THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 19, 1996 TAG: 9604190521
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
About 7:30 in the morning, when Ken Hoffer was well into a corporate meeting, his business collapsed around him.
A tornado tore through Hoffer Flow Controls Inc.'s industrial offices, tearing off the roof, hurling furniture across the room and toppling walls that people were clinging to for protection.
``I just remember thinking, `This is it,' '' recalled Hoffer, who started the company in a New Jersey garage in the 1960s and six years ago moved it to Elizabeth City.
No one was seriously hurt in the disaster that destroyed the facilities of the company that makes devices to measure the flow of liquids and natural gas.
It didn't wipe out the company, which immediately began an amazing reconstruction.
Thanks to community outpouring and a corporate strategy, Hoffer Flow Controls has become one of the state's top exporters and is gaining recognition for its products - and for Elizabeth City.
On Thursday, Hoffer and three others who had been at that fateful meeting Nov. 23, 1992, announced the company had been named one of North Carolina's Top 20 international exporters.
``It has become a true success story for Elizabeth City and all the people who reside here,'' said Randy Harrell, director of the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Industrial Development Commission.
The company will accept a 1996 North Carolina World Trade Association Export 20 Award next month at a ceremony in Wilmington. The award is sponsored by Arthur Anderson, the world's largest international tax, accounting and business advisory firm.
To even be considered for a prize, companies must have had at least $1 million in international export revenues last year. Winners had the highest percentage of change in export revenues from 1994 to 1995.
Hoffer Flow saw its export sales jump from $1.18 million to $1.93 million during that period. Total sales for the company this year are expected to be about $7 million, said John Gannon, the company's marketing manager.
A lot of the credit goes to John Kelly, the company's international sales representative, who is in England this week.
In addition to the award, Hoffer Flow Controls will be featured in special editions of two regional business magazines, The Business Journal of Charlotte and Triangle Business Journal.
And there are signs that the company is continuing to grow. Another 10,000 square feet is being added to the 5.6-acre complex and more than 60 people are on the payroll, compared with 20 employees when it first opened here.
``It is truly amazing how quickly this company has rebounded,'' said Harrell, who was on hand for Thursday's announcement.
Ken Hoffer officially began the company in 1969, after the flow-control plant that had employed him for 12 years went bankrupt. He had started off doing repairwork out of his Port Monmouth, N.J., home.
By then, flow controls - started in 1940 to measure the fuel flow in U.S. Navy airplanes - were almost 30 years old.
In 1990, Hoffer relocated the company to Elizabeth City and set up shop in an industrial park off Weeksville Road.
Two years later, disaster hit. Within hours, people from the nearby U.S. Coast Guard base, among others, were helping move salvageable equipment into a building offered by Dick Aufenger, president of Pell Paper Box Co.
``He never charged a nickel,'' Hoffer said.
Seven months after the tornado, the company opened its new facility on the same property.
Today, Hoffer Flow Controls sells its products to just about every section of the world.
Its latest conquest is mainland China, which began taking orders nine months ago. ``That was probably one of the last regions we were not selling in,'' said Sandra Kelly, vice president of sales.
A key to the recent success has been gaining other nation's accreditations.
``We've been very aggressive in seeking applications and approvals to be able to export to other countries,'' Hoffer said.
In particular, the International Standards Organization 9000 accreditation has opened up markets in Europe, a source for a lot of foreign sales.
``Definitely a part of the growth we've seen is because of that,'' said Sandra Kelly, who is also Hoffer's daughter.
Another family member is Hoffer's brother, Donald, who is vice president of purchasing and personnel.
That each Hoffer Flow Controls product bears the company name and Elizabeth City, N.C., means more recognition for this community.
And Hoffer Flow Controls' success may mean more business opportunities for the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank County area.
``They play a big part in helping us market the community,'' Harrell said. ``Having companies of this magnitude and this success helps us bring other companies to the area.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
DREW C. WILSON
The Virginian-Pilot
Hoffler Flow Controls is back on top. Pictured from left are Eddie
Temple, founder Ken Hoffer and marketing manager John Gannon.
by CNB