Under new ownership: Sheffield Hardware continues to evolve while serving the community

For decades, Sheffield Hardware has become a staple of the local community offering a one-stop hardware shop for farmers, contractors and homeowners alike.

Now under the new ownership of Alex Schmidt, the store, located at 107 S. Main St. in Sheffield, has undergone some changes and growth in order to continue to serve its customers.

Schmidt’s in-laws owned the store since the 1980s, he began working part-time around 2020 after leaving nursing and spending a year in Afghanistan. Schmidt was familiar in the hardware field as he also operated a woodworking business full-time.

“They started talking about retiring and ask if I wanted to buy the hardware store,” Schmidt said. “I figured, why not.”

In the year since taking over, Schmidt has been hard at work looking to bring in new products that customers could find helpful while also rearranging the overall look and feel of the store.

“I’ve done a lot of rearranging in the past year,” Schmidt said. “I brought in all the power tools, those are all new. I’ve also brought in a lot of new plumbing parts that they didn’t have previously that people are buying more frequently now.”

Aside from updating regular hardware items such as nuts, bolts and screws; Schmidt added that the additions of a variety of the plumbing items have led to the store being able to provide more specialized services that it wasn’t able to in the past.

“In the last six months I’ve also brought in a hydraulic hose crimper and a manufacturer’s system for the farmers,” Schmidt said. “I also have rental tools as well that I started last summer.”

The rental tools the store offers gives people a chance to use a particular tool that they need for a project without having to purchase it outright.

Services like offering rental tools and even being a UPS drop off location have helped Schmidt turn his attention towards the future of the business.

“The reception has been really good,” Schmidt said. “A lot of people have been excited about the all the new things that have been coming in. It helps in this area not having to drive to the Quad Cities or Peru for those items.”

“My big clientele is the farmers coming in, so if I can save them an extra 10-minute drive time, it’s great,” Schmidt said. “My plan is to bring in as many new products as I can so they’re not having to drive as far.”

As a veteran-run business, Schmidt also hopes to continue to bring in as many American-made products as possible.

Sheffield Hardware is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.