please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message menards type private company industry retail home improvement founded 1960 ; 56 years ago 1960 headquarters eau claire wisconsin key people john menard jr. president scott collette chief operating officer charlie menard general manager distribution manufacturing and logistics products building materials tools hardware garden supplies electrical supplies ceiling fans light fixtures cabinets home appliances doors windows paint wood stain wallpaper plumbing supplies carpet vinyl linoleum groceries automotive revenue 7.9 billion dec 2013 forbes number of employees 45 000 website menards.com menards is a chain of home improvement centers primarily in the midwestern united states . the privately held company headquartered in eau claire wisconsin has approximately 300 stores in 14 states ohio michigan indiana illinois wisconsin minnesota iowa missouri nebraska kansas south dakota north dakota wyoming and kentucky . it is the third largest home improvement chain in the united states behind the home depot and lowe s. 1 contents 1 company history 2 store structure 3 advertising 4 industry ranking 5 controversies 6 references 7 external links company history edit in 1959 john menard jr. began building post frame buildings to finance his college education . by the end of 1959 menard 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 and built an office and shop . the company was founded in 1960 2 and incorporated in 1962 . 3 in 2007 menards opened their third and fourth distribution centers in holiday city ohio and shelby iowa which are 669 000 square feet 62 200 m2 and 735 000 square feet 68 300 m2 respectively . 4 store structure edit exterior of the menards store in ankeny iowa . an example of the older exterior . in 2007 the 240 000 sq ft 22 000 m2 and larger menards stores began selling groceries . 5 advertising edit menards commercials are accompanied with banjo music played by gary shaw of wisconsin . 6 industry ranking edit menards store in west lafayette indiana in 2013 menard inc. was ranked 43rd on forbes list of america s largest private companies with an estimated revenue of usd 8.3 billion . 7 controversies edit menards has been involved in a number of incidents concerning environmental regulations with the united states environmental protection agency and several state department equivalents including the wisconsin department of natural resources has cited menards at least 13 times since 1976 for ignoring or violating state regulations related to air and water pollution and hazardous waste . 8 in 1994 wisconsin obtained a civil judgment against menards for the unlicensed transportation and disposal of ash produced by incinerating cca treated lumber . wood treated with cca contains chromium copper and arsenic both chromium vi and arsenic are categorized by the us epa as carcinogens . it is considered hazardous waste and requires proper disposal in a licensed landfill . the company was fined 160 000 . 8 in 1997 john menard was found using his personal pickup truck to haul plastic bags of chromium and arsenic laden wood ash to his home for disposal with his household trash . menard pleaded no contest to felony and misdemeanor charges involving records violations unlawful transportation and improper disposal of hazardous waste . menard and his company were fined 1.7 million for 21 violations . 8 in 2003 the minnesota attorney general charged that menards manufactured and sold arsenic tainted mulch in packaging labeled ideal for playgrounds and for animal bedding . warning labels from the cca treated wood were found in the mulch . the epa recommends that cca treated wood not be converted into mulch . as of 2008 the case was still pending . 8 in 2005 menards agreed to a 2 million fine after wisconsin dnr officials found a floor drain in a company shop that they believed was used to dump paint solvents oil and other waste into a lagoon that fed into a tributary of the chippewa river . the sanction broke the previous record fine of 1.7 million set by menard in 1997 . 8 in 2006 the construction of a 112 million warehouse became a campaign issue in the wisconsin governor s race . the warehouse was to be erected by filling in a 0.6 acre 0.24 ha bean field the state dnr considered a seasonal wetland used by migrating tundra swans . menards offered to build a wetland more than twice its size as a replacement but was rejected by scott humrickhouse a dnr regional director . humrickhouse said that solution could be used only when every alternative for saving the original wetland was exhausted . the increasingly heated dispute got considerable media coverage with a dnr warden calling menards general counsel a legal bitch and the company threatening to move jobs out of wisconsin . tempers seemed to cool after gov. jim doyle arranged 4.2 million in state aid to help the company expand its eau claire manufacturing headquarters . menard had previously contributed 20 000 to doyle s campaign . 8 in 2006 the epa issued an administrative order against menards for damaging a stream in sioux falls south dakota that ran through its property by placing a 66 inch storm sewer pipe on the stream for 1 350 linear feet and filling over top soil . 8 9 in 2011 menards agreed to a settlement of 30 000 for violating state laws against hazardous waste disposal . in 2007 herbicide was dumped into the ground on a parking island from a pallet that had been allowed to freeze in the winter . 10 references edit menard on the forbes america s largest private companies list . retrieved june 26 2014 . about us at menards . retrieved may 25 2014 . carlyle erin dec 16 2013 . meet the best hardware store in the nation and the midwestern billionaire who built it john menard jr. . forbes . retrieved may 25 2014 . menards is building centers in iowa ohio instead of eau claire . la crosse tribune . doris hajewski april 13 2007 . got milk at menards . journal sentinel . retrieved 2012 01 07 . ditties for the decades . milwaukee wisconsin journal sentinel . retrieved 21 april 2014 . america s largest private companies . forbes.com . november 9 2006 . retrieved november 8 2013 . a b c d e f g big money features . milwaukee magazine . april 30 2007 . retrieved may 2 2012 . menards faces epa administrative order for damaging south dakota stream . epa . 2006 03 08 . retrieved may 2 2012 . menard ordered to pay 30 000 to settle illegal dumping charge . 2011 01 18 . retrieved april 19 2016 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to menards . wisconsin portal companies portal official website menard inc. website menards real estate menards racing team menard after 2 years of talks work begins at menards complex toledo blade article v t e menards people charlie menard john menard jr. paul menard ray szmanda racing team team menard v t e richard childress racing personnel richard childress mike dillon dave marcis chocolate myers danny efland jason jarrett drivers sprint cup series 3 austin dillon 27 paul menard 31 ryan newman xfinity series 2 austin dillon paul menard ben kennedy sam hornish jr. a. j. allmendinger michael mcdowell regan smith 3 ty dillon 33 brandon jones 62 brendan gaughan truck series 2 austin dillon 3 austin dillon ty dillon crew chiefs sprint cup series 3 gil martin slugger labbe 27 justin alexander 31 luke lambert todd parrott xfinity series 2 mike hillman jr. 3 danny stockman jr. nick harrison 33 nick harrison danny stockman jr. 62 shane wilson past drivers dave blaney clint bowyer jeff burton richard childress cale conley joey coulter matt crafton mike dillon dale earnhardt dale earnhardt jr. tim george jr. jeff green robby gordon kevin harvick ron hornaday jr. scott lagasse jr. stephen leicht casey mears brandon miller steve park jeff purvis ricky rudd elliott sadler jay sauter johnny sauter brian scott kirk shelmerdine morgan shepherd mike skinner scott wimmer partnerships and affiliations circle sport leavine family racing germain racing gms racing jeremy clements racing jtg daugherty racing retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title menards & oldid 735555748 categories companies based in eau claire wisconsinprivately held companies based in wisconsineconomy of the midwestern united statescompanies established in 1960hardware stores of the united stateshome improvement retailers of the united stateshidden categories articles needing additional references from april 2010all articles needing additional referencespages using infobox company with unsupported parameterscommons category with local link same as on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate 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