The Heil Company Milwaukee, Wisconsin By Eric Voytko     The Heil Company factory at 3000 West Montana Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin     German Immigrant Julius P. Heil formed the Heil Rail Joint Welding Company at Milwaukee in 1901, following his employment with the Falk Company, which had pioneered the patented process. Heil's first venture also provided metal work, but it was dissolved in 1906. A new enterprise was immediately formed, specializing in tanks and metal products. The Heil Company also supplied horse-drawn garbage collection wagons, with one of their first customers being the City of Milwaukee. The use of electric welding in the construction of tank bodies brought Heil great success, with new lightweight designs suitable for the motor age. The 1919 acquisition of Hydro Hoist Co. of Milwaukee added tipping gear to Heil truck bodies, and they became a leading manufacturer in the early years of the vocational truck body industry. Construction equipment, including bulldozer blades and motor scrapers were eventually added to Heil product line as well. Thus, even during these early years, Heil was already in direct competition with Gar Wood Industries, the latter having pioneered the hydraulic hoist only a few year earlier. The two companies would also become rivals in the mechanized refuse collection body field, although the potential for that market was yet to be realized in the 1920s. Three generations of the Heil family managed the company from its founding in 1901 until it was sold in 1993. Left to right: Julius P. Heil, Joseph F. Heil, and Joseph F. Heil Jr.     Throughout most of its history, Heil Company was under the ownership and direction of three generations of the Heil family. Colorful Julius Peter Heil (1876-1949) founded the company and ran it until 1939, when he took office as the 30th governor of Wisconsin. His son, Joseph Frank Heil (1908-1984), joined the family business in 1923, and took over operation of the company as executive vice president while his father was serving as governor. Joseph Heil was elected president of Heil Company in 1946, while his father stayed on as business director and treasurer until his death in 1949. Joseph F. Heil, Jr. (1925-1996) represented the third generation, and joined Heil in the 1940s. He became chairman and CEO in 1977, and headed the company until it was sold to Dover Industries in 1993.     During its history, the Heil Company has made a wide variety of products, including stationary and truck-mounted tanks, construction equipment, home heating equipment, and dehydrators for farm use. Truck bodies also figured prominently in their history, and although their entry into the refuse body field was gradual, it would eventually become their dominant product. Heil's steady rise to the top of the refuse body industry came in large part through acquisition, of both designs and entire companies, abetted by their manufacturing prowess and ability to tap markets worldwide. Heil wisely consolidated their business towards its strengths, notably truck bodies and tankers, while selling off other subsidiaries (such as the heating and construction equipment lines) before they became a burdensome. This probably helped Heil avoid the fate of their longtime rival Gar Wood, which became overextended and collapsed under its own weight during the 1960s. As part of the Environmental Services Group of Dover Industries, Heil Environmental is today perhaps the most recognized name in refuse truck bodies in North America. Their overseas divisions have made Heil the most successful of the many American refuse truck manufacturers that have entered the European and world markets. An early Heil horse-drawn milk tanker Acquisition of Hydro Hoist Company resulted in the first Heil tipper bodies Hell compartmented dump body Early west coast Heil refuse truck: San Francisco-type scavenger body on Mack chassis Fleet of Heil dump trucks on Mack chassis Multi-purpose truck; a Walter Snow Fighter equipped with belly scraper and Heil dump body Light-duty contractor body & hoist Some of the wide variety of Heil products made during the late 1930s The famous Heil unitized, all-welded tanker body Heil Dig-n-Carry motor scraper Heil Trailbuilder blade mounted to a Cletrac crawler 1937 Heil Street Flusher on Autocar UT cabover in service with the DSNY One of a fleet of Heil enclosed bodies built for Minneapolis in 1937 on Diamond T chassis A forerunner of the modern roll off was this 1940 Heil detachable-body dump truck (see patent below) PATENTS: Patent # Description Inventor Assignee Date US2027421 Vehicle and Body Hoist Structure Charles G. Eisenberg Jr. Heil Co. June 11, 1934 7/2/16 © 2016 All Rights Reserved Photos from factory brochures/advertisements except as noted Logos shown are the trademarks of respective manufacturers