go, dude, you’re like a great American success.

31:57
Yeah.

31:58
You know, I know awards here over the years and everything for their designs and stuff like that. And it’s just. He plays it down, but I’m like. He goes, well, it was a little rough in high school. He said, you know, Sarasota, Florida, is where he grew up. He goes, it’s a pretty ritzy town, and I was a kid with grease all over me because I was scrubbing wheels.

32:17
Yeah. Grease and dirt. Right. Because he’s, like, at the scrap yard.

32:22
He’S done all right. You know, it’s. It’s all turned out all right. But, no, I love the Hummel Beginnings. I think it’s cool. And I think people like knowing that I’m always a background kind of guy. Like, you know, I think people want to know who they’re buying from. Oh, this is a real American company.

32:35
Yeah, yeah. And we’re really proud of that. Right. So we manufacture in the U.S. we source our steel in the U.S. so we. We have we actually manufacture in Central California where, like, you know, it’s a heavy ag industry where everyone works hard too. So.

32:53
Yeah. All right, folks, I’m here with Norris Marshall, the owner of Blueprint Engines, but he’s also the chair elect at SEMA and on the board. That’s a big job.

33:04
It’s a big job, but it’s important and I’m doing it to give back. The industry has been really good for me.

33:09
That’s awesome. Well, how long has Blueprint been in business?

33:13
Well, Blueprint is a brand and the company is Marshall Engines. We’ve been in business for 43 years. I founded the company when I was 20 years old. And the blue. We’ve always been in the engine business of some sort. And the Blueprint brand and the performance aftermarket crate engine program is about 20 years old.

33:30
That’s fabulous. So when did you become like part of sema? Like it get bent. When, when did you guys engage SEMA?

33:38
Well, so we’ve been a exhibitor for 20 years and I really do like to volunteer service and I’ve been on multiple trade association boards. I’ve been on state government boards. And I kind of got to a point where I wasn’t on any board and somebody said, you should run for the SEMA board. I said, I don’t know if that’ll work. And they said, no, you should do it.

34:00
So I did.

34:01
And I got elected to the SEMA board for a three year term and that term was up this year. So I could have ran for another three year term or I could run for the chairman. Chair elect.

34:11
Yes.

34:11
And I chose to run for chair elect and I was either going to get that or I wasn’t going to be on the board anymore or just.

34:17
Yeah, so God had planned for you, but I, I voted for you. I had a chance to vote and I voted for you because I interviewed you last year and I enjoyed the interview. Okay. I was in. That was when were moving around and I was at your booth. Yeah. But this year we partnered up with tire business and our listening audience is primary tire dealers, shop owners, managers, operators. And we hear back from a lot of them on just a wide variety, a variety of, you know, subjects or whatever. But definitely SEMA’s in the mix.

34:51
Yeah.

34:51
And I’m honored that you guys, you know, you’re a chair elect and you felt it important to talk to my audience, which is the, you know, we’re the lower south hall here. This is us And I just had Hunter and Hunter engineering on and.

35:08
You.

35:08
Know, it’s just, it’s fun to showcase. Normally we don’t showcase products on the podcast because I don’t want to turn it into an infomercial. But in this case when we’re here, we want to showcase as much as possible and we do a SEMA roundup and that and we get a lot of good feedback from that. So we’ll get you a copy of that when.

35:27
Yeah, that sounds good.

35:28
So where do you see SEMA going in the next one, two, three years? As a group?

35:33
SEMA has begun to be really good at advocacy, advocating for the industry and for our members. And it, you know, some of the industry are members and some of the industry aren’t. And we can’t pick and choose whether we’re just going to fix regulations that affect our members. They end up affecting the whole industry. So we’ve got a strong presence in Washington D.C. that began about the same time I got started three years ago. And our D.C. office is ran by Karen Bailey Chapman. She’s a professional lobbyist. She does a good job, she’s got a good staff. And they really did have an impact, I think, on regulations that affect our industry. I know when Congress voted to not allow California permission to create ICE ban, internal combustion engine ban, Congress voted on that. And I think it was June 12th.

36:26
The president signed it. And Mike Spagnoli and Karen were at the pol Oval Office when that got signed.

36:32
That’s fabulous.

36:33
So, and that’s not. Has never been that SEMA wanted to pick a lane and say we don’t like battery electric. It was always that we think individuals should decide Amen and not regulators in the back room. And that’s what it had happened. Yeah, Congress hadn’t voted on it. California State assembly hadn’t voted on it. But both the federal and California had ICE bands that a couple regulators in the back room came up with. And the President signed it. Federally governor signed it. In California. Nobody had any input. Yeah, it was crazy.

