Wednesday, August 24, 2011 Late Bill Fountain To Be Recognized
 The Tire Industry Association (TIA) announced the recipients of the 2011 Tire Industry Hall of Fame. Amongst them is Bill Fountain, founder of Fountain Tire.
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.
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