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It All Started In 1956!
Bond Auto Parts, Inc. was founded in Barre, Vermont by Earl and Mary Bond in 1956. Earl had been a traveling road salesman and it became very apparent that he needed store space to carry all the different items. So, Earl did the operations and Mary did the bookkeeping. A company was born.
The first store was opened on March 1, 1956 at 4 Buzzell Place in Barre. The second store was opened in St. Albans in 1959 and the third was opened on June 1, 1962. In 1963 the company opened its' own warehouse in Barre. Earl's oldest son Bill graduated from college in 1964 and began running the warehouse operation. By the time Earl's youngest son, George, graduated from college in 1973 and entered the business at the store operations level the company had grown to 8 locations plus the warehouse.
Earl Bond retired from the company in 1978 and his sons took over complete operation of the company, also at the time Earl's son-in-law Tom Pecue became very active in store operations.
By 1985 the company had grown to 10 store locations and had become a member of the Auto Value Marketing & Buying group. Between 1985 and 2000 the company has added 13 new locations trying to maintain a goal of opening between 2 and 4 stores each year!
During the late 1980's to the mid 1990's the third generation of Bonds got involved in the business with Scott Bond (Bill's son), Craig Bond (Bill's son), Mike Pecue (Tom's son), Greg Pecue (Tom's son) all taking active roles.
The turn of the century created some very exciting times at Bond Auto Parts. We built and opened an 80,000 square foot distribution center and warehouse. It's complete with mezzanine and state-of-the-art automated conveyor system. We also purchased a local competitor with 9 store locations mainly encompassing the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and New Hampshire. These two major changes transformed Bond Auto Parts into Vermont's largest aftermarket automotive distributor. We've continually ranked as the top 25 auto parts chains in the country.
The early 2000's saw Mark Mast (Bill's son-in-law), Andy Bond (George's son) and Chris Bond (George's son) enter into the business. Bond Auto Parts success has been carefully guided by all of the family members over the years, but its employees who form "TEAM BOND AUTO", and the tremendously positive attitude of all the "TEAM MEMBERS" that keep it growing today.
This attitude is what has made Bond Auto Parts, "VERMONT'S AUTO PARTS STORE".
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