Free Newsletter
ZEELAND, Mich. – High-end case goods manufacturer Hekman Furniture is celebrating its 100th anniversary in business.
“It’s kind of amazing for any company to survive through the Great Depression, World War II, the advent of market changing technology and so much more,” said Jim O’Keefe, vice president of sales. “Through it all Hekman has survived and thrived.”
The company’s story begins in 1893, when Edsko Hekman immigrated from the Netherlands to Grand Rapids, Mich., hoping to find his life’s work as a furniture maker. The Panic of 1893 – a severe financial crisis in the U.S. – would lead him to his first profession as a baker. Selling cookies door-to-door, Edsko eventually went on to found the Hekman Biscuit Co., which was later to become the Keebler Co.
Edsko’s love of furniture crafted in the Old-World Traditions would later blossom in his three sons John, Jelle and Henry. They would fulfill their father’s dream and start the Hekman Furniture Co. in 1922.
In 1970, the company became a division of Beatrice Foods, and in 1983, Hekman Furniture was purchased by the Howard Miller Clock Co. of Zeeland, Mich. In 1993, Hekman acquired Woodmark Furniture, an upholstery company founded by Elliot Wood, and Hekman then began to build on its ability to offer high-end case goods and upholstered furniture.
See also:
- High-end furniture manufacturer’s new cabinets ‘allow retailers to compete with Lowe’s’
- Hekman’s new designer-focused website offers free shipping, no minimum order
