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Chatfield’s NAPA history spans over 100 years

Jordan Beck | Daily Press From left, Chatfield’s NAPA Parts Salesman Chuck Heath, Bookkeeper Jennifer King, Owner Josh King, Outside Sales Manager Bruce Wallace, Parts Salesman Terry Belongie, Store Manager Nick Kallio, and Delivery Driver Kendra Hayward are pictured. Chatfield’s NAPA has been a presence in Escanaba for over a century.

Editor’s note: The Daily Press features a profile of an area business each week. This week’s featured business is Chatfield’s NAPA in Escanaba.

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By Jordan Beck

jbeck@dailypress.net

ESCANABA — Though it has changed hands over the years, Chatfield’s NAPA has been a constant presence in Escanaba for over a century. Its current owner, Josh King, spoke about his business and its history.

Chatfield’s was formed by Oliver P. Chatfield in 1903, King said.

“They were a machine and brass foundry,” he said. Chatfield also served as the city’s mayor.

In 1925, Frank Shepeck purchased the business. Due to the growth of the automotive industry, the business’ focus gradually shifted towards selling parts.

“There was a demand for parts,” King said. Many of the parts sold at Chatfield’s were auto parts, but farmers, welders, and fabricators bought parts there, as well.

Frank Shepeck ran Chatfield’s until 1974; then, his son (who was also named Frank Shepeck) took over the business and ran it until 1988. The younger Frank Shepeck’s sons went on to run the business together until 2004. At this point, David Shepeck bought his brothers’ shares in the business and ran Chatfield’s until 2015, when he sold the business to King.

“I bought the building and everything, and we basically remodeled it and brought it back to its youth,” King said.

When David Shepeck took over Chatfield’s, his primary focus was on steel fabrication. NAPA’s corporate headquarters took over the auto parts side of the business in 2006.

King said that during his first year as the owner of Chatfield’s he also focused on steel. However, he soon became interested in making the business a “one-stop shop” for parts like it had been decades ago. With this goal in mind, he successfully negotiated with NAPA to regain control of the building’s storefront.

After accomplishing this, King renovated the building’s exterior, moved the storefront to the building’s northwest corner, and upgraded the heating in the new storefront area. Store Manager Nick Kallio said these improvements have made the new storefront a more pleasant place to work than the old one.

“It’s (an) all-around better environment,” he said.

Due to the wide variety of products sold at Chatfield’s and the effects of weather conditions on business, Kallio said it is hard to predict which parts will be in particularly high demand ahead of time.

“You never know one day to the next,” he said. However, he noted filters and “core” auto parts are always strong sellers.

King said welding supplies and gases have sold well at Chatfield’s. These were reintroduced to the business’ inventory about a year ago.

In the near future, King said he hopes to continue expanding Chatfield’s.

“We want to keep it growing,” he said. This year, he is looking to purchase a new hydraulic hose-making machine and upgrade the business’ steel department.

Looking beyond 2018, King said his goal is to keep making improvements to the building housing Chatfield’s.

“Over the next 10 years, I’m going to be upgrading this building constantly,” he said.

King noted the community and Chatfield’s dedicated employees have been the key to his business’ success.

“Without the employees that we have, this would not be Chatfield Machine,” he said.

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