Hilfiker

Description

The Hilfiker Pipe Company was founded in Eureka, California (1902), by John Hilfiker. The company started out fabricating concrete well casings and burial vaults with hand-made tools. Over the decades, the company has been passed down from one generation of Hilfikers to the next, each contributing and developing new and innovative products. John Hilfiker would collect gravel, (inclusive of clam shells!), from the beach at Bucksport, near the mouth of the Elk River. The gravel would then be hauled by a two-horse team, in "stick" wagons. These wagons were characterized by 2'x4' sticks, which formed the bottom. The sticks could be rotated 90 degrees, and allow for the gravel to fall out the bottom. With limited "horse-power" and a crude design for a wagon, hauling gravel required an immense effort! Over the course of a single day of work, and with normal road conditions, a one man team with horses could hope to haul a single load of gravel. Design and innovation flourished quickly amongst the Hilfikers, and the first Hilfiker Retaining Wall patent was granted to Harold Otto, in 1949 for the Concrib Wall. Harold's son, William K. Hilfiker (Bill), received his first patent for the Welded Wire Wall (1976), a precursor for the now widely accepted M.S.E. Retaining Wall Systems. Today, Hilfiker Retaining Walls continues to operate from their Eureka, California facility under the ownership of Bill and Harold, the company's 4th generation of Hilfiker, where they still produce quality...

Fact sheet

Company contacts

Products & services

Similar companies nearby