Some days I come in here. It’s like, am I really doing this?”

Ben Schwieger

What began as a side business installing residential shower doors has grown into a full-service commercial and residential glass company with more than $1 million in work on the books, and owner Ben Schwieger celebrated that growth with a ribbon cutting organized by the Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce.
Schwieger, a Hastings native who has worked in the glass industry for about 23 years, spent much of his career in commercial glass sales and estimating. About five years ago, he began doing residential shower doors on the side. As that portion of the business continued to grow, he eventually decided it was time to make the jump into business ownership full time.
“I had two commercial jobs that were kind of in the hopper, and that was kind of my green light, and I made the jump,” Schwieger said.
Schwieger Glass now handles both residential and commercial projects. Residential services include shower doors, mirrors, glass tabletops and glass shelving. On the commercial side, the company works with aluminum storefront systems, entrances, storefront windows, preglazed windows, glass replacement and interior heavy glass partitions.
Many of the projects are custom built after measurements are taken on site. For commercial storefront work, long pieces of aluminum are delivered to the Hastings shop, where they are cut and fabricated into frames based on measurements from the project site. Schwieger said the 24-foot lengths of aluminum were one reason he needed a larger shop rather than trying to operate the business from a smaller space.
Finding that space happened quickly. Schwieger signed the lease in June 2025 while preparing for a project at the St. James Hotel in Red Wing. With the job approaching, he needed somewhere to receive material and fabricate the storefront system.
“I had to find a space,” Schwieger said. “I was looking everywhere.”
He eventually contacted Langer Construction, which owns the building. Schwieger met with the company the following day, moved in about two weeks later and had his saw installed another week after that. Material began arriving shortly afterward.
The pace has not slowed much since. Schwieger said the company is currently booked about three months out, with more than $1 million worth of work lined up.
“Some days I come in here. It’s like, am I really doing this?” Schwieger said. “Everything’s moved so fast, so it’s just, I like it. I’d never go backwards.”
The company serves customers throughout the Twin Cities area, although Schwieger said he will travel farther for larger projects. One potential project in Detroit Lakes, for example, involves about 60 shower doors. In general, however, his goal is to work within roughly a 90-mile radius.
Lead times depend on the type of project. Residential shower doors and mirrors generally take about two to three weeks. Commercial storefront projects depend more heavily on construction schedules because openings must be ready before final measurements can be taken. Once measurements are complete, shop drawings are prepared, aluminum is fabricated and glass can be ordered.
Schwieger is currently handling sales, estimating and project management responsibilities, but said his long-term goal is to add a project manager who can oversee jobs after they are sold. That would allow him to spend more time concentrating on the work he has handled throughout most of his career.
“I need to do what I’m good at, that is selling the jobs and then hand it off,” Schwieger said. “That’s what I’ve always done, like the last 20 years, is sales and estimating.”
For Schwieger, establishing the business in Hastings was an easy decision.
“Born and raised. I’ve always lived here,” he said. “Just the connection, like all the people.”
With a growing project list, a shop capable of handling commercial fabrication and plans to expand the team, Schwieger Glass has moved well beyond the side business Schwieger started five years ago. The Chamber ribbon cutting gave the Hastings business community an opportunity to recognize that growth, while Schwieger is already looking toward the next round of jobs coming through the shop.