Robert Dieckman

Chief Executive Officer Fecon

Last Reviewed: September 28, 2026

Executive Summary

Bob Dieckman is Chief Executive Officer of Fecon, the Lebanon, Ohio manufacturer of forestry mulching heads, mulching tractors, stump grinders and parts. Its equipment is used for utility right-of-way clearing, land management and fire prevention. He took over in 2019 from founder John Heekin, who had started the company in 1992. Since then he has led Fecon through two private equity owners: LFM Capital, and from 2021 Windjammer Capital Investors, which bought the company in partnership with management. Dieckman is a finance executive by training. He was CFO of Basco Manufacturing Company and then of Rotex Global, the Cincinnati screening-equipment maker, before serving as Rotex’s President from 2014 to 2019.

Career Highlights

• Chief Executive Officer of Fecon since 2019, succeeding founder John Heekin.
• Remained CEO through Fecon’s sale by LFM Capital to Windjammer Capital Investors in 2021. Windjammer made the purchase in partnership with management, from its $870 million Senior Equity Fund V.
• President of Rotex Global from 2014 to 2019, after earlier executive roles there. Fecon says Rotex’s sales grew three-fold during his time, through organic growth, international expansion and acquisition.
• Vice President, Finance and CFO of Rotex when Hillenbrand, Inc. acquired it in 2011.
• Vice President of Finance and CFO of Basco Manufacturing Company for 10 years.
• Recognised as Greater Cincinnati CFO of the Year for privately held companies by the Cincinnati Business Courier in 2007, according to Fecon.

Professional Journey

Dieckman graduated from the University of Notre Dame. He spent 10 years as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Basco Manufacturing Company, then joined Rotex, a Cincinnati manufacturer of screening and separation equipment for dry materials. Rotex was then owned by Windjammer Capital Investors, and he later said that was where he first worked with the firm. He was Rotex’s Vice President, Finance and CFO in August 2011, when Hillenbrand, Inc. agreed to buy the business from Rotex Holdings. Hillenbrand’s purchase agreement named him among Rotex’s key employees. He stayed on under Hillenbrand’s ownership. By 2018 he was signing agreements for Rotex’s European subsidiary, and he was Rotex’s President from 2014 to 2019. Fecon credits that period with a three-fold increase in Rotex’s sales.

In 2019 he became Chief Executive Officer of Fecon, succeeding founder John Heekin. Heekin had started the company in Evendale, Ohio in 1992 to supply equipment to the organic resource recovery industry. It later moved to Lebanon, Ohio, and its product line now includes the Bull Hog range of mulching attachments. The leadership change came with private equity ownership. LFM Capital, which invests in small manufacturers, backed Heekin’s exit and described a “seamless leadership transition” to Dieckman. In 2021 LFM sold Fecon to Windjammer Capital Investors, which bought the company in partnership with management. “I first partnered with Windjammer as a senior leader at Rotex,” Dieckman said at the time. He cited the firm’s “detailed approach to operational excellence, leadership development and growth”. Windjammer described Fecon as the leading North American maker of mulching attachments, parts and carriers for vegetation and land management, with more than 550 dealer customers.

Under Windjammer’s ownership Fecon has built out its senior team. Its leadership page now lists a Chief Commercial Officer, a Chief Financial Officer, a Chief Operating Officer and two Executive Vice Presidents alongside Dieckman. Fecon says it has supplied more than 25,000 mulcher heads and has representatives on every continent.

Education

University of Notre Dame

Fecon states that he graduated from Notre Dame. The degree and year are not given.