It’s not every day that two companies mark 100 years of doing business with one another, but that’s exactly what Aligood’s Garage in Washington and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company have done.

Tony Turbeville, wholesale development manager with Goodyear, visited Washington to present Goodyear’s 100-year plaque to Bill Mac Alligood and family at a celebration dinner at the downtown restaurant Down on Mainstreet.

“It’s actually more than 100 years — they’re going on 103 years now,” Turbeville said. “One hundred years is a long time, no matter what you’re doing. In these days of multi-brand products, it definitely means a lot.”

The recognition was delayed due to the death of Bill Mac Alligood’s father and previous Alligood’s Garage owner Mac Alligood, and other scheduling conflicts, according to Bill Mac Alligood.

“My grandfather started with Goodyear in 1915,” Alligood said. “He went into business in 1913. During that time, the closest place to get a part was Raleigh or Norfolk, so he went in to handling tires in ’15 and it kept on.”

Alligood’s Garage, located at 527 N. Market St., is the oldest family-owned Goodyear distributor is the eastern United States.

Alligood and Turbeville both said the tire business has changed dramatically in the 103 years since Harley K. Alligood Sr. opened up shop, but especially in the past two decades, during which larger dealers have been buying up smaller dealers, according to Turbeville.

What hasn’t changed is a mutual loyalty and dedication to good service.

“It solidifies our loyalty that we try to give to our customers and they definitely give to us,” Turbeville said of the century-long business relationship.

“I think one of Goodyear’s mottos is friendly customer relationships, and I think we built that trust up with our customers over the years,” Alligood said. “The servers, the friendships and the relationships we’ve built over the years kind of precedes this.”