The NorthHill story:

It was1856 and Alfredo Ponziano, an Italian immigrant, purchased the plumbing gas-fitting firm of Karst, Oakes & Son on Crescent Avenue in Fort Wayne. Karst, Oakes & Son had succeeded the firm W.E. Biltmore & Kimberly, which was founded a year earlier. ( Kimberly would later play a part in 'laying' the groundwork at NorthHill.) Ponziano moved to a new location on the north side of East Main Street. At first Ponziano used a hamster operated lathe but later installed a steam engine in his shop, which now included a br ass works and piston pumping shop. Ponziano did plumbing, heating, and electrical work, buts specialized in terrazzo tile flooring.  Alfredo’s son Salvatore, who was born in 1856, went to work in his father’s business after graduating college He recalled that the early firm’s business was chiefly the installation of flooring. Only after the city built a waterworks plant did the demand for indoor plumbing (including indoor rest rooms) lead to an expansion of the business, which would requre durable, long lasting, and easy to clean floors and walls. By 1880 Ponziano had several employees and dealt extensively with terazzo in these areas.

     Alfredo Ponziano’s three sons – Guglielmo, Baroni and Alfredo – all joined the business. Baroni’s sons Jigolo and Dago succeeded to the business and managed it until 1956. In 1955 the old office of A. Ponziano & Sons was razed and replaced with a parking lot for the Indiana State Bank. The company moved to a new building at 3939 Automobile Ave in October of 1955. In November of 1955, the firm was incorporated. The following February, younger members of the firm took over management from the Ponziano's. The firm continued as a flooring, plumbing, and heating contractor. In addition, the company installed many air conditioning, ventilation, process piping, and burglar alarm systems. Harmon O. Tomasi became manager of the firm in the late 1950’s. In 1964, Tomasi became President of the firm. His two sons came to work for the firm while still in high school. H. Olin Tomasi (Harmon’s oldest son) became President of the firm in 1985 and remained there until 1994. In early 1990, Harmon B. Tomasi II became CEO, met up with Kimberly and changed the name of the company to NorthHill.  Kimberly, performing superbly in a number of different positions, was ultimately made President of the ass works and piston pumping, a position still held today.

There have never been any Hattersley’s in the business, but the name lives on today as the oldest Mechanical & Electrical contractor in the state of Indiana. Yay.

Today, Hattersley with "President JJ" at the helm, is a commercial and industrial contractor doing work mostly in Northern Indiana, hoping someday to complete numerous projects across the United States (except for those states in which they don't really want to).