Eakes Timeline


Howard Eakes (standing) with his staff at 112 W 2nd Street in downtown Grand Island in 1951.

Feb. 1937 Howard went to work for Remington Rand as an apprentice mechanic repairing typewriters and adding machines.
Mar. 1938 Howard moved to Grand Island and assumed the responsibility of providing repair service in Central and Western Nebraska for Remington Rand.
1941-42 At that time Howard was the smallest service department in the country for Remington Rand and received special recognition for outstanding performance.
1945 After the second World War, Howard started his own business and soon after hired his first employee. The first business location consisted of a two-room office located upstairs at 303½ West Third. The office measured a mere 385 square feet.
Oct. 1949 Howard moved to his first full-store location at 112 West 2nd Street.
1952 Eakes, then known as Office Equipment Co., expanded product offerings to include a full line of office supplies and furniture.
Nov. 1958 After remodeling Eakes had their first Grand Opening Celebration. Dignitaries and mfg. representatives from across the nation were present for the ribbon cutting ceremony.
July 1961 Eakes remodeled and moved into a new location at 114 West Third. In 1969 the business was incorporated and renamed Eakes Office Equipment Co..
1973 Eakes Office Equipment Co. moved into a newly built structure at 617 West Third. The new facility provided 15,000 square feet of selling and warehouse space and employed 14 people.
1974 A second Eakes location was opened at 2115 Avenue A in Kearney.
1978 The Hastings Eakes location opened. There were now over 50 employees company-wide.
1980 A Photo Copier sales and service office was opened in North Platte. By this time there were 72 Eakes employees.
1982 This was a great year of change as Eakes Ofice Equipment Co. changed their name to Eakes Office Products Center, Inc.. An addition to the Grand Island location was added making the building nearly twice the original size. The company at that time employed 81 people and joined the computer age with the addition of a Computer Department.
1983-84 The Hastings store was remodeled and expanded the Kearney store moved into its new building at 2401 Avenue A and a small office in Columbus was opened.
1985 The Hastings store moved into a newly remodeled 25,000 square foot building. A building was purchased and remodeled for the North Platte location to expand the marketing and service efforts.
1986 A new location was opened in York.
1988 The Columbus store was expanded and remodeled. Employment expanded to 143.
1990 The Grand Opening of a new location in McCook was celebrated.
1997 The Grand Opening of a new location in Beatrice was celebrated.
2001 Howard Eakes dies at the age of 86.
2005 A new sales office/warehouse was opened and expansion began to the Lincoln market.
2006 A new sales office/warehouse was opened in Fremont.