37:04
No, and it is bizarre when you think an unelected person can have that much control over any industry, not just ours, and affect lives. And it always amazes me, but I feel like people are at least in this industry a little more in tune to politics, especially their local stuff. And you know, right to repair has become a big issue. I know you guys are doing some advocacy on that as well, but yeah, it. I’m glad to know that SEMA does it, but I also feel like from a, you know, a member standpoint, it’s something that can be seen and you can see results even if you don’t get the result you want. You know, somebody’s battling for the sake of your business.

37:46
That’s right. You know, I talked to a lot of people that actually don’t know that we do this and it’s really because we, I would say we probably weren’t very good at it in the past, but we are good at it now.

37:59
That’s good to hear. Well, let’s face it, there is a stereotype that the only thing at to SEMA is the big show. I mean, that’s Big show’s pretty cool.

38:07
It is very important. But those are the two things we really want to focus on is advocating through regulations primarily for our members and then making sure the show stays good. Because the show’s a big part of the success of the organization. It’s what funds everything.

38:26
Well, it’s also the, I mean, it’s the, let’s face it’s the image of the organization. I mean, this is where people come to have a good time, see all the new products, meet a lot of the friends of the industry and then, you know, who knows, maybe do some business out here, which happens a lot.

38:41
Yeah, it the right people are here. So many times I’ve had people had a son in law that he wanted to come to the show. I said, yeah, you come to the show, we’ll take you. And he’s car guy and he thought he knew what the scenic show was. And I talked to him about four hours in and he said, oh man, this is way better than I ever thought it could be. So it’s like even when you think you know what you’re going to, it’s better than that. Yeah, it is absolutely stunningly fantastic. If you’re into cars, it is.

39:09
And the first time I got out here, I couldn’t help it. I mean, I felt like an idiot. But I just kept taking pictures.

39:14
Yeah.

39:15
You know, of everything you see. And I’m sending it back home, like to my wife and she’s just getting burned out.

39:20
Yeah, no, it’s really cool. Something else we’re doing as an organization is we became, I would describe it this way, maybe the U.S. united States of America, member of FIAT and FIA is widely known as the sanctioning body formula One. And that’s what everybody thinks about when you hear FIA, but FIA really is a lot more than that. They have something like 800 million members and car clubs around the world. So in. In our world, it’s like a cross between AAA and NASCAR.

39:53
Wow.

39:54
So they have. And maybe it’s 80 million. I don’t know.

39:56
It’s a lot either way.

39:58
So they have all these auto clubs that they have that started like, I think the founding was in 1880 and it was like a roadside assistance club for broken cars. So FIA and SEMA are really interested in the future developments for OEM, especially ADOs. We’re here in a tire area.

40:19
Right.

40:20
And ADOs, it really is a threat to the tire industry.

40:24
Yeah.

40:25
Because unless you’re making OEM tires, you may not be able to sell those in the future. ADOS and Advanced Driver Assistance is all about, you know, putting the brakes on when you’re too close to somebody and stopping the vehicle and getting. Pushing the car back out of the wrong lane or whatever. And all that’s attached to the vehicle and how far the vehicle is off the ground matters. You know, are the tires taller? Can the tires be colored? How much taller can they be?

40:50
Can you put a lift kit on it?

40:51
So we’re working to find all that out and FIA is also interested in that information for the rest of the world. So we’ll be doing some, you know, science projects, science experiments. But we have to get involved and know what’s possible and what will work for our members and try to get a seat at the table when the regulations are written. Because it’s coming. There is, I think it’s 20, 29 mandatory regulation. You can’t shut it off. It’s like abs. You can’t. Can’t disable it. So it’s either going to work with the aftermarket and running boards you might want to put on or a lift kit or taller tires, or it’s not going to work. So we’re trying to make sure that the tire guys here still have products they can sell.

41:33
If somebody wants to learn more about SEMA, the website address is sema.org isn’t it?

41:40
I believe so, yeah.

41:41
And then, and then I think, if I’m not mistaken, you have things that you’re. You have advocacy things that you are working on, I think, listed there as well.

41:49
I’m sure there is.

41:50
Okay. Yeah.

41:52
There’s a lot going on. It’s really, you know, there’s. I don’t know.

41:55
I’ll put what.

41:55
I know I want more people in my industry, in this industry to. I know a lot of people take advantage of sema, but I’m talking About signing up and be a member, be a participant. Even if you can’t do a lot, just be in the know, lend your voice. Yeah.

