[SEMA Series Episode 1 of 3] Connecting Tire Leaders with Don Detore, Clint Young, Doug Kershaw, Melanie White, and Scott Bishop

Episode 153

Don Detore, Clint Young, Doug Kershaw, Melanie White, Scott Bishop

2024 SEMA Roundup Series - Episode 1/3

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Don Detore, Editor at Tire Business, oversees the daily editorial operations of Tire Business, the leading trade magazine for the tire industry published by Crain Communications. Don also has experience as a managing editor, adjunct professor, and executive editor.

Clint Young, President and Chief Operating Officer at Point S Tire and Auto Service, has been with the company for almost 10 years. Clint’s role focuses on creating growth and improving the member experience at Point S Tire, which has more than 350 points of sale across the US.

Doug Kershaw is Head of Operations at Ferentino Tire USA, with a proven history of developing and executing strategic initiatives. He previously served as Executive Vice President of KAL Group and as President – USA of BKT Tires, where he generated over $700K in sales in the first 2 months.

Melanie White, CEO at Hellwig Suspension Products, is the fourth generation leader of the family-owned business. She also serves on industry committees, demonstrating her leadership and dedication to the automotive aftermarket sector.

Scott Bishop, Vice President of Independent Channel Sales at Sailun Tire Americas, has over 20 years of experience in the tire industry. Scott joined Sailun in August 2024 after spending five years at Falken Tire in various sales roles.

In this episode…

The automotive industry thrives on relationships, innovation, and timely information. How do industry leaders leverage events like SEMA to strengthen their businesses and stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market?

Don Detore from Tire Business, Clint Young from Point S Tire and Auto Service, Doug Kershaw from Ferentino Tire USA, Melanie White from Hellwig Suspension Products, and Scott Bishop from Sailun Tire Americas all agree that SEMA serves as a crucial hub for networking, showcasing products, and staying informed about the latest trends. They emphasize the importance of face-to-face interactions with partners, customers, and peers from around the world. This annual event provides a unique opportunity to establish new connections, reinforce existing relationships, and gain insights into emerging technologies and market demands, all of which are vital for business growth and adaptation in the automotive sector.

On this episode of Gain Traction, join Mike Edge at SEMA, where he chats with Don, Clint, Doug, Melanie and Scott about the importance of industry relationships, the global reach of tire organizations, the role of trade shows in product showcasing, and the value of timely industry news. They discuss how SEMA facilitates networking, product launches, and staying updated on automotive trends.

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

[03:48] How Tire Business breaks and expands on industry news
[05:48] The value of SEMA as a relationship-building platform
[07:25] The scale of Point S Tire’s operations and impact on the tire and auto industry globally
[09:25] How SEMA inspires with new technology and lifelong friendships
[13:31] SEMA’s role in showcasing products and building connections
[16:13] SEMA: A week for networking and impactful meetings

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Quotable Moments:

“SEMA is important to us because we like to establish, maintain, and promote our relationships with everybody in the industry.” – Don Detore
“The owner gets to keep their name, they keep doing business as they normally would. They just get all the benefits of a much larger organization.” – Clint Young
“I just saw one guy I hadn’t seen in five years. Really, really good to be back here, and I really do like the show.” – Doug Kershaw
“SEMA is this great place that we get to show off our products. We get to connect with our customers.” – Melanie White
“Things are still bought and sold with relationships. This is a great week to be here.” – Scott Bishop

Action Steps:

Partner with leading industry publications: Elevate your platform by aligning with established authorities in your industry.
Develop a unique series of informational content: Provide your audience with specialized knowledge and keep them engaged over time.
Focus on relationships and networking at industry events: Facilitate new partnerships and strengthen existing connections.
Emphasize prompt and in-depth news reporting: Keep your audience informed and position your platform as a go-to resource.
Encourage innovation and showcase new products at industry shows: Highlight your progressive approach and commitment to industry advancements.

Transcript

Announcer:

Welcome to the Gain Traction podcast, where we feature top automotive entrepreneurs and experts and share their inspiring stories. Now let’s get started with the show.

