10/17/2025
The HCC, Inc. ESOP History
In 1965 the H.D Hume Company of Mendota was purchased by Hart Carter Company, and their main oice was moved to Mendota in 1972. They had other locations in Minnesota.
Jim Register VP/CFO, Jim Fredericks VP Sales and Carl McNair President purchased the Mendota portion of Hart Carter Co (in 1987 from an investing company out of New York that had purchased the Hart Carter Company from bankruptcy in 1983.) In the beginning years, we assumed all debt which was approximately $13.5 million. We had everything financed: personal cars, personal
homes, personal items. We did everything we could to make the investment work. We did all of this because we didn’t want to see the business move out of Mendota, IL. The business went through
many challenges such as loss of business, market slowdowns, etc.; however, all debits were paid back, and the business became profitable over the years.
In 1996 the ESOP was created to provide the owners with a way to sell their ownership interests in a non-tax way that met their timelines. In 1996, the ESOP purchased 30% of the Company so that Jim Fredrick, Engineering, could exit the business and purchase a family farm. In 2006, Jim Register, CFO, passed away and the business needed to sell more, so the ESOP purchased 51% of the outstanding common stock. Carl McNair was the last Management Team owner, who sold the last of his shares in 2014 for the ESOP to become 100% Employee Owned.