Walter Hachborn, (July 24, 1921 – December 16, 2016) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

businessman and co-founder, with two others, of

Home Hardware Home Hardware Stores Ltd. is an independent home improvement retailer located in Canada. Co-founded by Walter Hachborn in 1964, and headquartered in St. Jacobs, Ontario, the company has close to 1,100 stores that operate under one of four banners ...

, a Canadian

home improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...

and construction

retailer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesal ...

which supplies contractors and individual retail consumers.

Early life

Born in Conestogo, Ontario, he lived in St. Jacobs, Ontario, most of his life.

Career

He started working in the hardware industry in 1938 and created Home Hardware in 1964 with two partners, Henry Sittler and Arthur Zilliax. He had been its president since the beginning seeing the company grow from 122 dealers to over 1100 stores and annual sales of over $6 billion. He retired from day-to-day operations in 1988 and retained the title of President Emeritus until 2010 with more than 75 years in the hardware industry.

Recognition

In 1985, he was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a Public university, public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Brantford, Ontario, Brantford and Milton, Ontario, Milton. The ...

, where he served as a member of WLU's board of governors for 10 years. In 1988, the Retail Council of Canada recognized Hachborn's success at Home Hardware. In recognition of this accomplishment he was presented with the Distinguished Canadian Retailer of the Year Award. He was also awarded the distinction of Retailer of the Century in 1999. In 1999, he was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. He was named to the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 2014.

Death

Hachborn died on December 16, 2016, at the age of 95.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hachborn, Walter 1921 births 2016 deaths Businesspeople from Ontario Canadian people of German descent Canadian Lutherans Members of the Order of Canada People from Woolwich, Ontario 20th-century Lutherans