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Krause Gentle Corporation, better known to most of us by two of its
subsidiary companies, Kum and Go convenience stores and Liberty Bank, was founded in 1959 in Hampton, Iowa by T.S. Gentle and W.A. Krause. The
business began as a small gas station, but by 1963 Krause Gentle converted those gas stations to convenience stores. Headquarters were moved to West
Des Moines in 1988 and in August 2000, employees moved in to the new world headquarters building on Westown Parkway.
In addition to Kum and Go stores and Liberty Bank, Krause Gentle also owns Solar Transport and the Des Moines Menace professional soccer team
along with 17 other companies under the KG umbrella. Currently they operate 305 Kum and Go locations in 12 states as well as 10 Liberty Bank profit centers.
But the most phenomenal part of the story is this. In November, 1995, the company implemented a strategic plan called Vision 2000. Projections
forecast the addition of an average of one new convenience store a month for the next 5 years. In 1996, the first year of the plan, 22 new stores were
opened and 14 more added in 1997. But nothing could have predicted the growth of 1998 when the company added 222 new stores! And then in 1999 Kum
and Go acquired 45 more. The growth has been phenomenal. In that same time period, employment has doubled.
Giving back to the communities they serve is very important to the Krause and Gentle families as well as to the KG associates. Each year the families
give back 10% of the company profits to many important causes including universities, Junior Achievement, United Way and juvenile diabetes. For the
past five years, associates have raised over $50,000 each year for juvenile diabetes and are regular
contributors to United Way.
Today, Krause Gentle is considered a pioneer in the convenience store industry, built on the strong work ethic of its founders. In 1997,
Convenience Store Decisions gave Kum and Go the honor of being named the #1 convenience store in the United States. And the people of Des Moines,
through the Business Record Readers Poll, named Krause Gentle the "company with the most promising future", which is consistent with the company motto
spoken often by founder Bill Krause," Don't look back…we aren't going that way!"
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