Eck Industries breaks ground on employee center

Rich Palzewic

Staff

July 27, 2026

MANITOWOC – Eck Industries is investing in its workforce with a new 6,315-square-foot employee center dedicated to Phil Eck, a leader whose decades of service helped shape the company’s success.

Company President Kiley Eck Hayon said the addition reflects Phil Eck’s lasting impact and his belief that employees are at the heart of the company’s strength.

“The company was founded in 1948 by my great-grandfather – Phil’s grandfather,” she said. “Phil’s dad, Robert, then ran the foundry, and Phil is still chairman of the board. He probably retired from coming in day-to-day in about 2020.”

Kiley said Phil often jokes that he began his career at Eck Industries when he was 12. 

“That’s a family business for you,” she laughed. “I started when I was 16, so he beat me by a few years.” 

The facility, Kiley said, will serve as a lasting tribute to Phil’s legacy and the values he instilled throughout the organization.

She said Phil didn’t simply come to work each day to run the business and serve customers – he also invested in the people who made Eck Industries successful. 

“He would give you the shirt off his back,” she said. “He really cared about the employees. His leadership, integrity and genuine care for our employees helped build the company we are today. It is only fitting that a space created for our employees will bear his name and serve as a reminder of the values he championed every day.”

Kiley said Eck Industries is partnering with Hamann Construction on the project, which continues a longstanding relationship between the two Manitowoc-area family businesses.

“The Eck and Hamann families have worked together across multiple generations, building not only facilities but also a relationship rooted in trust, craftsmanship and shared values,” she said. “We are proud to continue that tradition as we invest in the future of our company and our employees.”

Construction, Kiley said, is expected to be completed later this year.

More on the addition

Kiley said the addition is designed with employees in mind, featuring a modern breakroom, new locker rooms, dedicated first-aid and safety spaces, as well as a connection to the existing facility. 

“The project has been a long time coming,” she said. “I think it will be a great space for the employees – they deserve it. They are very excited about what’s to come.”

Kiley said a 1984 fire at Eck Industries prompted the company to remodel its locker rooms, which have served employees for more than four decades.

Over the years, she said the company explored additional locker room updates, but the timing never seemed right.

Kiley said the space largely remained unchanged from its 1984 design.

“We didn’t know where we’d put everyone while redoing them, and there always seemed to be other projects that took precedence,” she said. “It was way past time, so, to address some of our concerns, we decided to just build a new employee center with men’s and women’s locker rooms and a new, bigger lunchroom.”

The new lunchroom, Kiley said, won’t just be a space for Eck Industries’ employees to take a break – it will also serve as the company’s new location for its monthly “toolbox talks.”

“We have always had to hold multiple sessions to accommodate everybody because the space isn’t big enough,” she said. 

Kiley said the location of the new employee center was intentional, with the addition planned for the back of the building where employees park and begin their workday. 

“It will be easier and more convenient for them, especially during our Wisconsin winters,” she said.

Kiley said the prefabricated design will help keep the project moving on an accelerated timeline. 

“Hamann recently started digging out the old asphalt,” she said. “The project has come together pretty quickly. I’d say about a year ago, we got pretty serious in our talks.”

As plans for the project developed, Kiley said Eck Industries reached out to its union workforce for feedback.

She said employees were “pretty surprised” the company wanted their perspective.

“I guess that’s a good thing,” she laughed. “After we told them what we planned on doing, they liked what we said. I think their biggest request was something we already had planned on doing: full-size lockers. Then, it was simply a matter of working on some of the other details.”

Once the new space is complete later this year, Kiley said the existing locker rooms will be renovated into additional office space and meeting rooms. 

About Eck Industries

As a fourth-generation, family-owned aluminum foundry, Kiley said Eck Industries specializes in high-integrity aluminum castings for the aerospace, defense, transportation, medical, marine and industrial markets.

With expertise in complex alloys, including industry-leading capabilities in A206 aluminum, she said the company is known for delivering technically challenging castings that meet the highest quality and performance standards.

Eck Industries, Kiley said, is AS9100D certified, ISO 9001:2015 certified, ITAR registered and CMMC Level 2 certified.

“We do a lot of cylinder heads for general aviation, and before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a very stable market – there weren’t many highs and lows,” she said. “After the pandemic hit, everyone wanted to fly their own airplanes, so we really grew in that market.”

Kiley said Eck Industries’ military sector has experienced growth amid increased global demand.

“We had always been involved in that area, but our government and other governments have now decided it really needs to be a priority, so our defense has really increased,” she said.

For more on Eck Industries, visit eckindustries.com.