42:11
Something else that we’re getting ready to do. Probably have it in place by the end of the year. SEMA and PRI are the. Under the same mothership. PRI is a different show that focuses on motorsports, which is awesome.

42:22
And they do that indianapolis, right?

42:23
Yep, in December. But PRI fundamentally is a. A show and SEMA are lobbying our advocacy works on their behalf also. And, you know, we’ve become aware that a lot of mom and pop little racetracks end up being in the wrong place. The city wants to move out there, they want to build houses around them. They get pushed around, they get shut down, and they really don’t have anybody to turn to. So we’re going to develop some expertise in that and we’re going to. We’re going to have an employee or two who focuses on fighting back the city council or the county board or whatever it is that’s threatening your racetrack.

43:02
That’s fantastic.

43:03
Because they need help.

43:03
You know, they’re.

43:04
They’re mom and five operators.

43:05
Yeah. They just. They’re in it because they love it and. Yeah. And. And like you said, they were out in the country when they started, and next thing you know, somebody wants their land and. Yep. Yeah.

43:15
So we figured that was a good project for us.

43:17
I like it to help people.

43:18
Yeah.

43:19
I’ve got the great Sonny McDonald here from Toyota Tire. Sonny, Mike. Great to see you.

43:24
Get my friend.

43:25
Can you believe it? And now this is the first time we’ve done a live interview with video.

43:30
We’re going live. We’re going live. I mean, that’s what we do, right?

43:33
So we take it every step to the next level. And I’ll tell you right now, it’s. It’s amazing how many compliments I’ve gotten because of you doing our 200th episode. And it’s so funny because everybody’s like, man, your 200 was awesome. I go, it’s Sonny. He flipped the script on me. Made his first time I’ve ever been nervous.

43:52
No, that was great. And, you know, you’re right because I’ve had a lot of our dealers and our own employees go, wow, that was awesome. You know, so. But like I said, it’s. It’s.

44:01
First of all, we get along, so it’s easy.

44:03
Oh, it’s great.

44:04
You know, and then, you know, just rolling with it or whatever. But you’re. Everybody laugh. I mean, in a good way. But the background you brought.

44:12
Thank you.

44:13
I just wanted that personal touch for you. It was well deserved.

44:17
So you guys have a great looking tread pass again this year. The booth outside between Central and South. I mean that place is unbelievable. See, Neil’s never seen it. Oh. So he’s just like, oh my gosh. This is, it’s, it’s. I mean it’s memorable.

44:35
And that’s the best part of it, Mike, is I was just, were just talking about that. I like watching people go through our booth and all of a sudden they go look at that car and they run over to it and then all of a sudden they get their pictures and they’re looking through it and they’re so excited about it.

44:48
Here’s what you guys do that better than anybody else. You take the tire that people love, right?

44:54
Yes.

44:55
But you apply it to the different vehicles out there.

44:58
Yes.

44:59
That are just. I know they’re spruced up and everything, but you know, you got a truck out there, you got a Jeep out there, whatever. But you got all the different tires being exposed and kind of in real world play. And it’s not just seeing a tire on a rack.

45:13
Exactly.

45:13
And it’s so cool because the cars are just incredible and then you’re putting these great Toyo tires on them.

45:19
Yes.

45:19
And then it’s just like the application all comes together for people and I mean, because I think that’s what does it for somebody walking through there, like, oh my gosh. You know, we look at the tire on that thing, you know.

45:29
Yeah, exactly. And it really highlights the fact that, you know, we make tires people love for everything. Yeah. So whether you’re enthusiast, your tuner or your off roader, I mean we’re going to have a product and we’re going to have the size and that’s what’s.

45:42
And, and you’re displaying it actually on a vehicle.

45:45
On a vehicle and planning that mind. Oh yeah. They put that proxies on this car because it is a UHP oriented vehicle, you know, or we’ve got this tire on this vehicle that’s more like a crawler.

45:55
So.

45:56
Yeah. So it really showcases the quality of the products that we have and also the quality of the people that build and do this kind of thing. The enthusiast. I mean that’s. This is what this is all about.

46:06
And then for the layman like myself, I mean I can walk through there and go, okay, I see what that one’s going to look like if I picture it on my truck. You know, so. Yeah, no, very. I love yourall’s booth. I get excited about seeing it every year and it never, ever disappoints.

46:21
No. And, and this is, again, this is our 12th year being there, so. And we really just enjoy it and we love having our customers come to us and really talk of the enthusiasts of the builders and the social media and everything.

