The History of Hoskin & Muir

In 1946 Ed Hoskin hauled a trailer load of decorative aluminum (counter edging, Formica caps,
mirror and carpet molding, etc. purchased from the !illiam ". #onnell compan$ in %oungsto&n,
'hio, to (an Francisco, )alifornia. He struggled along &holesaling the trim for a couple of $ears,
advertised for a financial partner, and one da$, *ennis +uir sho&ed up on his doorstep. ,he$
formed a partnership and in 194-, Hoskin . +uir &as /orn. For the ne0t several $ears Ed &orked
inside ans&ering the phones and packing and invoicing the orders and +r. +uir hit the road
drumming up /usiness. #$ the &a$, *ennis +uir &as pro/a/l$ the most unforgetta/le character I1ve
ever kno&n. 2 native 3e& 4ealander (he carried a green card all his life, /rilliant (a doctorate of
la& from the 5niversit$ of "ondon, trial la&$er, an entrepreneur &ho made his fortune in the
out/ack of 2ustralia during the depression /ut lost it all at the /eginning of !!II, author of a
/estselling novel, etc. In 1966 +r. +uir (&e al&a$s addressed him formall$ /ought Ed Hoskin out
of the partnership and the /usiness continued successfull$ for man$ $ears.
In the fall of 1978, +r. +uir advertised in the !all (treet 9ournal for a salesman partner : someone
to succeed him in the /usiness. I, a ;9 $ear old e0:2pollo aerospace engineer, sho&ed up on his
doorstep. I and man$ others &ere put through a series of competitive e0ams, e0tensive intervie&s,
etc., and in four months I &as offered the position. For the ne0t fifteen $ears &e sold lots of
aluminum trim from 2ga1a, <uam to (team/oat (prings, )olorado. I &as on the road, 2l 9ohnson
(no& in our "ouisville facilit$ &orked the order desk and !es *e(oto (also in "ouisville packed
the orders. 'ur customers included hard&are stores and lum/er $ards, floor covering shops, glass
houses, and various /uilding su/contractors.
In the mid 19-81s, &e started selling aluminum to sho&er door manufacturers and this segment of
our /usiness /ecame increasingl$ important to us. In 199= &e had a falling out &ith our largest
customer, a sho&er door manufacturer, &hich inspired us to go into that /usiness. !e formed a
partnership &ith another customer, 2ri>ona (ho&er *oor out of ?hoeni0, and started selling their
product outside the state of 2ri>ona. +ikel @inser ("ivermore landed Height1s <lass in )hicago as
a customer in 1994, &hich led me to think : if &e can effectivel$ service a large mid:&estern
account out of "ivermore, ho& much eastern 5.(. /usiness could &e get if &e had an eastern
locationA I talked &ith our e0trusion supplier, )ardinal 2luminum, and the$ suggested "ouisville
&ould /e the perfect location.
In 9anuar$ of 1996 I moved to "ouisville and together &ith *oc (9ames *achenhaus in "ivermore,
/uilt storage racks /ought and installed fa/rication eBuipment, and loaded in inventor$. #usiness in
"ouisville took off Buickl$ thanks to man$ people, /ut especiall$ )urtis %oung, the /est inside sales
gu$ I1ve ever kno&n and !es *e(oto, &ho ran the shop. !e /ought 2ri>ona (ho&er *oor out of
the partnership in 1996 and started adding distri/ution facilitiesC )erritos and ,e0as in 1999, Ha&aii
in ;88=, and #oston and (parks in ;884. In ;887 &e added a glass fa/rication and tempering
facilit$, a po&der:coat line, and a kiln for making cast glass. ,oda$, )ardinal (ho&er Enclosures is
not onl$ one of the largest sho&er door manufacturers in the countr$, /ut is highl$ respected as
/eing the most progressive and innovative compan$ in the /usiness.
3o&, Hoskin . +uir has the largest stock of decorative aluminum e0trusions in the countr$. !ith a
&ide range of finishes, &e1ve got &hat $ou need. "ast fall &e /uilt a po&der:coat line in our
"ouisville office to provide custom po&der:coating to our customers. 2ll our stock e0trusions are
no& availa/le to order online. !ith a huge inventor$ and e0cellent customer service, Hoskin .
+uir has &hat $ou1re looking for.
For +ore Info C httpCDD&&&.prohmi.com
)ontact 5( C Hoskin . +uir, Inc.
6611:) ?reston 2venue
"ivermore, )2 94661
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