Business of the Year
Johnson Tire Service
Johnson Tire Service has come a long way from when its founder C. Edwin Johnson first began working with tires and batteries.
“He saw a lot of things change in the business, and it continues to change,” said Riley Johnson, Edwin’s great-grandson. Riley now runs Johnson Tire with his cousin Jeff Jackson.
Johnson Tire began its second century in business after celebrating its 100th birthday in 2024.
Riley and Jeff are the fourth generation of the Johnson family to run the business, but many other family members work there as well. Johnson Tire has grown to become a business with approximately $15 million in annual sales.
“Springville’s been really good to us. Business is good. We live in a great community and, you know, Springville’s just awesome,” Riley said.
C. Edwin Johnson was a World War I veteran who was wounded in the European theater. After he recovered and was released from active duty, he learned he was eligible for a government loan to attend school. He’d always been interested in automobiles and eventually decided to attend an automotive school in Denver. The school specialized in generator and battery work and, as this was the early 1920s and the automobile was just coming into its own, Ed decided it was a field worth exploring.
After graduating from school, Ed was certified to repair and rebuild generators and starters as well as warehouse and check car batteries during the winter months. Upon returning to Utah, both Ed and his wife Esther were looking for work when a brother-in-law mentioned he’d heard about an employment opportunity in Springville. Soon Ed was working for Bill and Earl Phillips at Phillips Garage in Springville.
Eventually, Ed learned that Bill Grooms, who had a small tire and battery business in the garage, wanted to sell his business, giving Ed the golden opportunity to own his own business.
After acquiring Grooms’ business, Ed rented a “work bench” in the corner of Phillips Garage in 1924, officially beginning Johnson Tire Service.
After many years of working alone, Ed hired his first full-time employee, “Doc” Bertelsen, and they worked together for many years. He also brought on Al Smith to help on a part-time basis, and the three of them worked side by side developing the business.
As business continued to grow, Ed realized he needed to move to a larger location. In early 1945, he purchased a property at 45 E. 200 South in Springville and started to build his own store.
In late 1945, Ed’s son Edwin joined his father in the business after being discharged from active duty in World War II. In 1948, the two decided to go into the recap business with one tire mold and a press. Business increased, and they purchased retreading equipment from a store in Richfield.
Business was going well, but the father and son eventually saw that the generators and batteries they had started with were less important and tire sales and service seemed to be the direction to head in.
Ed and Esther left the business in 1964, and Edwin and his wife Beth purchased it from them. They continued in the 200 South building until they built and moved into an ultra-modern facility at 610 N. Main in Springville, where the business is still located. The building was later expanded to nearly double its original size.
“Everybody told me I was nuts to come out this far (on Main Street) because this was out of Springville practically,” Ed said in a past interview with The Springville Herald.
Johnson Tire Service continues to sell tires as well as offer full automotive service and repair including alignments, brake repair, tune ups and computer diagnostics.
“We’ve been fortunate to have multi-generational families come here for tires and other services,” Riley Johnson said in an interview with Tire Business, a newspaper serving the automotive service industry. “Older customers will tell us this is where they had their first bicycle tire fixed. Others will travel an hour and a half to come here. It’s not a stretch to say we owe our success to loyal members of our community.”