In the early 1970’s, Dennis Braun applied to franchise the Bandag retread process and set up his new business in a two-person-run, 7,400 sq. ft. facility in Brandon, Manitoba.

In 1975, Dennis started selling Bandag retreads to fleet customers out of a Winnipeg warehouse.

In 1976, Dennis’ wife, Jean, brought her financial skills to the company and took over accounts payable and receivable. Within the same year, Denray Tire ventured into the retail business, selling new tires and providing installation and repair services.

The ’80s were a time of growth, loss and rebuilding for Denray Tire.

The decade started positively, as Dennis had paid his dues for the company’s plant and equipment. However, a fire in 1981 caused an unexpected setback, leveling the Brandon plant entirely.

Dennis took this challenge in stride, shipping tire casings to Thunder Bay, Ontario for processing and then back to Winnipeg for distribution. He moved the Winnipeg business into an 8,000 sq. ft. building to service the growing market.

It took four months and plenty of local help to build a 13,000 sq. ft retreading plant in Brandon, replacing the old facility.

In 1989, Dennis bought GT Smith Electric’s building next to the new plant, turning it into a retail location for new tire sales, and installation and repair services.

By this time, Derek and Bradley Braun had started to learn the workings of their family’s business from their parents, Dennis and Jean. They bounced from the company’s shop, to its road service trucks, to counter sales, to road sales, to management.

Denray Tire continued to expand, with the addition of its fourth location in Moosomin, Saskatchewan, in 1995. In 1996, the company began providing retread distribution services throughout the province of Saskatchewan, which represents a large part of Denray Tire’s current retreading business.

Additional sales staff was hired and Denray Tire’s fleet services saw significant growth throughout all its locations during this period.

In 2007, Derek Braun took over as company president.

In 2008 a 6,400 sq. ft. Winkler, Manitoba location joined the Denray family and the newest Brandon location was purchased. Denray Tire’s former Brandon retreading plant was converted to a centralized warehouse that would distribute product to the company’s retail locations.

Denray Tire’s quality product and service caught on in other parts of the country, and in 2009 the company began distributing to Calgary and Edmonton through a dealer network.