Mr. Alfred Heller founded Alfred Heller Heat Treating Co. in 1932 for the purpose of providing heat-treating services to the metal working industry in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. The company operated on Pearl Street In downtown Manhattan (near City Hall) until 1962 when it moved to its present location in Clifton, New Jersey. The business was joined by Norman Hodgson in 1946 and was headed by him until his passing in 1978. Today, this C Corporation is operated by his sons, Robert and Thomas and serves 500 customers from New England to the Middle Atlantic States. Since 1962, the company has experienced steady growth, and now occupies almost 100,000 square feet at its Clifton, New Jersey location that is five times as much space as its original 20,000 square feet. The current employment level is 120, double the number employed in 1980, which was twice the number of employees in 1962.

Alfred Heller Heat Treating Co. is the largest combined metal heat treating and finishing operation on the East Coast. Heat treating transforms metal parts and provides them with certain metallurgical qualities, such as specific hardness, ductility, or spring capabilities. Heller's heat treating sales volume places it 4th out of more than 25 organizations reporting sales in the Middle Atlantic slates to the Metal Treating Institute (MTI), the national organization of heat treaters. Alfred Heller ranks 46th out of more than 220 nationwide reporting members. Today, Heller's finishing operations-zinc electroplating, zinc phosphating, and dip spin painting provide almost one-halt of its total sales volume. Metal finishing provides heat-treated (or non-heat treated) parts with certain aesthetic qualities, as well as wear characteristics and corrosion protection. Heller is a member of the National Association of Metal Finishers (NAME).