The company was founded in the late 1940s. Two Frigidaire engineers saw a chance to focus on the kinds of machines that help handle and meter fluids and gases. When Frigidaire wasn’t interested in pursuing production, the engineers struck out on their own. For most of the company’s history, it has been located where it is today, 2280 W. Dorothy Lane.
Sterling, a $2 billion company, bought PCU in 1999 to gain entry into the North American market. When it decided to move on, Hoge seized his chance. Hoge said he saw it as a great opportunity.
Hoge would not disclose terms of the purchase, but he believes the company is well-positioned even though 2008 and 2009 were tough. The recession tore into customer orders, cutting sales volume by 60 percent. The company also shrank its workforce from 105 employees to about 45.
The next two years were stronger. This year, PCU will record about $13 million in sales, Hoge said.
Though the company is about half the size it once was — today there are 50 employees — Hoge calls the firm “a very vital business that I have always believed in.”
“We are in control of our destiny,” Hoge said.
Mike Davis, Moraine economic development director, said the city intends to support the company under its new ownership. He called Hoge a “very driven person” and said he appreciates his loyalty to the area.
“Having Tom Hoge buy it (PCU) makes it local, keeps it local, and that’s important to the city,” Davis said.
The firm specializes in custom orders, Hoge sad. PCU shines in projects less than $750,000 although it does pursue and win bigger orders, he said. His goal is to be his customers’ “supplier of choice,” and for that, he needs their trust, he said.
“I need to be able to define clearly what it is that you want,” said Hoge, a Dayton Region Manufacturing Association board member.
Beyond custom products, the company offers a line of fluid-filling and fluid-testing equipment suitable for automotive, aerospace, defense and other uses. The company expects new growth in the use of what it calls “environmentally senstive” refrigerants and fluids.
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