Pay 'n Pak was a

home improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), ...

chain that was based out of

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest municipality in greater Seattle and t ...

. Pay 'n Pak began in 1962 and was founded by Stan Thurman, an electric and plumbing supply retailer from

Longview, Washington Longview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. Longview's population was 37,818 at the time of the 2 ...

. In 1969, Pay 'n Pak merged with Eagle Electric & Plumbing, a company run by Thurman protégé David Heerensperger. Shortly thereafter, Stan Thurman was voted out and Heerensperger became the chairman of the company until 1989 when he left to form

Eagle Hardware & Garden Eagle is the common name for many large Bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Ou ...

. At the time of a hostile

corporate raid In business, a corporate raid is the process of buying a large stake in a corporation and then using shareholder voting rights to require the company to undertake novel measures designed to increase the share value, generally in opposition to t ...

attempt in 1987, Pay 'n Pak had 112 stores in the Western United States. The original flagship store in Kent was called Pay 'n Pak Mall. It featured a departmentalized hardware store broken up into separate stores (an electrical store, plumbing, and lumber). It also contained a coffee shop as well. By the 1980s a larger store was built next to the mall which carried the same format as the other stores had and the mall was sold. After bankruptcy in 1991, Thurman Industries bought four Pay 'n Pak stores: those located in

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...

Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...

Moses Lake, Washington Moses Lake is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,146 as of the 2020 census. Moses Lake is the largest city in Grant County. The city anchors the Moses Lake Micropolitan area, which includes all of Grant Co ...

, and

Wenatchee, Washington Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

. They were operated as Thurman Pay 'N Pak home centers until March 2003 when Thurman Industries liquidated the stores and closed them down. Ernst took over the Kent store and the distribution center. Pay 'n Pak was also a sponsor of an unlimited

hydroplane racing Hydroplane racing (also known as hydro racing) is a sport involving racing hydroplanes on lakes and rivers. It is a popular spectator sport in several countries. Racing circuits International professional outboard hydroplane racing The Union Int ...

team from the late 1960s to the early 1980s and won the points championship from 1973-1975. They also sponsored the first winning turbine powered hydroplane from 1980 to 1983. The boat crashed in 1980. It would be the last boat that would carry the Pay 'n Pak name.

History

* 1962 Stan Thurman establishes Pay 'n Pak * 1969 Pay 'n Pak merges with Eagle Electric & Plumbing and goes public * 1969 Stan Thurman voted out and David Heerensperger voted in as chairman * 1988 Pay 'n Pak goes private for $226 million after a corporate raid attempt * 1989 David Heerensperger leaves as chairman * 1991 Pay 'n Pak files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy * 1992 Pay 'n Pak liquidates its remaining stores and four of the former Pay 'n Pak stores were bought by Thurman Industries and operated under the name Thurman Pay 'n Pak * 2003 Thurman Industries liquidates and closes the remaining four Thurman Pay 'n Paks

External links

Thurman the first do-it-yourselfer

Sources

*Robert LaFranco. "Comeuppance?" Forbes, Dec 4, 1995 v156 n13 p74(3)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pay 'N Pak Retail companies established in 1962 Defunct retail companies of the United States Defunct companies based in Washington (state) Companies based in Kent, Washington Hardware stores of the United States Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991 Retail companies disestablished in 2003 Home improvement retailers of the United States 1962 establishments in Washington (state)