Hobart Cabinet Company
Another Family Business Profile from FBE…
Hobart Cabinet Company is the last family-owned business of the Hobart family of businesses, all of which have their roots with Clarence Charles Hobart. Over the decades since “C.C.” founded the original Hobart Electric Company in 1907, there have been several branches of Hobart enterprises. The success of Hobart’s heirs and derivative companies has been so remarkable they are the subject of a book entitled The Industrial Hobarts (Peter C. Hobart and Michael W. Williams, 2004 The Donning Company Publishers).
Good Idea
+ Meeting A Need
= A New Business
In its early years as a manufacturer, Hobart Electric designed and built cabinets for their own storage of tools and supplies. The quality and craftsmanship of those cabinets were exceptional; so much so that customers who saw them wanted them for their own use. Not one to miss an opportunity, CC started the Hobart Cabinet Company to meet the demand.Located in Troy, Ohio (near Cincinnati and Columbus), Hobart Cabinet Company today offers a variety of durable, steel-welded cabinets including office products cabinets; flat file cabinets; industrial cabinets; and pharmacy, orthodontic and contractor van cabinets.
Secret To Success:
Craftsmanship And Family Values
In his early days, C.C. Hobart worked with Edison to develop electrical applications to products. He began manufacturing early electric systems and appliances such as generators, lighting systems and dynamos. One innovation that literally jump-started the electric appliance industry was the electric-powered coffee mill, a device that had for so many years been powered by a hand-crank.Marty Hobart, President of Hobart Cabinet Company, is still inspired by the genius and entrepreneurial spirit of his great-grandfather, but he is just as proud of the difference Hobart family members and companies have made in their respective communities. For him, it was and still is about doing the right things. “All of the companies my great-grandfather started were major employers,” says Marty Hobart, “and they have been about giving back to the community in a number of ways. I am grateful to be working on what my grandfather started and see that we have a tremendous legacy to follow. In the end, it comes down to doing the right thing. It’s about being good corporate stewards, realizing that when we make decisions we have to take into consideration all of the people who will be affected by them. We want to be good stewards and make a profit, of course, but not at the expense of other people.”
Check out their web site at http://www.hobartcabinet.com/
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