Homak

Homak is a company that manufactures and produces toolboxes, roller cabinets, hospital carts, and security/gun cabinets.

The company was founded in 1947 in Chicago by Sigmund H. Danziger Jr., the son of Sigmund H. Danziger, a sales representative for houseware products. He began his business career "jobbing" for Chicago manufacturers while a student at the University of Chicago. After World War II he purchased a bathroom cabinet manufacturer on the south side of Chicago. Naming the new company Homak, using a sign he noted on a hat store, he began manufacturing steel kitchen cabinets and rapidly moved to a new 35,000 sq ft (3,300 m2) building. In the early 1960s, an order for toolboxes led to the production of a hardware line including roller cabinets, toolboxes, and other accessories. Through the 1970s and 1980s, most of the major retailers and chains of the time became either line or private label customers. In 1979, Sigmund Danziger died and his wife Gertrude ran the company for the next 25 years. During this time, the company moved to a 430,000 sq ft (40,000 m2) facility in Bedford Park, Illinois at 5151 W 73rd St. Homak employed hundreds of people and was amongst the largest privately held sheet metal companies in the US with sales of over $100 million in the 1990s.

The company entered the hardware business in the 1950s and produced a line of toolboxes for True Value and independent outlets. In the 1970s and through 2004, Homak manufactured large roller and garage cabinets that were marketed through mass retailers and box stores as well as hardware chains. Major customers included Walmart, Kmart, Lowe's, The Home Depot True Value, Ace Hardware, Montgomery Ward, Coast-to-Coast, Costco, Meijer, Pep Boys, Fingerhut, NAPA, etc. Richard Junge conceived of a consumer gun-cabinet line in the early 1980s. Due to the large production and finishing lines, Homak was able to enter the market at a near-monopoly level for the pricing. Major customers included Walmart, Sam’s Club, Bass Pro Shops, Gander Mountain, Dick's Sporting Goods, Cabellas, and Sports Authority.

In January of 2005, Homak was acquired by JVA and its offices were moved to Western Pennsylvania. The company continues to produce gun safes, tool chests, industrial cabinets, and more.