How we connect to our customers now...

Trade shows to the internet to social networking, I have been wondering lately which is the best way to connect with current and potential customers?

When I started working at Hill Engineering in 1988 the company had a pretty aggressive marketing strategy for a smaller company consisting of 2-4 trade shows per year, speaking at the roll forming conferences and had a very busy advertising schedule. Even though at times it was hard to put an exact number for the ROI it would be amazing how many people who contact us the first time say "I saw your advertisement", "you sent me information from a request out of a magazine", "I saw Mr. Don Hill speak at a conference".

Back before Al Gore created the internet most people in the manufacturing industry would find out about new products by reading the trade magazines, possibly visit an industry specific trade shows or technical conference.

As we got into the 90's and the power of the internet was at its starting point companies started having websites because that was the thing to do, but it also offered another avenue of advertising and then ordering your merchandise on line....that I am sure most people did not now that it would lead to where we are at now.

With advertising budgets thinned down in most companies due the most current economic down turn, companies have been turning to an avenue that has taken off in the past few years....social networking. There are many different styles of networking now, My Space, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, just to name a few.

Mr. Dan Davis the editor-in-chief at FMA communications Inc wrote a nice editorial in the August 2009 Fabricator addressing this issue with a rundown of some of the different media's and as we at Hill Engineering and our sister companies in the Formtek Group have been embracing this type of technology I wonder are we adding to our industry base? With no doubts we are seeing different types of people and companies viewing our pages and some of these contacts we would not have reached by seeing at one of our trade shows or conferences but is the typed words or graphics on a page the same as shaking a person’s hand, greeting them with a smile, and conversing.......what do you think???

Paul Williams
Sales Manager-Hill Engineering

On Line

Welcome to Hill Engineering's (a memeber of the Formtek Group) new blog spot.

Our plan is to use this space to supply general and techanical information for the roll forming and metal stamping industires tapping into Hill Engineering's 59 years of experience. Besides our the conventional avenues we have pursued for educating at trade shows and conferences we are excited to use this new medium to help the rollforming industry.

Hill Engineering started out as a Tool & Die shop in 1950 with one employee - Maurice Hill. Since then it has expanded to 90 employees in two locations (see below) back to a more focused approach on roll forming and stamping dies. From the very beginning we designed and built standard stamping dies as well as flying dies and systems for the roll forming industry.

In 1981 we moved into the present location of our main plant in Villa Park, Illinois and in 1992 we doubled the size of it to the present 30,000 square feet. Also, in 1989, we opened a tool & die facility in Danville, Kentucky, which is 6,000 square feet in size and was currently expanded to 14,000 square feet in 2004.

From our humble 1950 beginnings we have grown into a leader in tool & die making and special machine building, especially relating to the stamping, roll forming and tubing industries. Throughout our growth we have added pneumatics, hydraulics and electronics expertise to our tool & die making skills.

Hill Engineering's reputation throughout the years has been built on our unwavering belief that the customer deserves a vendor who continues to provide innovative and unique solutions to their problems, as well as standard-setting quality and unprecedented service - it is who we are.
In 1997 Mestek, Inc. purchased 90% of Hill Engineering, Inc. Mestek, was listed on the New York Stock Exchange at that time, and is a diversified manufacturer of heating, ventilating and air conditioning equipment, metal hose and hose products, aluminum extrusions, metal-forming & fabricating machinery and vertically integrated software systems.

Hill Engineering is a subsidiary of Formtek, Inc., which consists of the metal-forming & fabricating machinery group of Mestek. In 2004 Mestek, Inc purchased the last 10% of Hill Engineering stock making it a full subsidiary and combined with Yoder/Dahlstrom/Tishken/Lockformer and B&K to create Formtek Metal Forming.

In August 2007 Hill Tool and Die in Danville, KY closed it's doors for the final time with all operations move back to Hill Engineering Villa Park, IL

In 2008 Mestek, Inc and Hill Engineering decided to spin off it's gasket product line and associated equipment to refocus on it's core business product line of roll forming. In fall Hill Engineering moved to a new facility in Carol Stream, IL dedicated to provide high quality, competitive price dies and equipment for the roll forming industry.

Hill Engineering continues to provide quality solutions for-stamping dies, prenotch, post notch, and cutoff dies (and systems) for the roll forming industry, hydraulic punching and cutoff systems for the roll forming and tubing industries, high speed rotary punching machines, high speed flying saw systems for the roll forming and tubing industries, "dimple-free" hydraulic tube cutoff systems, progressive and compound dies and standard air presses and hydraulic presses.

We will continue to strive to maintain our reputation for being one of the top Tool & Die making and Special Machine Builders world wide.