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the Sidney Tire has its beginning in April 1972. Founded by Hank and Gertie Vissers and family, the "original shop" was operated as a one-man operation with lots of help from the extended family. From 1972 to 1974 the business was run out of a converted storage shed and exclusively involved the sale and repair of tires.In 1974 three new service bays were added, including the alignment pit. This was the first expansion into additional automotive services, followed in 1975 by the introduction of complete brake services. As the demand for services grew, so did the demand for space. In 1979 the "original" shop was demolished to make room for 1 additional service bay, showroom and office, which completed the building to the way it is today. As more members of the family took an active role in the business, opportunities were explored for possible expansion in other locations. May 1982 saw the opening of our second location in Parksville. In 1988 a third location was opened in Nanaimo. Mid 1990 saw the start of our building expansion in Parksville. This meant 4 additional bays and complete renovation of the existing building including showroom. This project was completed in 1991 and allowed for an expansion into muffler service with the acquisition of a Minute Muffler franchise. In 1991 Sidney Tire advanced into the computer age with point of sale systems in all 3 locations. The year 2000 brought some major changes in the Sidney Tire era. We withdrew from our Minute Muffler franchise in all locations and are operating our exhaust division now completely on our own. Although the official name of the company continues to be Sidney Tire Ltd., we changed the operating name to Sidney Tire Auto Service, which identifies us with the multiple automotive services we now offer. In April 2000 we officially joined the Michelin Alliance Program and joined 1600 other tire dealers in North America. This required us to step down from the Excel buying group of which we were a long-time member. Our membership in the Alliance program provides us with tire purchasing power of a large organization and yet, allows us operate as the locally owned and operated company we are. In October 2006 Sidney Tire amalgamated the Parksville and Nanaimo operation and as such closed the Nanaimo store at Selby Street. All staff in Nanaimo was transferred to Parksville. The company presently employs 23 employees in 2 locations. The current owners Hank and Gertie Vissers, Herb Vissers, Ron Vissers and Nick Lansdorp are proud of their business and are fully committed to provide "professional service with a personal touch". The owners, managers and employees of Sidney Tire Auto Service continue to strive on the professional service with a personal touch to establish the best Tire and Auto Service Company on Vancouver Island.
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