46:33
I’ll say this for the sake of everybody that’s listening and watching. When you go through that booth, it’s amazing how many people have their phones out. I mean, I feel like I’m getting my picture taken. It’s almost like, hey, I’ll get to your picture. But they don’t care. But just, you know, it’s all they all the whole time. It’s funny as heck though.

46:51
It’s non stop, you know, so we come out here early in the morning. I like to go to the show early. I like to walk to show, I like to look at the vehicles and then we have people come in. You know, we do interviews and we do a lot of social media stuff before the actual show starts to really get into, you know, the concept of the cars and the builders and what we’re trying to accomplish as well. So it’s great. It’s so much fun. This is what we do.

47:11
You know, it’s the super bow over industry. Yep. And I think I’ve done, I’ve said this a couple times on some of these other interviews. Sonny, I know you’ll back me up on this, but if you’re a dealer in this industry, you gotta come to this show.

47:24
Absolutely.

47:25
And the reason is that, you know, you get to meet a Toyo, the people behind Toyo, behind the brand itself, you get to meet you guys.

47:33
Right.

47:33
But you also get to meet like equipment companies like Hunter Engineering.

47:37
Right.

47:37
I mean, they’re in so many garages and people are contemplating buying new equipment all the time. We come out and see the latest and greatest and decide right there, you get to show and tell right now.

47:46
And that’s the beauty of it. I mean, just displaying. I mean, you know, we launch new products. Yes. You know, and we get to showcase that. We get a taste of build exc statements. So everybody’s like, oh my gosh, Toyo’s coming out with a new product or Hunter has something new as well too. So it’s a good way to showcase that as well, bring that interest.

48:02
And for the dealer that’s got to contemplate all these things, you get to do it all at one spot, you know, and get answers to your questions. But then another thing, I think, and I’m. I’m a big advocacy guy, you know, join SEMA because they advocate for the industry in Washington, D.C. and laws are important for us. Protection of stupid stuff. Exactly. And then you got TIA down the way here. Tire Industry Association. It’s important to be involved with tia. I mean, you know, and I, I can’t stress enough for dealers, but if you show up in Mass, let’s say, for instance, like, you know, if I could get a lot of dealers to start showing up out here, I don’t think you’ll disappoint. But I think you also create more leverage in the industry.

48:43
All.

48:43
All. And I know you think of yourself as one, but look at the. What one vote means in our country. Absolutely. Yeah. You show up at this event and you get a couple buddies in your 20 groups or whatever to show up too. You guys are going to discover things here that’s going to impact your business and you may change the course of your business in a very positive way.

49:05
Absolutely, absolutely. And a lot of times, well, let’s say when we sign up a new dealer on our, like our driven program or associate dealer program and they wave that Toyo banner. Oh, believe me, we change it because all of a sudden they’re like, oh, my gosh, all of a sudden I got people coming in asking for 35s and 37s. I don’t have the equipment. I don’t have the balancers. I don’t have the mounting equipment to do this kind of. But I want to do it. So you’re exactly right. So it changes the whole dynamic. And that’s when you get involved with like, hunters and the people who do that kind of stuff and that. It’s just, it’s. It just spreads to the industry. It’s crazy and it’s great. And this is why. This is the best.

49:40
SEMA does the best job in the world. We all know this.

49:43
And I’ll make a totally unsolicited plug for you guys. You’ve gotten to know Neil, but Neil, you know, when he had his stores, he said, oh, we sold a boatload of Toyos. Absolutely. He said that was our number one brand.

49:54
Yes.

49:54
And he’s always told me that. He said I loved selling Toyos.

49:58
Yep, exactly. So, and then we do. I just found out some exciting news. So, you know, we’re about being.

50:04
Breaking it here.

50:05
Yeah, we’re breaking it here. So we are. We are about made America. We have a beautiful plant located in White, Georgia. Yeah. It’s been there since. We’ve been building tires for 20 years there. So that’s 2005. Right. And Japan told us yesterday that they’re going to make another $200 million investment into that plant. So, again, Made America so excited.

50:24
Yes.

50:24
And, you know, 80% of what we produce out of that plant right now is all of our light truck, because this is light truck capital of the world. So. So we’re really excited. So the Made in America, that’s just a big thing for us.

50:35
So it is important. I mean, you know, yeah, it might be a tire company based out of Japan, but the real. This is American jobs. It’s American products. I mean, I used to give friends heck when they’d say, if I was driving a Toyota or something like that, why are you buying that car? I said, you know, how many of our US Companies make cars elsewhere now?

50:59
Right, Exactly.

51:02
But, you know, we have a Kentucky Toyota plant. I’m in Kentucky. Then we have one indiana, just right north of me.

51:09
Exactly.

