History Corner Milestone 3: New Locations and New Beginnings

In 1979, Paul Dunn retired after 24 years at the helm of CK Supply. The company made some huge strides during his time but when he passed control to his Thomas P. Dunn, CK was destined for greatness. In 1981, the company moved its headquarters to a 30,000 square foot office and warehouse complex on Folsom Ave. This move sparked a period of expansion as the company realized they could reach more customers and distribute a greater array of products by opening branch offices beyond the St. Louis city limits. Between 1988 and 1997 CK opened six branch offices in Alton IL (1988), O’Fallon MO (1989), Eureka MO (1991), O’Fallon IL (1992), Wood River IL (1996), and Washington/Villa Ridge MO (1997).

This period was marked by CK Supply transcending the simple role of retailer and developing into the multi-faceted supplier and leader of the industrial gas industry. This included the establishment of our equipment repair and rental division in 1985 and a specialty gas laboratory in 1993.

The crowning achievement of this period was the speed at which CK outgrew the 30,000 square foot facility on Folsom and moved into a new complex on Manchester Ave. that was four times its size.