Country Tyres Team – John Berry, Josh Berry and Brendan Mott outside the Country Tyres store on Warroo Road, Yass
The Yass Valley Times is backing our local businesses to make our community stronger with jobs for our local people and services available when we need them. Each week we showcase local businesses and introduce the owners who are doing the hard yards to create apprenticeships and other career opportunities in Yass Valley.
When you drive down Warroo Road chances are you notice the bright yellow of the Dunlop signs affixed to the Country Tyres Yass Building. It’s big, it’s bright and it informs everyone that there is a Dunlop super dealer in town.
What a lot of people might not know is that Country Tyres Yass is not only the home of Dunlop tyres but a wide range of tyres and other products.
John Berry took over the business early in 2020, during February after the previous owner had closed at the end of 2019. John has been in the tyre industry for over 25 years, starting as a tyre fitter in 1995. He then moved onto the role of regional manager and oversaw 30 different stores.
John eventually moved out of the industry and onto other ventures such as concreting and civil work; however, when the opportunity arose, he came back to his roots in the tyre industry and has been set up in Yass for the past seven months.
“We are an independent dealer and can supply anything. We are a licensed dealer for Dunlop; however, we sell many different brands. Bridgestone, Dunlop Michelin, budget tyres all the way to top range tyres,” said Mr Berry.
Tyres are just the beginning of Country Tyres products and services. They also do wheel alignments, sell batteries and mag wheels, and can even go out to service vehicles such as trucks on site which helps farmers with big equipment.
“Our products are for small things like a wheelbarrow or mower, all the way up to the bigger vehicles like tractors and cranes,” stated Mr Berry.
Mr Berry has also vowed to do a price match on products in the store. This is to keep people shopping local due to the proximity of Canberra and Goulburn. The GoLocal movement around Australia is promoting local business and showcasing the importance of small business in Australia.
The GoLocal movement states that small businesses contribute to a third of our economic activity, provides millions of jobs to Australians and are responsible for paying wages to more than half of our workforce.
This is particularly important in the current economic climate as COVID-19 has affected business and industry Australia wide and supporting local business is important for economic recovery.
“If you shop in Canberra you need to drive 45 minutes to an hour there, wait around for them to finish the job on your car, then drive home. It’s a big day,” Mr Berry reflected.
Country tyres Yass gets overnight stock and can do a wheel alignment on the day as space permits. It is advised to book first if you require a wheel alignment.
Along with Mr Berry’s 25 years of industry experience, he has his son Josh Berry who started working in February, and Brendan Mott who has worked with tyres for over 15 years.
“We pride ourselves on the quality of our workmanship. We make sure every wheel nut in the place is tension wrenched, so they aren’t loose.”
Country Tyres Yass is outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment and hoists to make sure the work is done as safely and efficiently as possible while maintaining a high standard.
The staff are all qualified wheel aligners and have certificate III in automotive underbody technology. Mr Berry said that the industry had been unregulated for too long and these qualifications are only a recent thing. Before that, it was just learning on the job and industry experience.
Mr Berry with the addition of his son makes Country Tyres Yass a family run local business that delivers high-level service and advice regarding your tyres and other car needs.
by Ryan Betts
