American Wilbert Vault

What American Wilbert Vault does

American Wilbert Vault Corp. is a family-owned regional manufacturer and distributor of burial vaults, cremation urns, and cemetery memorialization products, headquartered in Hillside, Illinois. The company is the first and longest-standing licensee of Wilbert Funeral Services, Inc. (WFSI), which licenses the proprietary Wilbert asphalt-lined concrete burial vault technology originally invented by Wilbert W. Haase in 1930. Its core product portfolio spans a tiered line of Wilbert burial vaults (Ultimate/Premium/Standard tiers including The Wilbert Bronze, Copper Triune, Bronze Triune, Stainless Steel Triune, Cameo Rose Triune, and Veteran Triune), glass and decorative cremation urns (Crystal Lily, KB Infinity series), personalization services (emblems, appliques, monograms, paint), Pierce brand mortuary chemicals, cemetery granite products including columbarium niches and monument installation, and adjacent precast concrete products through an SI Precast partnership.

The company sells exclusively through B2B channels to funeral directors, cemetery operators, and crematories across five Illinois counties (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry) and a portion of Lake County, Indiana; end consumers (families) are reached indirectly at the point of need. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated through funeral professionals on a one-time sale basis per vault, urn, or project. The WFSI relationship is structural: WFSI sets manufacturing specifications and inspects licensees, while American Wilbert operates as an independent regional manufacturer inside a network of nearly 200 licensees serving 18,000+ funeral homes, cemeteries, and crematories across North America.

The business is operated by the third and fourth generation of the Reichle family, currently under President Amy M. Reichle, who assumed day-to-day oversight in 2019. The company has 1-10 employees, no external funding, no disclosed revenue, and has historically pursued growth through acquisitions (notably Otis Vault Co. in 1952) and product-line extensions rather than geographic expansion. Recent activity is limited to incremental product refreshes, principally the 2024 release of Volume 11 of the Wilbert Cremation Choices catalog, reflecting a defensive response to the secular shift from burial to cremation in U.S. deathcare.

Name

American Wilbert Vault

Legal name

American Wilbert Vault Corp.

Website

https://americanwilbert.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1924

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

American Wilbert Vault is a family-owned Illinois manufacturer and the first licensee of Wilbert Funeral Services, producing asphalt-lined burial vaults, cremation urns, cemetery granite products, and Pierce mortuary chemicals for funeral directors, cemeteries, and crematories across the Chicagoland area and northwest Indiana.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hillside

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Burial Vault Sales: American Wilbert manufactures and sells Wilbert burial vaults, including premium options like Wilbert Bronze and Copper Triune, as well as standard Stainless Steel Triune vaults. Products are sold to funeral directors who provide them to families at time of need.
2. Cremation Urns: Sale of cremation urns including glass urns, memento pieces, and paperweights. Products include Crystal Lily Azure Blue Urn, KB Infinity series, and various memorial urns.
3. Pierce Chemical Products: American Wilbert delivers Pierce Chemicals products (embalming chemicals, cosmetics, instruments, safety products, chapel supplies) to counties in Illinois, expanding beyond just burial vaults.
4. Granite and Cemetery Products: Cemetery granite products including columbarium niches and monument installation services for cemetery construction projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

American Wilbert Vault manufactures and distributes Wilbert-branded burial vaults, cremation urns, cemetery granite products, and Pierce mortuary chemicals. The company primarily serves funeral professionals and cemetery operators across Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, and McHenry counties in Illinois and Lake County, Indiana, supplying protective burial receptacles, glass and decorative cremation urns, columbarium niches, cemetery signage, and ancillary funeral industry supplies.

Product overview

American Wilbert Vault offers a comprehensive portfolio of burial and cremation products and services. The core offerings include a tiered line of Wilbert burial vaults (Ultimate/Premium/Standard tiers) such as The Wilbert Bronze, Copper Triune, Bronze Triune, Stainless Steel Triune, Cameo Rose Triune, and Veteran Triune, which house and protect caskets. For cremation, the company provides glass and decorative urns including the KB Infinity collection in various colors and forms (urns, mementos, paperweights), plus the Crystal Lily Azure Blue Urn. The portfolio extends to personalization services (paint, emblems, appliques, monograms), Pierce brand chemicals and mortuary equipment, and cemetery granite products including columbarium and niche installations. The company operates as a third-generation family business dating to the 1880s, serving Illinois and Indiana counties through funeral home professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Wilbert Bronze (Ultimate) Burial Vault
• Copper Triune (Premium) Burial Vault
• Bronze Triune (Premium) Burial Vault
• Stainless Steel Triune (Standard) Burial Vault
• Cameo Rose Triune (Standard) Burial Vault
• Veteran Triune (Standard) Burial Vault
• Crystal Lily Azure Blue Urn
• KB Infinity Cremation Urns Collection
• Personalization Services
• Pierce Chemicals
• Cemetery Granite Products

Quantifiable outcome

• Served 1,000,000+ Wilbert units by 1970

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wilbert Funeral Services, Inc. (WFSI)coreTechnology or Integration · 15 May 1944American Wilbert is the first licensee of WFSI, which develops burial vault technology and fabrication standards. WFSI licenses the manufacturing of Wilbert burial vaults to the network of licensees. Field service engineers visit and inspect all locations regularly to ensure rigorous standards are met, covering vault manufacturing specifications, procedures, and service standards.
• Wilbert DirectminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWilbert Direct is an eCommerce platform for Funeral Professionals, providing online purchasing options for funeral industry products.
• Wilbert FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Wilbert Foundation helps children who experience traumatic events, demonstrating corporate social responsibility within the Wilbert network.
• Signet SupplyminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSignet Supply provides high quality caskets at value pricing through distribution channels throughout the U.S.
• Wilbert Cemetery ConstructionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTurnkey lawn crypt and columbarium niche installation throughout the U.S., expanding services beyond burial vaults to complete cemetery development.
• Wilbert MemorialsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMonument design, production and installation services sold through retail and wholesale channels in select states.
• SI PrecastminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-funeral related precast concrete products including Redi-Rock retaining wall systems, wastewater systems, agricultural products, storm shelters, parking curbs, and architectural precast products in select states.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

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