Hartz Mountain Industries history

The company's distribution network took time to develop, but Stern broadened his product line shortly after opening his business, when he began selling bird food in addition to Hartz Mountain canaries in 1930.

Since 1966, Hartz' industrial portfolio was originally developed and maintained primarily in Northern New Jersey, within a 30-minute drive of the company's headquarters in Secaucus, NJ and a short distance from New York City.

In order to rase the $40 million needed for the Meadowlands project, Stern took Hartz Mountain Pet Foods public in 1972.

By the early 1980’s Hartz products were sold in more than 40,000 United States and Canadian retail outlets.

In 1985, he purchased the Village Voice, a well-known Manhattan weekly newspaper, from publisher Robert Murdoch for $55 million, then two years later launched another Manhattan weekly newspaper he christened 7 Days.

Unicharm entered into the pet-care business in 1986 and is currently the leading pet care manufacturer in Japan.

In 1988, Stern formed the Harmon Publishing Company, a new division developed to oversee his real estate publications.

In the 1990’s Hartz continued to expand product lines with the acquisition of the esteemed Wardley® brand of fish food and supplies.

Hartz acquired Wardley Products, America's largest manufacturer of aquatic fish foods and remedies in 1994.

In 2000, The Hartz Mountain Corporation was sold to the J.W. Childs Associates, LP, a leading private equity investment firm, which gave a renewed focus to research and development.

Under the leadership of Emanuel Stern, Hartz launched a companywide sustainability initiative in 2007.

Also in 2009, NJBIZ recognized President and Chief Operating Officer Emanuel Stern as the "Green Executive of the Year."

On October 12, 2011, as a further tribute to Max Stern's American dream, the Stern family unveiled an actual replica cast from the original plaster sculpture of the Statue of Liberty at their 667 Madison Avenue building in Manhattan.

In 2014, Hartz entered the wind-power generation business, partnering with Patriot Renewables LLC to construct Saddleback Ridge Wind, a 34 Megawatt, 12-turbine wind project located in Carthage, Maine.

Hartz brought Top Golf to its Edison, NJ retail development in December of 2016.

Hartz commenced the leasing of 240 residential units at 3 Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ in March 2017.

In December 2019, Hartz purchased an office building and lab space at One Malcolm Avenue, Teterboro, NJ, with plans for adaptive reuse of the site.