Overview Great Lakes Ace is a chain of hardware stores bringing more than 70 years of hardware experience to the neighborhoods that we serve. Our relationship with Ace Hardware provides national chain buying power, access to hundreds of thousands of products, and premium merchandise brands like Craftsman, Scotts, Valspar, Toro, Weber, Stihl, Yeti and others. At the same time, we provide our customers with a localized product mix and services while operating a friendly, helpful neighborhood hardware store. Vision Our team is inspired by our Vision to: Improve Lives & Communities Mission Great Lakes Ace’s Mission is to: Go above & Beyond to Serve We are inspired to build a culture of service throughout the organization that is the bedrock of our daily operations. Community We are most proud of our team’s commitment to giving back to the neighborhoods we serve through a series of locally identified community events. Great Lakes Ace associates work with local schools and non-profit groups, raising funds and holding events and demonstrations that are meaningful and helpful to our neighbors. History Our history in hardware is a classic American tale of hard work and reinvention. We were originally founded in 1946 as The Hardware Depot by the Traskos brothers of Dearborn, MI. The company had grown to 4 locations by 1959 when we joined the Ace Hardware cooperative and changed our name to ACE Budget Center. In 1981, we had grown to 36 stores and left the Ace organization to operate independently under the name of ACO Hardware. In 2014, the Board of Directors concluded that it was time for yet another reinvention of the company to ensure long term success and sustained relevance to our customers. We rejoined the Ace Hardware co-op under the banner of Great Lakes Ace Hardware.