Last month, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a 35 percent, five-year tax credit in exchange for Hohman adding 25 full-time jobs and boosting the company’s payroll by $700,000.
Today, the company has about 140 employees, about 10 more than it had in May 2007. Two new employees will start Monday, and Dave Fulton, Hohman president, expects to make five more new hires by the end of the year.
Fulton is confident the company can meet or exceed the hiring agreement with the state.
The recession was not kind to Hohman. Business dropped 30 percent. But sales have grown 20 percent this year over 2010 and Hohman managers are confident. The economists they consult don’t believe a double-dip recession will happen, Fulton said.
Hohman has 1,200 customers who generate about 45,000 orders a year. The largest customer represents no more than 10 percent of the company’s total business. Fulton said the company’s 15 different coating technologies play a big part in attracting customers.
Another local metals coater, Techmetals Inc., also appears to be doing well, physically expanding at its Springfield Street home. Fulton said metals finishers tend to create their own natural niches and specialties, which can allow both companies to thrive.
A spokesman for Washington, D.C.-based National Association for Surface Finishing declined comment, but online magazine MetalFinishing.com recently pointed to a rise in durable goods manufacturing as good news for the industry. Durable goods output rose 7.9 percent in September from the same month last year, the magazine said. For the third quarter as a whole, industrial production rose at an annual rate of 5.1 percent.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.
About the Author
