Heckmann Building Products celebrates 90 years

Serving the construction industry since 1923

By David Sanchez

As one of the oldest and most experienced companies in the industry, Heckmann Building Products has seen times change and has adapted to survive and succeed.

Richard Heckmann’s father and grandfather were stone masons who immigrated to America in 1800s, starting a masonry/stone business in St. Charles, Mo. In 1923, Richard started a tool and die shop in Chicago, where he began making machinery to fabricate anchors and ties for Chicago-area mason contractors.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Heckmann developed a reputation for quality construction products. Upon Richard’s passing in the late-1950s his daughter, Patricia Heckmann Curtis, took control as president and CEO, managing all the operations at a time when most women remained at home. Patricia and her husband, Howard Curtis, guided the company from the 1960s until turning over the business to their children, Terry, Sue and Paul Curtis in the 1980s. Terry retired in 2012. Paul and Sue are continuing to provide masonry anchors and ties along with the family’s fourth-generation decedents, who are learning to guide the business further into the 21st Century.

Not only is family important to Heckmann, but also the team is supporting American businesses. With the exception of a few resale items, the vast majority of products are manufactured entirely in the United States, or manufactured by one of the company’s American partnering companies. The most popular product line, the Pos-i-Tie, is entirely made in the USA, down to the screw.

Heckmann Building Products has shown its resiliency, having survived both the dark days of the 1930s Great Depression and the recent Great Recession. In a time of corporate buyouts and mergers, Heckmann is committed to remaining a family-owned and -operated business. Heckmann is excited to step into the next decade on its march toward 100 years.