In 1922, William J. Hirten started a company distributing religious goods and church supplies, and aptly named it the William J. Hirten Company. Before he retired in the 1950’s, Hirten’s company was one of the largest religious product suppliers in the world. Because the Hirten Company has over 95 years of success, they are our Expert of the Month!
In the early 2000’s, the William J. Hirten Company formed a partnership with the Bonella family in Milan, Italy. This partnership gave the company access to numerous copyrighted religious images stored in the Bonella Library of Catholic Art. During World War II, the Bonella family saved innumerable pieces of religious artwork from German soldiers. They hid the artwork in underground tunnels to protect it from being destroyed. While some tunnels and pieces were ruined, the Bonella family preserved a majority of the art.
Current owners Jim Dean and Andrea Bonella purchased the company 11 years ago, and moved the company from Brooklyn, NY, to Cumberland, RI. In November of 2016, the company moved once more and settled into their facility in Attleboro, MA. By using the copyrighted artwork, Jim and Andrea have expanded the company to include a wide array of religious products. They sell everything from traditional items like rosaries and crucifixes to items like night lights, framed art, book marks, keychains and more! Because they have such a large selection of products, two of their largest customers are the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in DC and EWTN’s Mother Angelica.
Office manager, Cathy Anthony, believes their customer service makes them stand out from the competition. At the William J. Hirten Company, they never put customers on hold and they never let calls go to voicemail. Their staff is well-trained to answer all questions a customer could ask. The staff also works hard to ship orders within 24 hours—which is unheard of in this industry!
When asked what they like about working with us, Cathy recalls how we helped the company move from Cumberland to Attleboro. She states that “bringing you guys on board lifted a weight off our shoulders. We couldn’t have done it without you.” Cathy also complimented us on our customer service, saying that she likes the fact that our technicians take the time to work with everyone. Cathy told us that “everyone is helpful, polite, and very professional,” and that our team always goes above and beyond. Overall, Cathy exclaims that “the whole team is great—they really are! I have complete confidence in the whole staff.”
The William J. Hirten Company is a distributor, meaning they only sell to stores and internet companies, not individual customers. If you’re a wholesaler or a company that would like to start a conversation about selling religious items, visit their website www.wjhirten.com or call them at 888-WJHIRTEN (944-7836).