It was no surprise that Rich Scheck would enroll in 1962 at Washburn Trade School in the Pipe Fitters apprenticeship program. His father, Alfred Scheck, had been a union pipefitter for 50 years. But even Rich could not have anticipated the success that Scheck Industries would achieve over 25 years.
“When I went to work for Rich in 1984; he said his goal was to have a ‘nice, small piping business’. The first job I worked on was the remodel of Building No. 6 at Corn Products,” reminisces employee Ron Ward. “You couldn’t have asked for a better person to work with. Rich was so organized – he taught me the importance of efficiency.”
In May of 1984 Scheck Mechanical Corporation opened their first office with two desks snugly placed on the first floor of Unique Plumbing on 47th Street in Brookfield. With Corn Products as their first customer Rich and Kathy Dalmer managed the office while 10 people worked in the field.
“When we opened the business in 1984, I answered the phone for a plumber and a dentist in addition to Scheck Mechanical. It was a way to make ends meet. But our sales the first year totaled $800,000 and we thought we had reached the pinnacle of success!” says Kathy.
We were able to move “upstairs” in the same building, sharing space with the resident dentist. The three offices, PLUS reception area, seemed enormous. Soon, however, we were sharing space with salesmen and estimators.
Still in the Unique Plumbing building, things were getting pretty cramped. So, in 1986 Scheck purchased their first property – one so large we were convinced it would be more space than they would ever use – an overwhelming 6000 square feet of shop and office space!
“It was the most challenging yet rewarding time of my career to see our small company take off so fast,” said Rich Scheck. “The largest ingredient to our success was the loyal, dedicated workforce that started working with me back then, and our workforce is still the largest ingredient to our success today.”
When Scheck’s Technical Division started working with Kellogg’s in Battle Creek in 1987 it soon became necessary to purchase property near the Kellogg’s plant. A Scheck office was built on Tower Road. Pete Seklins became the regional manager in the Battle Creek office – a position Pete still holds today.
The first five years brought many opportunities to the Scheck Companies, mainly in the food and beverage and the petroleum and refining markets. Scheck quickly became known as an outage and turnaround contractor, performing projects for customers like Sun Chemical, Union Chemical/Union Oil, Corn Products, Best Foods, Cardox, Salerno Bakery, and many more.
1967-Richard N. Scheck completes his apprenticeship in Pipe Fitters Local Union No. 597 in Chicago, Illinois. |
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1975-Alfred A. Scheck is recognized as being a 50 year continuous member of Pipe Fitters Local Union No. 597 in Chicago, Illinois. |
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1984-Richard and Betty Scheck form Scheck Mechanical Corporation with 1 pick-up, 1 station wagon, a welding machine and a few tools. In May of 1984 Scheck Mechanical Corporation opened their first office with two desks snugly placed on the first floor of Unique Plumbing on 47th Street in Brookfield. With Corn Products as their first customer Rich and Kathy Dalmer managed the office while 10 people worked in the field. “When we opened the business in 1984, I answered the phone for a plumber and a dentist in addition to Scheck Mechanical. It was a way to make ends meet. But our sales the first year totaled $800,000 and we thought we had reached the pinnacle of success!” says Kathy. We were able to move “upstairs” in the same building, sharing space with the resident dentist. The three offices, PLUS reception area, seemed enormous. Soon, however, we were sharing space with salesmen and estimators. Pete Seklins used one office for estimating, and Dean Segroves worked part time answering the telephone. |
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1984-Scheck Mechanical Corporation lands it first projects at Corn Products International and Best Foods. |
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1986-Still in the Unique Plumbing building, things were getting pretty cramped. So, in 1986 Scheck purchased their first property – one so large we were convinced it would be more space than they would ever use – an overwhelming 6000 square feet of shop and office space! |
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1987-Scheck starts instrumentation company, Scheck Technical Services and is awarded 6 week instrument project at Kellogg’s in Battle Creek Michigan which began 20 years of work at that facility and a start to the company’s ability to work “out of town”! |
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Mr. Scheck was elected Secretary Treasurer of the National Instrument Contractors Association; a post he still holds today |
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1996-Company moves into new Corporate Headquarters in Countryside, Illinois which nearly tripled its Chicago area office space. |
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1997-The company was brought to Dearborn, Michigan to rescue a 1200MW Co-Generation project with an international EPC firm. After a 3 day evaluation of the project by Scheck management, it assumed 300 employees from the EPC firm to self perform the balance of the project and increasing productivity by 40%. |
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With the expanding pulp & paper on the rise- Scheck opened Scheck Mechanical Wisconsin Corporation and immediately became a recognized national specialty contractor for the pulp & paper market |
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1999-The family and employees began a 12 year campaign to fight cancer with the creation of the Betty Scheck Walk which was later renamed the Betty Scheck Shuffle and ultimately raised over $1.5 Million for the American Cancer Society.
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2003-Scheck Industrial Corporation, Scheck’s Boiler Division, was started in St. Paul, Minnesota with a branch in Grand Rapids, Minnesota – In 2005 the main office of Scheck Industrial was moved to Carlyle, Illinois to concentrate on the Power work in Southern Illinois and Missouri.
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2004-Scheck opens New Jersey office after securing project with PSEG Utility company which led to multiple projects in the New Jersey area including a Clean Fuels Project at Conoco Phillips Refinery.
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2005 -NASCAR affiliation with Rusty Wallace Racing Inc. to promote safety on Scheck projects is viewed as another “first in the industry” for the company. The company currently sponsors Clint Bowyer Racing.
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2008 -Scheck enters the world of Semi-Conductors with large expansion project in Michigan. Scheck receives 16 safety awards for its safety excellence, innovative programs and effective project compliance.
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2009-Richard Scheck retires from 20 years of community service as Mayor of North Riverside and receives congratulatory letter from President Obama. 2009 Scheck celebrates 25 years in business and the company was highlighted in ENR’s Anniversary Issue.
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2010 -The company continues to pursue challenging projects throughout the United States and Canada. Our past has been very successful and the future is extremely bright for Scheck Industries!!! |
