UNITY - 1971 brought us the opening of Disney World, an average new house cost of $25,000 and a $1.50 movie ticket. It also was the year that brothers Fred and Pete Sperle invested in a downtown Unity business that has since spanned 50 years of operating in the community.
Now owned and operated by second generation family members, Sperle’s Tire has much to celebrate on their 50th anniversary in 2021.
The former Unity Tire location was purchased by brothers Pete and Fred Sperle. Along with one employee, they began this tire shop in early 1971, rebranding it as Sperle’s Tire. Fred’s son, Pat Sperle, took over in 2001, when his parents, Fred and Elaine retired after buying Pete’s share of the business in 1995.
The Sperle brother’s duo weren’t new to an automotive business operation as, prior to the Unity Tire Shop purchase, they owned and operated Sperle’s Esso in Reward. Once the family started to expand, resulting in longer bus rides for school children, the sibling pair decided to invest in a business in Unity.
Sperle’s Tire, in the beginning, had two full time employees in the back. When Fred retired, four employees were part of the operation. The business has since expanded and now employs six people to meet the demand of their growing business. Pat, his wife Melissa, and at times, their three sons, all contribute to the success of this family owned, second-generation, community business. Melissa acknowledges their longest serving employee, who has been at the business longer than these second-generation owners, is Larry Kraft, who has been a faithful employee for 39 years.
Sperle says, “In addition to tires, we offer plenty of services such as oil changes, brakes, alignments, shocks, struts etc.! We have customers from a great surrounding area, from Provost to Landis, Neilburg to Battleford and Wilkie to Kerrobert, company fleets from everywhere, and of course those traveling through we are happy to help.”
“The shop expanded an extra bay in the back in 1999, we added a second service truck, more staff and all the new technology and training in the industry. The oil industry has boomed and then slowed again, farmers have always been steady and it seems we experience all the ups and downs they do. We often joke we don t have just one farmer to wait for to finish in the field, we wait for them all.”
Pat notes the sheer size of machinery, and therefore tires, has grown exponentially.
The Sperles say they do their best to stock a wide range of tire sizes and product, and with today’s technological world, most inventory is at their fingertips overnight.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary, the Sperle’s created an customer initiative, wherein they are offering 50 days of giveaways as a gesture of thanks to their customers. Sperle says, as an added bonus, all the draw names go back into the drum and they will give away three sets of tires from three of the manufacturers they deal with, include Sailun, Cooper and Goodyear.
“We are proud to continue the business and have watched it grow through the years,” says Melissa. “Serving the local and surrounding communities is something we take pride in. We value customer service and strive to keep that our main focus. We enjoy the stories from people who dealt with Fred and Pete, and remember Pat as a youngster in the back shop.”
