BOWIE, Md. – The Tire Industry Association (TIA), one of the leading global authorities on tires, today announced the recipients of the 2011 Tire Industry Hall of Fame: Bill Fountain, founder of Fountain Tire; John Gamauf, president, Consumer Replacement Tire (retired) of Bridgestone North American Tire; Onkar Kanwar, chairman, Apollo Tyres, Ltd.; and Ralph “Buddy” Snow, vice president & counsel (retired) for Oliver Rubber.
The Hall of Fame inductions are a part of TIA’s Tire Industry Honors event, which will take place from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 31, 2011, at The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas in Las Vegas. Admission to Tire Industry Honors is complimentary; however, an RSVP is required. To make an RSVP, visit the “Events” section of www.tireindustry.org, or call (800) 876-8372, ext. 104.
Bill Fountain is the late founder of Edmonton, Alberta-based Fountain Tire. In 1956, Bill and Jack Fountain opened the first Fountain Tire store in Wainwright, Alberta. Bill’s vision and drive led the company to add agricultural tire services to meet the needs of local farmers and to eventually expand the business into more rural areas. He established stores in Fort St. John, British Columbia and Whitehorse, Yukon – towns that serviced much of the burgeoning Alaska Highway. The new locations proved successful, setting the blueprint for the business’ future growth. He also set up key store managers as owner-partners in their stores. In 1967, Bill Fountain and other tire dealers from Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta formed Astro Tire & Rubber Co., creating their own private label tire brand. In 1976, 20 years after he had started the business, Bill was killed in a tragic car accident. Today, Fountain Tire has 145 locations across western Canada. In 2006, the Western Canada Tire Dealers Association honored Bill with its Pioneer Member Award, and in 2005, Alberta Venture magazine named him one of the “100 Alberta Entrepreneurs of the Century.” He was recently inducted into the Alberta Business Hall of Fame.
John Gamauf joined Firestone Tire & Service Center in Chicago in 1969 as a general service technician, rising through the ranks as one of the most dynamic, influential and respected individuals in the tire industry. As the years continued, he took on various positions of increasing responsibility, from assistant wholesale zone manager in Chicago to vice president of consumer tire sales. He was also primarily responsible for creating one of the most successful dealer programs in the industry, the Affiliated Dealer Program, which is now a core component of the company’s Family Channel philosophy. In May 2003, he assumed the title of president, consumer replacement tire of Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC, where he served in this capacity until his retirement in May of 2008. He has been active in many civic organizations, including the Walter Payton Foundation raising money for Alliance for Children, and he was Bridgestone’s chairman for the Nashville United Way campaign.
Onkar Kanwar plays a pivotal role in Apollo Tyres’ operations and the articulation of its business philosophy. Under his leadership, Apollo Tyres transformed itself from an ailing company to become the #1 commercial vehicle tire manufacturer in India and a global entity with a full-fledged product portfolio, with manufacturing facilities on three continents and multiple brands across product segments. He has been closely associated with leading national and international industry organizations, including serving as president of FICCI and chairman of ATMA. An initiative close to his heart is Apollo Tyres’ HIV-AIDS awareness and prevention program for the trucking community. His interest in healthcare led him to establish a super-specialty, tertiary care hospital, Artemis Health Institute, in Gurgaon, India.
Ralph “Buddy” Snow started his career in the retread industry with his family-owned business, Dixie-Cap, in 1965. In 1969, he was elected president of Dixie-Cap and served in that capacity until the company was acquired by Oliver Rubber in 1979. For the next 23 years, he served as the vice president & counsel for Oliver Rubber, until retiring in 2002. In 2003, he became a registered mediator with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution and still serves in that role. He was one of the founders of the Tread Rubber & Tire Repair Materials Manufacturing Group (TRMG), where he participated in writing the bylaws and served several times over the years as chairman, corporate secretary and permanent chair of the Legislative Committee. He was also actively involved in the formation of the Tire Retread Information Bureau (TRIB), where he served as corporate secretary and as a member of the Board of Directors. He also helped form the Retread Industry Government Advisory Council (RIGAC) in 1992, where he assisted in writing the Articles of Incorporation for RIGAC and served as its corporate secretary and TRMG delegate.
“On behalf of the Tire Industry Association, I congratulate Bill Fountain, John Gamauf, Onkar Kanwar and Buddy Snow on their induction to this year’s Tire Industry Hall of Fame class. Their remarkable careers have helped to make the tire industry what it is today, and they exemplify everything that is great about this industry,” said TIA executive vice president Roy Littlefield. NOTE: Photos of these inductees are available in the “News” section of TIA’s website, www.tireindustry.org.
About TIA
TIA is an international association representing all segments of the tire industry, including those that manufacture, repair, recycle, sell, service or use new or retreaded tires, and also those suppliers or individuals who furnish equipment, material or services to the industry. The Tire Industry Association (TIA) has a history that spans more than 80 years and includes several name changes. Originally known as the National Tire Dealers & Retreaders Association (NTDRA), the organization gave birth over the years to the American Retreaders Association (ARA) and the Tire Association of North America (TANA). ARA changed its name to the International Tire & Rubber Association (ITRA) and merged with TANA in 2002 to form the current Tire Industry Association (TIA), which now represents every interest in the tire industry. For more information, visit www.tireindustry.org, or call (800) 876-8372.