Mike:

Hello folks. Welcome to the Gain Traction podcast. I am Mike Edge, your host. You all know Tire Business, the leading publication in the industry. Well, now they are the exclusive media partner for Gain Traction podcast. We have teamed up and you can now find Gain Traction on tirebusiness.com. We are the official podcast for Tire Business now and very excited about it. So this show’s really unique because we did a unique podcast going to SEMA. Today’s podcast is the first of the 2024 SEMA Roundup series where I interviewed 15 industry leaders at SEMA. We then segmented them into a three-part series with five interviews each.

Before we get started though, we’ve got to do our sponsorship. This podcast is brought to you by Tread Partners, the leading digital marketing agency for tire and auto repair operations, that have five to hundreds of locations. Multi location shops face an entirely unique set of challenges. Tread Partners gets it. If you own or operate five plus locations, or let’s say you’re part of private equity, don’t waste time and money with marketing agencies that don’t specialize in this space. Get with Tread partners today and make your marketing predictable and profitable with clear reporting. To learn more, visit treadpartners.com.

All right, so let’s get this podcast started. Just to give you a little heads up, you’ll be listening to me at SEMA interviewing the following five people. Don Datore with Tire Business, Clint Young with Point S Tire USA, Melanie White with Hellwig products, and she is also the Chair-Elect for SEMA. And the last interview is with Scott Bishop of Sailun Tire North America. Hope you enjoy it.

All right folks, I’m here with Don Datore, I’m at the Tire Business booth at SEMA 2024. Don, welcome back to the Gain Traction podcast.

Don:

It’s always great to be back, Mike. Thank you.

Mike:

Yeah, well, we’re talking about SEMA, we’re talking about Tire Business out here and for that matter, Gain Traction and our collaboration, but you guys are the standard-bearer in the industry in regards to news and reporting and articles, et cetera. How do you guys do that?

Don:

Well, thanks for noting that, Mike. I think we, first of all, have a passion for the industry and we have a staff that understands that what the industry wants to read and that they want to read it now as opposed to read it two or three days later. So our mission is to provide the most complete, the most up to date, and the most comprehensive information and news we can, to tire dealers and others that read our publications. Our audience drives everything we do and we try to give them the tools they need to do their jobs better.

Mike:

I think you guys do it very well. And I’ve actually referred to you guys as the Wall Street Journal in the industry because you do cover so much at a high level, but at very in-depth level too. And you have so many great people that you write articles on or that you get a press break from or you interview, and I’m talking about presidents specific tire companies or all the way to different dealers, to people acquiring other people.

Don:

Yeah, it’s interesting because we pride ourselves in not regurgitating news that we get supplied to us. We try to provide perspective and more information than other news outlets might do. And then we also do it in the most expedient way possible. Two examples of that happened this week at SEMA. I had the opportunity on Tuesday to sit down with Mark Stewart, the CEO of Goodyear. And we had a great conversation and I was able to turn around a story that we broke online pretty much 12 hours after I talked to Mr. Stewart. And then just this morning we got word that Sumitomo is closing its Buffalo plant, which is huge news in the industry. And I got a call from one of our reporters 6:00 AM local time, to tell me about it. And we had that sucker posted not long after that.

Mike:

That’s awesome.

Don:

It’s important industry news, people want to know.

Mike:

Amen. And that’s why we turned to Tire Business. And real quick, what do you guys get from SEMA and what do you guys try to contribute to SEMA? Why is SEMA important?

Don:

SEMA is important to us because we like to establish and maintain and promote our relationships with everybody in the industry. Everybody I talk to says the tire industry is all about relationships and that’s what SEMA is all about, establishing those, enhancing those, finding new people that we didn’t know existed from other parts of the world that want to sell their products here. So it’s all about that. It’s all about getting relationships and again, serving the readers that subscribe and depend on us for their news and information.

Mike:

That’s awesome. Well, Don, I want to say thanks for being on the podcast again, but the other thing I want to thank you for is the collaboration that we’ve got going with Tire Business and Gain Traction. We’re proud to be [inaudible 00:05:59] exclusive podcast partner and making you guys our media partner. And I think we’re going to have a lot of fun.

Don:

I’m really excited about it, Mike, and we couldn’t be associated with a better person or a better organization.

Mike:

Wow! You’re very kind, thank you. Feelings mutual and have a good SEMA.

Don:

[inaudible 00:06:18].

Mike:

Hey folks, Mike Edge here with the Gain Traction podcast. I’m sitting down with Clint Young, president and COO of Point S USA. Clint, welcome to the Gain Traction podcast.

Clint:

Thanks, Mike. It’s great to finally meet you.

Mike:

Yeah, well we did talk on the phone about a year ago didn’t we?

Clint:

We did, yeah. You were prepping to do an interview with Walter Lybeck, our CEO.

Mike:

That’s right.

Clint:

And I wanted to make sure it was all on the up and up.

Mike:

Did it work out all right for you?

Clint:

It was great. You guys did a great job.

Mike:

So tell us about SEMA. You guys, you come out here to SEMA. What brings you here?

Clint:

I think most organizations in the auto industry get drawn to SEMA. We do specifically because it’s our most convenient way to meet with our manufacturer partners. And so getting out here, seeing them, and then also connecting with our Point S brothers and sisters from around the world, it’s a good opportunity-

Mike:

You were telling me about that. That sounds interesting. So how big is Point S around the world? I think this is interesting.

Clint:

Yeah. So today we’re 52 countries.

Mike:

Golly man.

Clint:

I know it’s nuts. And store count wise, it’s hard to keep track, but let’s just say we’re north of 6,000 retail locations.

Mike:

Isn’t that amazing? Is there a bigger organization?

Clint:

Not like us. No.

Mike:

For tires?

Clint:

No, I wouldn’t think so.

Mike:

That’s enormous.

Clint:

Especially one that represents the independent tire owner.

Mike:

And explain that to people that don’t know Point S, real quick. What does that mean? Because they get the Point S name, but they remain independent, correct?

Clint:

Correct. Yeah. So we go through a co-branding process just so there’s some marketing identification across the US or the country for that matter, or the world. And the owner gets to keep their name, they keep doing business as they normally would. They just get all the benefits of a much larger organization.

Mike:

That’s awesome.

Clint:

Yeah.

Mike:

So when you’re out here for the three, four days out here, do you go to some of the receptions, tire manufacturers et cetera?

Clint:

Yeah. Yeah. So we spend most of our time networking and just reconnecting with tire manufacturers, their partners.

Mike:

It’s really the only time of the year that you can do it, isn’t it? I mean, everybody kind of already looks forward to it. Everybody already knows everybody’s going to be there so it’s like-

Clint:

You can do it throughout the year, but you’re going to be going one-to-one, and you’re going to be traveling and you’re going to be bouncing all over the place. Everybody’s here, so it’s convenient.

Mike:

That’s why we love SEMA. I mean, I can come, I’ve said this before, probably said it on the last interview, but I mean it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. Everybody’s in the barrel at the same time, you know.

Clint:

It’s kind of cheating a little bit but why not right?

Mike:

Well, it feels like it because now you’re only a block away from everybody.

Clint:

I know.

Mike:

Whoever you got to meet, they’re probably going to be there. And it’s interesting, we were talking about how your days can fill up very quick.

Clint:

Yeah, I don’t envy your schedule here. I thought mine was tough.

Mike:

But it just makes it so much fun and easy. And then you get to … A lot of these people I’ve had on the podcast before, but you get to finally meet them like you. I’m meeting you. We talked a year ago.

Clint:

Yeah, I’m 30 years in the auto industry. I’m 10 years in the tire industry, and so 10 years is a chunky piece of time, but I’ve made some great lifelong friends here-

Mike:

That’s awesome.

Clint:

… At SEMA. And that’s a big part of SEMA, right? You come here to get inspired. If you get a chance to go over to the floor show, I mean, it’s impressive.

Mike:

It is.

Clint:

The new technology innovation that’s happening and makes you proud to be in the industry.

Mike:

Clint, thanks for being on Gain Traction.

Clint:

Thanks for having me. It’s great to finally meet you.

Mike:

We’ll see you around.

Hey folks. Mike Edge here. I got Doug Kershaw with me. He is head of operations for Ferentino Tire. Doug, we’ve had you on the podcast before. Welcome back.

Doug:

Thank you. I appreciate it.

Mike:

Yeah. So we’re here at SEMA. Tell us why you’re at SEMA.

Doug:

So I just joined Ferentino Tires, and so I’m basically running their operations for them. And we already were signed up to come to SEMA, And at first I thought, well, it’s probably not a good idea to come here because it’s really not that type of show for our kind of products. We have solid tires and passenger car tires, but actually we found out that the show is going pretty well for us here on the first day of the show. We met a lot of people. A lot of people interested in the product, especially the passenger car tires. Yeah, it’s been a very good show for us so far. Of course, this is day one and we’re very happy to be here.

