About Aluminum Building Systems
Thirty years on this coast. One standard,
start to finish.
Family-operated since 1996. Veteran-staffed. Site-engineered on every build. We didn't build this company to be the biggest contractor on the Panhandle — we built it to be the one you'd call again.
The founding story
He left New Jersey in 1993. Never looked back.
Eric Vanheteren came to Northwest Florida in 1993 and started subcontracting pool screen enclosures for the region's larger contractors. He was good at it. He was also frustrated — because the companies he worked for weren't taking care of their customers the way the work deserved.
In 1996, he started Aluminum Building Systems with a simple discipline: design every structure to outlive the home it's attached to. No shortcuts on engineering. No subcontracting the install. No disappearing after the permit is pulled. Thirty years later, he's still on the tools.
Jennifer joined the company and today serves as co-owner and runs the financial and operational side of the business. ABS is a family operation in the original sense — the people who sell it, design it, and build it all work here, answer the phone here, and stand behind every structure with their names on it.
How we build
The Vanheteren Standard. Three principles. No exceptions.
These aren't marketing language. They're the three things Eric refused to compromise on when he started ABS — and the three things that define every project we take on today.
Engineer it for the property, not
the catalog.
Every structure we build is designed to your specific home, stamped to your exact wind zone, and permitted before we break ground. There is no generic ABS template. There is only your build.
The crew that designs it
builds it.
No subcontractors. No handoffs. Drawing plans, pulling permits, and 3D models are all done in-house. One installation crew from build start to finish. One number to call if anything needs attention after.
Build it once. Build it
right.
We have never measured success by the number of projects we complete. We measure it by the number we never have to come back and fix. The Panhandle's climate tests every structure — ours are built to pass that test for decades.
Northwest Florida's Pool Enclosure & Screen Room Builder. 30 Years on This Coast.
Every structure we build in The Emerald Coast is custom-engineered to your property's wind zone — stamped, permitted, and installed by the same crew who designed it.
The team
The people behind every build.
When you call ABS, you're talking to one of these people. When we build your structure, our installation crews are on your property. No call centers. No subcontractors. Same company, start to finish.
Eric
President
Natasha
Chief Administrative Officer Ext. 102
Jennifer
Accounting Ext. 103
Sam
Project Estimator and Sales Ext. 104
Leo
Chief Security Officer & Morale Booster
What customers say
The brand our customers describe in their own words.
We don't curate these. They're what people write when they're unprompted, satisfied, and want to tell someone about the experience.
Ready to Enclose Your Pool or Screen In Your Patio?
We come to your property anywhere across Northwest Florida, measure, and give you one straight quote — no pressure, no showroom, 30 minutes.
Custom aluminum outdoor structures across Northwest Florida. Engineered for the coast. Built to outlast the next storm.
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