History

In 1909 when J.R. Hoe, a steel mill superintendent from Pittsburgh, read about a small foundry for sale in the mountains of Kentucky he decided to travel down by train to take a look. He saw opportunity when he walked through the old Pioneer Foundry facility in Middlesboro, KY – so he signed a 3-year lease to operate the company. Thus began, over 100 years ago, J. R. Hoe & Sons, Inc.

J.R. was soon joined in Kentucky by his wife and family including five sons - Walter, Edward, Homer, William, and Harry – each of whom was skilled in a different facet of iron making and machine work. Over the next several decades the father and sons built the company into a regional center of metalworking expertise. J.R. Hoe & Sons became established in the burgeoning coal mining industry of the southern mountains, designing and building equipment made from their own iron castings, including hundreds of their patented self-dumping mine cars, a labor-saving standard in the industry for decades.

J.R. and his sons grew their young company through hard work and ironmaking know how, guided always by their customer-first philosophy. They soon began to expand. When the Watts Iron Works, a large blast iron smelting operation closed nearby in the 1920’s, the Hoes bought and moved the rivet-constructed main building piece-by-piece and re-erected it beside the foundry. The 16000 S.F. structure still serves today as the main fabrication facility. A decade later when the adjoining Middlesboro Ice Plant was closed the Hoes converted the insulated brick building into a modern machine shop, which is also still in production.

It wasn’t all work back then. During the 1920’s and 1930’s four of the sons formed the Hoe Quartet, a barbershop-style singing group that became very well known around the region. They were in great demand for public events of all kinds and on several occasions traveled for by Model T Ford over dirt roads to Louisville and Cincinnati to perform on radio.

The company grew – and sacrificed – with the nation. During WWI JR Hoe & Sons served as a regional metals collection center where vital commodities such as brass and copper were recycled for the war effort. Numerous company employees and family members served in WWII including Walter Jr., Homer Jr., and Harry M. – grandsons of J. R. Hoe – all of whom returned from the war to manage the company through the 1980’s. Harry M. Hoe landed in Europe during the D-Day invasion, fought in Patton’s 3rd Army, and returned home decorated with a Silver and two Bronze Stars. He is still active in the company today.

By the 1950’s, Hoe & Sons had diversified into engineered steel. Led by Jack T. Mason, P.E. – son of long-time shop foreman Lloyd Mason – the company designed and built numerous coal handling systems that were installed throughout the southern mining region. During this period also, the HOE foundry began to produce and market its own line of construction castings for the nation’s booming infrastructure system. The first street castings installed in many towns and cities throughout the region bear the ‘HOE OF KY ‘ mark of quality and reliability.

When 4th generation member Harry H. ‘Bo’ joined Harry M. Hoe to manage the company in 1988 the company initiated a period of growth and diversification. Over 15000 S.F. of production space was added to the foundry operations, fabrication and machining equipment and processes were modernized, and in 2000 HOE opened a regional sales and distribution facility in Louisville, KY.

Both foundry and fabrication divisions expanded into new markets. Along with its line of construction castings, HOE began to produce a diverse range of gray and ductile iron castings for many industries such as pump and valve, material handling, and aluminum processing. Also, the company moved into aluminum and stainless steel fabrication and now offers a diverse range of construction-related metal fabrications for infrastructure projects across the US. A full computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) machining facility was established to offer the customer a ‘single source’ option for precision machined castings and weldments.

One of the key ingredients for success at J.R. Hoe & Sons during its first 100 years has been the ‘CAN DO” attitude of its employees. Master molders, melters, welders, machinists – with their collective expertise and their determination to meet customer’s needs – have been vital through the decades at J. R. Hoe & Sons. The current workforce undergoes continuous training in production technology, quality management, and plant safety. One of the company’s proudest achievements during its long history was recognition in 2009 with the Kentucky Governor Safety and Health Award for Excellence in workplace safety. The J.R. Hoe employees recently completed 5 consecutive years without a lost time workplace injury.

So over 100 years after J.R. Hoe first walked through the old Pioneer Foundry a modern, versatile, and quality-focused metalworking company continues in operation. Iron is still poured each day but it is melted by state-of- the-art electric induction technology. Casting mold designs are now configured by computerized solidification modeling. And the latest fabrication software generates designs which are programmed directly into CNC machines that cut, drill, and machine parts for highly accurate fabrications.

The current Hoe management team is progressive-minded – yet always conscious of the company’s strong past. And some things have not changed over the past 100 years. Long before it became fashionable to develop a corporate Mission Statement, J.R. and his sons established the standard of excellence for their company:

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IS THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS!