According to Edith Reiter's 2014 book this instrument was completed on 1 February 1982 and originally sold to a buyer in the USA.
Howe & Hurd (2004) describe heckelphone #4981 as a model 36 voll cons.
As of 2004, heckelphone #4981 was reported to be located in Purchase (NY), USA, owned by Purchase College at the State University of New York. It was played by bassoonist Donald MacCourt of Ridgewood (NJ) in the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
Further details on the history of heckelphone #4981 remain unclear, but it is not unlikely that Purchase College acquired this instrument directly from Heckel.