Buchheit Enterprises, with a location in Greenville, is commemorating their 80th anniversary this year.
In 1934 Rudy Buchheit scratched out a living hauling just about anything from Perry County Missouri to St. Louis. In the midst of the Great Depression, he identified a demand for bringing goods back from the “big city”.
Borrowing $200 from his father-in-law, Buchheit set up shop in a former saloon, offering staples such as sugar, flour, beans, and pickled herring, along with some hardware and livestock feed.
Eighty years later the Buchheit enterprise encompasses eight retail stores in Illinois and Missouri, an agricultural feed business, a massive warehouse, and a trucking enterprise to distribute farming supplies throughout the Midwest.
Four generations of Buchheits have contributed to the company’s growth. Rudy’s son, Kenny Buchheit, is chairman of the board and five of Kenny’s children serve in various administrative roles.
Buchheit Enterprises employs over 630 people in fourteen locations.