51:09
So I’m sitting there like, do I support my neighbors and friends?

51:14
Yes.

51:14
Or am I going to support. You know what I’m saying? I believe. And it’s almost like you’re buying local.

51:18
Well, and that’s. We talked about that. Remember, the whole thing of buy local. Yeah. I mean, buy local, they’re going to take care of you. They’re going to make sure if something goes wrong, they’re always going to be there. It’s a people business. Buy local. And we’ve always talked about that as well. So. So we’re excited about that as well.

51:32
That’s awesome.

51:33
Yeah. So we’re just going to keep growing. The show keeps growing. It’s bigger, obviously.

51:37
You know, we’ve come a little way.

51:40
You guys have come a little way. You know, we’re working toward that 400, remember? Oh, yeah, we’re working toward that 400.

51:45
And we’re actually, I’ll tell. I’ll tell the audience here. But I am. We’re not here yet. We’ve got to figure out the, you know, the plan, how to do it. But we’ve thought about producing more frequently. Instead of one a week, maybe two a week.

51:58
Great.

51:58
Or instead of. And maybe it won’t be that fast, but maybe instead of doing, you know, four a month, we’ll do six a month.

52:04
Right.

52:04
Because there is a lot of people that we can interview.

52:06
Absolutely.

52:07
And we have discovered. I’ve said this multiple times now, but we have discovered that we thoroughly love connecting the industry.

52:15
Yes.

52:16
And we love building or promoting the brands and the people behind them.

52:20
Absolutely.

52:21
I said that the first time, I think, when I was doing the 2002 with you. But it’s resonated so much that’s. That is what we do. We love promoting the brands and the people behind it. And it’s a softball interview. You know, we’re here for the goodwill of the whole industry.

52:34
Absolutely. Absolutely. And it’s about networking, you know, and, you know, I’ve met people that I’ve talked to, which we had some guests here that were like, oh, I remember you, sonny. You know, so it’s just great. It’s great to see everybody come together.

52:45
Yeah.

52:46
We’re all friends. Okay. We’ve talked about.

52:48
Yes.

52:48
You know, we. You know, obviously we compete in the market for. But at the end of the day, we’re all friends. We’re all in this together. There’s plenty of room for everybody.

52:55
So I’ve been communicating with competitors in the media space. You know, we joke about. We all get.

53:01
Yes.

53:01
I mean, you know, because I think. I think actually there’s something about tower people.

53:05
All right.

53:05
Is there something about our industry? But everybody’s in it for the good. It feels like. It feels like. I don’t know what it is, but maybe I’m biased, but it feels like there’s just more salty. Salt of the earth people. We all want to make money, but there’s just more groundedness in this industry, and people just get along and we do.

53:24
And it’s like I said, it’s great just to see friends. And, you know, we’ve had people that have worked for us, and now they’re working for other manufacturers, and then we have people that worked over come for us, but we all stay together. We’re all friends, and, you know, and that’s what’s important.

53:36
I’ll give out the little. I’ll give out a little plug to our friend Sam about Felberbaum.

53:40
Yes, exactly.

53:40
Introduced us.

53:41
Yes, exactly.

53:41
He gives us crap because we get along so well. He’s like. He gets to do the 200.

53:46
Yeah, he got the 200, right. Yeah, yeah, but you’re. You’re exactly right.

53:50
So.

53:50
But yeah, but it’s. It’s just full circle. It’s just great.

53:52
It is here.

53:53
And. And it’s exciting. You know, I’ve always told myself personally, and probably you feel this way. If I ever get to the point where I’m not excited about coming out to sema, then it’s probably fine for me to move on because. Because this is what we do.

54:07
Yeah.

54:07
This is what we do. And that’s. That’s always been something to me. But I don’t have a problem with that because I love coming out here.

54:13
I’ll tell you. 100 your. Your passion is contagious. Thank you. And I always love seeing you. And thanks for coming on the fan.

54:18
Thank you so much, Mike. You’re the best.

54:20
You’re the best.

54:20
400 come on, let’s do it.

54:22
Thank you man. See you guys. To all our listeners, thank you for being part of the game Traction Pod. We are grateful for you. If you’d like to find more podcasts like this, please Visit Gain Traction podcast.com if you’d like to make your guest recommendation, please email [email protected] this episode has been powered by TREAD partners, the leader in digital marketing for multi location tire and auto repair shops. To Learn more about TREAD partners, visit treadpartners.com.

Contents hide

1 In this episode…

2 Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

3 Resources mentioned in this episode:

4 Meet the Leaders Featured in This Episode:

5 Quotable Moments:

6 Action Steps: