After 55 years, the Donald B. Rice Tire Co. Inc. has a new trade name, Rice Tire, and a new logo focusing on tire solutions for retail, commercial and wholesale customers in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia markets.
As customers have called the company Rice Tire for years, the new name reflects customer preference and usage. "We had been considering shortening the Donald B. Rice Tire Co. name for a while," says Chris Chase, president.
"Everyone knows us as Rice Tire, so about a year ago we started working with a marketing company to give us advice on possibly rebranding ourselves."
The new logo and slogan, "Experts in Tire Solutions," reflects the company's evolution into a trusted source of products and services which improve the performance of passenger vehicles and the operations of commercial fleets.
"As the marketing company learned more about our business, they were amazed at the different solutions we had to solve tire problems for our customers. Solutions include Goodyear Retreading, Duraseal self-sealing tires, Hunter Road Force balance and alignment, Goodyear Fleet HQ emergency road service and preferred fleet programs. The list went on and on," says Chase.
The company dates its business back 55 years to its incorporation in 1959. But its roots go back to 1929, when Donald B. Rice Sr. founded a one-man retail shop in Frederick, Md. The senior Rice added large construction and commercial vehicle tire sales and service in 1956. Business grew on a reputation of service, value and integrity, which was captured by the slogan "Round Tires, Straight Deals."
"Our marketing consultants didn't feel that the slogan we have had for four decades, Round Tires, Straight Deals, adequately told our story. That's how the 'Experts in Tire Solutions' tagline came about. Since we were considering changing both our slogan and the name we go by, we thought it best to do it all at once," says Chase.
The new logo was designed in-house by Kate Speelman, who is marketing coordinator for Rice Tire.
The third generation of the Rice family is running the company today. The management team includes grandson Ken Rice II and Chase, who is a son-in-law.
Rice Tire operates nine stores in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., servicing a combination of retail, commercial and wholesale customers. The company serves commercial clients with a retreading plant in Winchester, Va., wholesale tire warehouses in Frederick, Md., and Cumberland, Md., and a fleet of over 70 delivery and emergency road service trucks.
