Menards is an American home improvement retail company headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Menards is owned by founder John Menard Jr. through his privately held company, Menard, Inc. It has 351 stores in 15 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming, but there are plans to expand to Pennsylvania. Menards is the third-largest home improvement store in the United States, behind Lowe's and The Home Depot. Company history In 1958, John Menard Jr. began building post-frame buildings to finance his college education. By the end of 1959, he found it necessary to hire extra crews, and to purchase more equipment to keep up with demand. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire in 1962, Menard purchased land in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and built an office and shop. The company was founded in 1960 and incorporated in 1962. The first Menards hardware store opened in 1964. By opening a truss plant in the late 1960s, Menards grew to produce more substantial building materials on-site. The truss plant evolved into the Menard Building Division, which produced steel siding and roofing, interior and exterior doors, decking and treated lumber, and other materials. Between the 1970's and 1980's Menards began opening locations in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. The company expanded into Nebraska in 1990, Illinois in 1991 and Indiana and Michigan in 1992. Menards sold the Menard Building Division in 1994, racking up 36 years in the pole building industry. Menards was founded as Menard Cashway Lumber. In the mid-1980s, the "Cashway Lumber" name was dropped and the business became simply known to this day as Menards. In 2000, the company opened its 150th store. During the early and mid 2000's, Menards expanded into Ohio. In 2007, Menards opened its third and fourth distribution centers in Holiday City, Ohio, and Shelby, Iowa, which are and , respectively. In 2008, the company expanded into Missouri. In 2009, Menards opened its first Wyoming location in Casper. Then it was followed by another location in Gillette and one more in Cheyenne. In 2011, the company expanded into Kansas. In 2012, Menards opened its first Kentucky location in Owensboro. Four more locations opened in Kentucky, one in Louisville, another in Paducah, another in Elizabethtown and the last one in Florence. Two more locations are coming to Kentucky: Bowling Green and Richmond.