Mike:

Well, and I’m not going to give everybody your age, Doug, but you’ve been in the industry a long time.

Doug:

A very long time.

Mike:

You were just talking about how many people you’ve already seen that you know, just walk by your booth and go, “Hey!”

Doug:

It’s very strange to me.

Mike:

Isn’t that fun?

Doug:

It is, but it’s also very strange to me because yeah, I’ve been in the business for 34, almost 35 years.

Mike:

But you started when you were only nine, right?

Doug:

Yeah, right. I wish. But it’s okay. I mean, this is a great show. It’s a great industry and I know a lot of good people and friends with a lot of them as well. So it’s actually great to see all the people that I know. It is kind of interesting though, how more and more people coming by and people I haven’t seen in five years, some of them. I just saw one guy I hadn’t seen in five years. Really, really good to be back here. And I really do like the show.

Mike:

And anything you want to highlight about Ferentino Tires that stands out to you for the show?

Doug:

Yeah, the one thing that’s really interesting for us, of course, we are very strong in solid tires, forklift tires, press-on solids, resilience, and we also do it up to telehandlers. But the interesting thing about this show, because this is SEMA, is our passenger tires. So we have really just one line. It’s the touring. We don’t have AD, AT or HT yet, but that’s okay. It’s going to be coming. It’s fairly new. And we do have some distribution in the United States. We’re looking for more.

Mike:

Nice.

Doug:

We want to grow the business and it’s a very nice tire. Now, I’m not an expert when it comes to passenger car tires, but when I look at the tires and how they’re built, and as much as I know about tires, they look like a very nice tire. And from what I understand, people who use this tire are very pleased with it.

Mike:

Awesome.

Doug:

So the quality’s there, the ride is there, the comfort is there. So it’s very good. I would encourage people to come by and take a look.

Mike:

Well, before I let you go, I got to congratulate you on your World Series win with the Dodgers because I know you’re a big fan.

Doug:

Absolutely. Yes, I am.

Mike:

I’m a Cardinals fan, but we’ve got a lot of work to do to get back at the top, but it was a pretty outstanding performance. And again, thanks for being part of the Gain Traction podcast.

Doug:

I appreciate it, Mike. Good to see you.

Mike:

Thanks very much. All right, I’m here with Melanie White, president of Hellwig Products. Melanie, you were on the podcast last year, welcome back.

Melanie:

I was. I’m so excited to see you again, Mike. Thanks for coming here.

Mike:

So I didn’t realize you had two years in waiting for being the Chair-Elect.

Melanie:

I do. Yeah. So next July, so I will be July 2025.

Mike:

So can I get it on record? I’ll get an interview next year as well.

Melanie:

Yes, absolutely. I love that.

Mike:

Let’s talk about SEMA real quick. Why do you guys come?

Melanie:

SEMA is this great place that we get to show off our products. We get to connect with our customers. It’s one place, everyone comes together. And honestly, it also turns into this we’ve got to get all of our stuff there to the SEMA show. It’s like this pivotal point that starts in the year. It’s like great like starting a New Year’s resolution, January 1st. It’s kind of like that.

Mike:

You know what I kind of compare it to, or it’s been coming to my thoughts listening to other exhibitors, it’s kind like your normal retail person during Christmas, and that usually makes up a ton of their sales for the year. That’s what this is because you meet everybody. I mean a big portion of your customer base, and it’s very impactful.

Melanie:

Yeah, it’s incredible. And just the commitments that we can talk about, the things that happen, I mean, in a 10-minute conversation sometimes.

Mike:

It’s crazy.

Melanie:

It’s pretty amazing.

Mike:

Yeah, no, and I’ve been interviewing so many folks and they tell me how many people they have lined up before they even get here, and then they’re exhausted at the end of each day. But it’s great. I mean, it’s all one big shot, but you can get so much knocked out. That’s why we love SEMA. Is there anything you want to highlight real quick in this interview of products that you’re just [inaudible 00:14:41]?

Melanie:

Yeah, I mean, we’re launching a bunch of stuff in the load and sway control arena. We’re sway bars and helper springs. We have a Dodge here in the booth, and so we’re featuring that, front and rear sway bars on that. It’s a Black Widow-

Mike:

Looks awesome.

