Striving for new Heights

What started out as a little glass shop in downtown Arlington Heights has altered its product and customer base to grow into a 60-employee company.

Heights Glass & Mirror Co., founded by Herb Harris in 1961, now serves some of the largest homebuilders in the area, offering everything from shower doors to closet shelving units.

The shelving division is the most recent addition to the growing business, now headquartered in Bensenville. Heights Shelving, still in its infancy, offers Schulte custom shelves mainly to homebuilders. Terry Levin, who has designed custom closets for about 13 years, recently joined the company to run this division.

He is finding that after homeowners choose their custom kitchen, the closet's design ranks next on their list of importance. Instead of wasting space in the closet, drawers and cabinets are installed.

The standard white wire-style shelves are part of the mix as well as options and upgrades for more storage, said Levin, a resident of Vernon Hills.

About 75 percent of Heights Glass & Mirror's customer base is the homebuilding industry, so it seemed natural to add the shelving. "We wanted to add some product lines," said Arnie Harris, co-owner of the company.

Arnie, the founder's son, added that even though the housing market is slumping, sales in the shelving division are strong.

Arnie joined his father in running the company in the mid-1980s during the residential building boom. Prior to joining his father, he went to law school and served as an attorney for a couple years.

"The company got too big for my father to run alone," Arnie said. Changing with the customer and product additions have helped drive the company's success.

About 10 years after Herb started his little glass shop, he started focusing on the homebuilder. His focus switched to installing shower doors and mirrors.

To better serve the Northern suburbs, a small office operates in Wauconda at 1059 N. Old Rand Road.

As Herb's business grew, he knew that the housing market could not continue its strength long term. He recognized that he had to branch out.

Herb started selling shower liners to the wholesale industry, primarily the luxury kitchen and bath showrooms as well as home centers.

When this sector started to take off, his other son, David, joined the company in 1990 to lead this division.

David, catering to the customer remodeling their home, sells the Euroview shower liners. This portion of the business is dedicated to fabricating and installing a complete line of conventional and heavy glass shower and tub enclosures. The Web site is www.euroviewinc.com.

Arnie and David, who both reside in Buffalo Grove, grew up helping their father operate the business. During the summers, the boys worked on a glass truck installing shower doors. "We learned the business from the ground up," David said.

Arnie, 47, remembers helping out at the small 1,200-square-foot storefront in Arlington Heights, which is how the business got the name Heights.

While his father is now retired in Florida, Arnie said they always worked well together. "We're father and son and best friends," Arnie said.

He respects what his father has done. "I give my dad a lot of credit. He took a local, little glass shop to where it is now -- a significant player in the market," Arnie said.