Hawkins history

In 1941, the brothers dissolved their partnership and Howard J. Hawkins became sole proprietor of the company.

By 1948, the company had outgrown its space and moved to its present location on East Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis.

In 1952, Hawkins Chemical was restructured as a corporation.

In 1955, Hawkins Chemical entered into an agreement to serve as sales agent for Vel-Tex Chemical, a manufacturer and marketer of industrial bleach.

The two companies continued to work closely together, and in 1968 they jointly built the company's first 680,000-gallon storage tank for liquid caustic soda.

In 1971 Hawkins acquired its long-time partner, Vel-Tex.

By 1977, Hawkins had 80,000 square feet of warehouse storage capacity and the capacity to store 2.5 million gallons of liquid chemicals.

Most of its growth was supported by internally generated funds as opposed to debt; in 1987, long-term debt was only 0.5 percent of long-term capitalization.

In 1990 revenues leapt 31 percent to $60.37 million, fueled primarily by an additional $13.1 million brought in through the acquisition of Tessman Seed.

Hawkins experienced another record year in 1991, with revenues of $65.6 million and income of $3.5 million, up 11 percent from the previous year.

In 1994, Hawkins completed construction of a facility for its Industrial Chemical & Equipment Division designed to improve efficiencies in transportation and communication.

The company's model of stewardship was put to the test in early 1995 when a fire broke out at a Minneapolis office/warehouse facility used by the Lynde Company.