<PAGE>

                                                                    EXHIBIT 31.2

HBL, LLC

CERTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE
SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

Certification

I, Thomas E. Schmitt, certify that:

     1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of HBL, LLC;

     2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement
of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the
statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were
made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

     3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements and other financial
information included in this report fairly present in all material respects the
financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as
of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

     4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

        a. Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
           disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
           supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
           registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to
           us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in
           which this report is being prepared;

        b. Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
           and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the
           effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the
           end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation;
           and

        c. Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
           control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrants
           most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is
           reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrants' internal
           control over financial reporting; and

     5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based
on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to
the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of registrant's board of
directors:

        a. All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or
           operation of internal controls over financial reporting which are
           reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
           record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

        b. Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
           employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
           controls over financial reporting.

                                                /s/ Thomas E. Schmitt
                                                --------------------------------
                                                Thomas E. Schmitt
                                                Title: Secretary & Treasurer
                                                (Principal Financial Officer)

                                                Date: March 30, 2004