Melanie:

… Trim package, Ram. It’s amazing. And then it has a Tune camper on top, but it’s been great to be able to showcase what we’re doing here and how our suspension works.

Mike:

That’s awesome.

Melanie:

So that’s been really fun. We’re talking to dealers, trying to grow our dealer network and all kinds of different things here.

Mike:

Well, I wish you the best of luck. Thanks for being part of the Gain Traction podcast again.

Melanie:

Yeah, awesome. Thank you so much for stopping by.

Mike:

Hey folks, Mike Edge here again with the Gain Traction podcast. I’m at the SEMA Show and I’m sitting with Scott Bishop, Vice President of the Independent Channel for Sailun Tire North America. Scott, welcome to the Gain Traction podcast.

Scott:

Thank you, Mike. Thanks for having me on.

Mike:

Yeah, so this is first time on our podcast, but tell us a little bit about yourself, where you came from and how you ended up at Sailun.

Scott:

Yeah, I spent many years with Bridgestone on the TWW side and then did a small stint in the container business and then moved over to Falken Tire, and I was there for five years. And recently, actually about eight weeks ago, I moved over to Sailun Tires America.

Mike:

Brand new at Sailun.

Scott:

Yeah, brand new.

Mike:

Awesome. So you’re here at SEMA. What does SEMA bring to you? Why do you like to be at SEMA?

Scott:

Yeah, I love SEMA. It’s kind of like a jam-packed week of seeing all your customers at one time and you get to have maybe a beverage with them and a nice meal. But yeah, just back-to-back meetings.

Mike:

And it is a lot of good networking, isn’t it?

Scott:

Absolutely.

Mike:

And you get to do it all at one time.

Scott:

You do it all at one time, then you go home and rest for a couple of days. I think a couple of weeks before, it’s a little bit of anxiety, like, hey, there’s a lot of work coming up, a lot of preparation. But once you’re here and once you get in front of familiar people, and I mean, look, some of it is just how you doing in relationship building, but sometimes really good things come of it and you have quite a few impactful meetings that some good nuggets will come out of.

Mike:

What blows my mind is, even though we’re in a technological world and it gets more and more that way, nothing replaces meeting people face-to-face and getting to know them.

Scott:

Oh yeah, absolutely.

Mike:

Even if you’re on a Zoom meeting, it still doesn’t do it.

Scott:

Well, people buy tires for quality, price, service, but I was just talking to someone earlier, if they don’t like you, that’s an obstacle you got to overcome. So being likeable, I’m not saying that I have that by the way, but …

Mike:

Sometimes, right?

Scott:

Yeah, once in a while. But yeah, I mean relationships, things are still bought and sold with relationships, and this is a great week to be here.

Mike:

Is there anything that stands out that you want to promote that Sailun is doing right now that stands out in your mind, or from a tire perspective or what you guys are looking for now that you’re involved in that Independent Channel? What do you want to bring to the independents?

Scott:

Yeah, I think first of all, the market is trending in this direction. Sailun makes an incredible product. They have great customer service, really from the time you order until the time it’s delivered, I think they’re the best in the business. We have really, really good people.

Mike:

That’s awesome. Well, and that fits the whole mantra of know, like and trust, right? People want to buy from people they know, like, and trust.

Scott:

Yeah, absolutely. Ron Dolan, our president, and also Peter, people trust them. And that’s one of the big reasons that I’m here, is that I think that their really, leadership, and some additional things that we can do. We’re going to be very successful.

Mike:

Scott, thanks for being part of Gain Traction.

Scott:

Absolutely. Thanks for having me on.

Mike:

Good luck with SEMA.

Scott:

Appreciate it.

Mike:

Thank you.

Well, folks, I hope you enjoyed part one of our 2024 SEMA roundup series. To all our listeners, thank you for being part of the podcast. We are always grateful for you. If you would like to recommend a guest to me, please email me at [email protected]. That’s all folks. We will see you next time on Gain Traction.

Announcer:

Thanks for listening to the Gain Traction podcast. We’ll see you again next time and be sure to click subscribe to get future episodes.

Contents hide

1 In this episode…

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

1.2 Resources mentioned in this episode:

1.2.1 Quotable Moments:

1.2.2 Action Steps: