Les Schwab Tire Centers, a chain of tire stores based in Prineville, has been associated with the city since the company's founding in 1952. As of 2005, the Les Schwab Tire Center chain operates more than 390 stores in California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, does more than $1.5 billion in sales each year, and according to the AP, is the number two private tire retailer in the United States. The company announced December 12, 2006, that it would be moving the corporate headquarters to nearby Bend, where a growing number of its executives live, including Dick Borgman who became CEO on the same day. In 2006, journalist Mike Rogoway noted: