Eric Roberts of Pellon Autocentre in Halifax, West Yorkshire, is this year(2011) celebrating “40 years” of working in the tyre trade both as an employee and now the managing director of his own business.
He started out working as a car tyre fitter in a small tyre company called William Briggs, in Dewsbury West Yorkshire, as a car tyre fitter . Eric was a very enthusiastic worker and soon became office manager. Briggs were bought by Dunlop tyres and formed a large group known then as Marsham tyres.
His second stint in the tyre industry took him to a Leeds company called Kurt Neilds Earthmover tyres, which was soon to be a subsidiary of Goodyear tyres . Eric loved working at Neilds, as he was able to work in the different departments that the company had and gain a large amount of experience that was to become invaluable in his later life when owning his own company.
His main job was as an earthmover tyre fitter, covering the whole of the UK. For this he had to take his heavy goods driving test, to enable the weights of the large earthmover tyres to be handled on and off the giant machines that he worked on that were used on Britain’s new motorway system, including the then new M62 cross country motorway in his beloved Yorkshire. He also worked on the opencast coal fields that were prominent all across the country in the 70s and 80s.
In the early seventies Eric took time out of the tyre industry to work as a fire fighter but after a serious accident, he went to work for Goodyear tyres owned Tyre services, a multi chain of retail tyre depots across the UK. With his wealth of experience he soon became a top manager and was recognised by the American owners of Goodyear by awarding him a trip to the states all expenses paid.
This became a real eye opener for Eric, who soon began to realise that he could perhaps run his own business . His dream came into fruition when his long time friend Peter Winfield offered to become a partner in a new adventure.
The two friends looked for possible premises and found a site in Birstall West Yorkshire, forming a company called Kut-Kost tyres. Their business thrived and the business became very successful. At the end of nine years Eric and Peter had three retail depots and were now doing all the services that we now associate with modern auto centres.
Shell oil were looking to set a chain of fast-fit depots to rival the rapidly growing Kwik-Fit organisation and Kut-Kost were to be one of their targets.
Eric and Peter were made an offer that they could refuse and sold out to Shell. After a short period of rest the two partners decided to go their own ways and Eric went on to his second venture and bought a run down tyre business in Halifax West Yorkshire.
Over the years Eric has injected his own brand of energy and enthusiasm and built his business to the successful state that it is in today. He looks back with no regrets and explains”that tyres have give him and his family a good standard of living in good and bad times, meeting hundreds of friends and staff along the journey , not regretting a single moment in all the 40 years”.
Eric Roberts is still the owner of Pellon Tyre and Auto centre in Halifax West Yorkshire and offers tyres and batteries online at www.pellonautocentre.com
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