Wes and Charlie Hartig did not feel forced into the family business.
“Our parents never really pressured us to be in this role,” Wes Hartig said.
It was, however, an opportunity they knew not to pass up. The brothers are the fourth generation of Hartigs — a family who started the tri-state pharmacy chain 120 years ago — to manage the family business. From Williamsburg, Iowa, to Fennimore, Wis., and Prophetstown, Ill., — and everywhere in between — there are 24 Hartig Drug locations.
“(Joining the company) was always part of my plan and thought process,” said Charlie Hartig, current CEO of Hartig Drug. “I’ve enjoyed it thus far. We’re very blessed and lucky.”
Both Hartig brothers did occasional tasks at the store while growing up.
“I definitely grew up … around the stores,” Wes Hartig said. “(I helped) out at the stores at spring breaks, Christmas breaks.”
Dick Hartig, their father, started working at Hartig’s Dubuque stores in 1964 at the age of 15, around the same time his grandfather, company founder Albert J. Hartig, died.
“I was… cleaning toilets and all the other things kids of business owners do,” Dick Hartig said.
After completing pharmacy school and the death of his father, Ken, in 1973, Dick Hartig formally entered the family business and presided over an unprecedented expansion. Although nominally retired, he still serves as chairman today.
“Dad grew the business from a handful of stores,” Charlie Hartig said. “We’re … bigger than we’ve ever been.”
The most recent acquisition was Bellevue (Iowa) Pharmacy in 2020. An extensive company timeline can be found at www.hartigdrug.com/history.
The presence of Hartig Drug stores in local rural communities is an intentional effort by the family. Charlie Hartig said many acquisitions were the result of rural pharmacy owners retiring and not having anyone else to take over their store.
“We’re committed to making sure smaller communities have pharmacy access,” he said.
Aside from rural pharmacy acquisitions, the company has branched out into different sectors of the health care industry. In 1999, Dick Hartig founded
MedOne in response to consolidation by pharmacy benefit management companies.
“The pharmacy industry is being challenged by middlemen,” Charlie Hartig said of pharmacy benefit managers, which operate as intermediaries between insurance providers and the pharmaceutical industry.
Pharmacy benefit managers have increasingly consolidated over the years, with just three companies controlling about 80% of the market.
An Iowa law that went into effect this year prevents PBMs from reimbursing pharmacies less than pharmacies pay to purchase drugs, an increasingly common practice that has contributed to pharmacy closures statewide.
MedOne is a “transparent PBM,” Charlie said, which discloses its fees and ties them to its own performance. It has since split off from Hartig Drug but is run by Wes Hartig.
Another venture is Finley-Hartig Homecare, a medical equipment supplier. Dick Hartig said the company has branched out as pharmacy closures become more common nationwide.
“We’ve diversified enough (to remain profitable),” he said. “We’re competing with national chains across the street.”
Jack Mescher, CEO of Hills & Dales, said he values having an independent local pharmacy as a partner.
“Any time we’ve asked for a special accommodation … Hartig has always accommodated us,” he said.
Mescher said Hartig Drug went out of its way to connect to a computer system Hills & Dales uses to store patient data. He also said on some occasions, when Hills & Dales patients were running low on vital medications, Hartig employees drove from Hartig storage facilities located around Iowa to deliver those medications.
“I don’t see the lack of bureaucracy (at any other pharmacy),” Mescher said.
As their company is a Dubuque-area staple, the Hartigs have been involved in the community outside of work.
Dick Hartig has served on more boards then he can count, he said, and he has made a point to pass the value of community service onto his sons.
“We learned from our dad,” said Charlie Hartig, who serves on several boards, including Hillcrest Family Services and Iowa College Foundation. “He was very giving of his time and talents and dollars.”
Wes Hartig serves on the board of Boys & Girls Club of Greater Dubuque, where he played basketball as a child. He also is a member of Dubuque Forward, a group of local entrepreneurs seeking to encourage development, especially in downtown Dubuque.
“Supporting existing entrepreneurs and emerging entrepreneurs has been a passion of mine since college,” Wes Hartig said.
Rick Dickinson, president and CEO of Greater Dubuque Development Corp., said he has worked closely with the Hartigs over the years.
“The Hartig family … (is) a poster child for immersion into the community,” Dickinson said. “They are always on a quest to make Dubuque a better place.
Dickinson said Wes and Charlie Hartig have good business acumen, allowing the company to still thrive.
“They’re broadening the scope of the company,” he said. “A testimony to their success is how difficult it is to be an independent pharmacy in the 21st century.”
After 120 years, Charlie Hartig said he is planning on 120 more.
“I think the pharmacy will be around,” he said. “People want to receive care from their neighbors. I don’t think that’s going to change any time soon.”
Wes Hartig acknowledges the industry is at “crossroads” but remains optimistic about the company’s future.
“Without community support, we would not be around after 120 years,” he said. “We’re proud to be headquartered in Dubuque.”