About Us

Bauer Built, Inc. was founded as an oil jobbership in Durand, Wisconsin in 1944 by G.F. "Sam" Bauer and Ray Bauer. The focus of the company, in its beginning, was to sell petroleum products to local service stations and farm accounts. However, very early on, the company got into retailing by opening its own gas stations. The growth over the years has been in the tire industry, initially selling tires from the gas stations and then getting into the wholesaling and commercial sales and service of tires.

In 1954, the company began manufacturing retreaded tires. By 1963, the company had grown to over $2M in sales. During this year, Sam acquired 100% ownership of the company and continued to expand the tire division. In the late 60's, Sam's family members started becoming involved in the business. By 1975, the company had grown to sales in excess of $10M and was operating tire centers in Eau Claire and Durand, Wisconsin, as well as a retread manufacturing facility, a wholesale distribution center, a bulk oil business, a NAPA Parts Store, and a Holiday Station convenience store all in Durand.

In 1976, Sam sold the majority of his interest in the company to his sons and sons-in-law and turned over the day-to-day management of the company to them. Sam ultimately retired from full-time duty in 1980 and passed away in 1994 after 50 years of service and dedication to the company. Under the second-generation leadership the company continued to grow and expand by acquiring tire centers, retread manufacturing facilities, and wholesale distribution centers across the Midwest and convenience stores locally.

Today, Bauer Built's primary thrust is in the tire industry; although they continue their involvement in the petroleum business with their bulk oil business. The company consists of three primary business segments, which are the tire division, the petroleum division, and the administration division, which are further broken down into approximately 65 different operating entities. The company employs approximately 500 people.

The tire division consists of 29 tire centers, 7 retread manufacturing plants, 3 rim and wheel reconditioning plants, and 11 wholesale distribution centers.

The petroleum division consists of a bulk petroleum business. Additionally, the company operates a transportation department, a vehicle maintenance department, and one car wash.

The company's mission statement is "To be recognized as the leading tire distributor in the markets we serve by exceeding the expectations of our customers, employees, and suppliers," which includes Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, Indiana, the upper peninsula of Michigan, Illinois, and Nebraska, with plans to expand further.