Member Spotlight:听Shrader Tire & Oil
Shrader Tire & Oil still has plenty of tread
has been in its Sylvania Avenue location for many years. Calling it a fixture, though, is misleading. Fixtures tend not to change. The company is more like a hub of innovation, forward motion and determination to stay ahead of every curve.听
At the helm is Joe Shrader, third generation of the family that started as true entrepreneurs and founders of a family dynasty. 鈥淢y grandfather and grandmother, Jim and Bernie, founded the company in 1948 after he declined a position in Washington, D.C., to be the government liaison for Goodyear Tire.
鈥淢y grandmother told him that he could move to Washington, but she would stay in Toledo, where she was from,鈥� Joe added, smiling at the familiar family story. 鈥淗e had his priorities straight, and Toledo remained their home.鈥�
As founder, the first Jim Shrader cast a long shadow over his family and the company they continued to build. When Joe and his brother John graduated from The University of Toledo, many businesses鈥� best practice was that potential family business successors should work at companies outside their own for a time, then return when they鈥檇 gained experience.
鈥淭here was actually a war between my father Jim Jr., who was president by that time, and my grandfather. It had been arranged that I would work at Goodyear and John would go to Firestone,鈥� Joe said.
鈥淢y grandfather said, 鈥楾hey may never come back.鈥� He won out, and we went directly into the family business.鈥�
This is where the UT Center for Family Business was able to fill the gap. 鈥淭he knowledge I didn鈥檛 get by working outside the business, I was able to get from other organizations. I used the resources of the Family Business Center, and in fact, Walt Churchill and I were in the center鈥檚 very first affinity group, back in the 1990s, when his father General Churchill was still alive.
鈥淭he affinity group was called 鈥楴ext Generation,鈥� and everybody in the group was in line to potentially take over the family business. It was a great group, all of us in the same boat, but at different stages of our careers. In some cases, the businesses took paths that weren鈥檛 expected. Churchill鈥檚 was a great example 鈥� Walt ended up creating his own business.鈥�
An early sense of mission
Joe says that he always knew he wanted to eventually become president of Shrader Tire & Oil. 鈥淚 grew up in the business. I was able to make sales calls with my grandfather when he was still in charge,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hen my dad took the business over, it was for 15 years. I was 38 when I took over. We had a good succession process in place, put a lot of planning into it, and used the resources of Family Business Center.
鈥淚 give my dad a lot of credit; he wanted the business to continue rather than cash out 鈥� which would have been his right. Keeping a company strong takes a desire from one generation to the next.鈥�
It takes nimbleness as well, and the willingness to make tough decisions 鈥� like the one Shrader Tire & Oil made in the 1990s to focus entirely on being a business-to-business enterprise for trucking and related companies. Until then, Shrader had serviced passengers cars 鈥� and 鈥渨e were the place to buy tires!鈥� Joe interjects. It was a hard choice, he allows, but one made because of a changing market.
It proved to be a wise choice. Today Shrader Tire & Oil employs more than 200 employees, having just completed a large acquisition and opened more locations. With facilities in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, plus regular business in several other states, the company offers have a 24-hour road service that caters to trucking companies nationwide.
Challenges and rewards of family business
A seasoned player in the family business arena, Joe also has plenty of contacts in the corporate world. His preference is clear. 鈥淗ere, you get a higher level of dedication when it鈥檚 your name on the building, although I don鈥檛 think of it as mine; it鈥檚 my grandfather鈥檚, my father鈥檚.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a motivator to do your best, to honor the founders.鈥�
His pride in Shrader鈥檚 employees is clear, even those who don鈥檛 wear the family name. 鈥淓mployees are here because of the way they鈥檙e treated. All I鈥檓 doing is to follow the lead of my father and grandfather. I don鈥檛 want to make a big deal of it, but we have a history of helping employees financially when their life circumstances become difficult. I don鈥檛 think every company does that, but this is the culture we鈥檝e always had.鈥�
To codify the Shrader culture 鈥� known in the company as the STO Way 鈥� the company spends much time on communications, Joe says. 鈥淲e focus not just on managers, but everyone on the line. It鈥檚 harder when we have offices that are four hour away, so we work hard on keeping the message consistent and distributing it to everybody.鈥�
Joe鈥檚 brother John is head of sales; they function as co-owners. The arrangement works, Joe notes, because the brothers complement each other鈥檚 skills, and get along very well. He adds, 鈥淧eople are here because they want to be here, and because they contribute. If people can鈥檛 contribute to the company, they can鈥檛 be here.
鈥淢y grandfather used to say that in a family business, you had to work twice as hard for half the pay.鈥�
In the Shrader narrative, each generation in a family business plays an essential role. The first generation is made up of the entrepreneurs who establish the business. The second generation sets the direction. And under Joe鈥檚 presidency? He鈥檚 quick to answer: 鈥淭he third generation professionalizes everything, makes sure it runs like a corporation.鈥�
Yet not quite like a typical corporation, he adds. 鈥淎 non-family business might have a great culture right now, based on who鈥檚 in charge 鈥� but that can change overnight.
鈥淥ne of the things I hold myself accountable for is maintaining our culture.鈥�
And for the future?
听鈥淚 will be happy when the day comes to become the CEO, let go of the day-to-day realities of holding the presidency,鈥� Joe says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e blessed with a lot of good people, but I鈥檓 still looking for that perfect successor. It takes a special skill set, and a passion for that leadership position.鈥�
Given the determination that鈥檚 marked the company so far, there鈥檚 little doubt of a successful search.听 听听