On November 29, 1951, 49 employees of Consumers Power Company in Kalamazoo established the Kalamazoo Consumers Power Company Employees Federal Credit Union (KCPC). In July 1953, KCPC allowed members to auto-deduct their savings from their paychecks. Our first full-time employee, General Manager George Klingman, was hired in 1956. By the end of 1958, KCPC totaled $351,000 in assets and $302,000 in loans to members.

After leasing our first building on Lovell St. in downtown Kalamazoo in 1963 and converting to a state charter in 1964, 1965 saw KCPC reach the $1 million milestone! Growth continued in 1967 with our charter expansion to include employees at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant.

In 1978 we became homeowners! KCPC made its first real estate purchase of three acres on Cambridge Drive in Kalamazoo and built our first owned office.

To reflect our plans for expansion, KCPC changed its name to Southwestern Michigan Utilities Employees Credit Union in 1980. After 27 years, GM George Klingman retired, and Kit Snyder was named CEO in 1983. Snyder continued the trend of dedicated stewardship, serving for 39 years. Snyder’s entrance in the ’80s saw immediate rapid growth with the addition in 1985 of checking accounts and credit cards. In 1986, our asset size reached $5 million, and we would make a final name change to Consumers Credit Union in 1987.

The 1990s saw Consumers grow by leaps and bounds. In six short years, our assets grew from $5 to $20 million by 1992. Mortgages and home equity loans were introduced in 1993. Three new offices were opened in Kalamazoo and South Haven. And in 1997, Consumers established its place as a front-runner in the digital game by offering online banking and debit cards.

In 2002, Consumers hit another milestone by reaching $100 million in assets! Growth was helped thanks to our expanded state charter, which then covered anyone living or working in Kalamazoo, Van Buren, Allegan and Barry counties. Our charter expanded again in 2006 to cover 11 counties in West Michigan. The 2000s also saw the addition of seven offices including our entrance into Coldwater and our first merger with Welch’s Credit Union in Lawton. The end of the decade saw the launch of our first mobile banking app in 2009.

Growth leads to growth, and Consumers’ success in the early 2000s continued in the next decade, reaching $500 million in assets and over 50,000 members in 2013. We said farewell to our first home on Cambridge Drive, but opened new offices in many new markets, including our expansion into Grand Rapids in 2015 and Battle Creek in 2017. Both years were marked with other achievements, too. In 2015, Consumers was the first credit union in Michigan to offer Apple Pay. And our new corporate headquarters, The Groves, opened in late 2017 and hosted our $1 billion asset celebration a year later.

The 2020s have been our strongest decade yet! Consumers Credit Union has grown to its largest size in history, expanding across West Michigan and into Indiana while continuing to deliver exceptional service to our members. With new offices, advanced digital tools, and a deep commitment to supporting our communities, we’re proud to be bigger, better, and more dedicated than ever.