OUR HISTORY
1921
Over 100 years of heritage.
Robert J. Smith Sr. and Henry P. Smith founded HMC shortly after the sinking of Kings Mine, one of the largest Underground Mines in Indiana for over 50 years. HMC’s original purpose was to serve this mine.
HMC was originally owned by Princeton Mining Company, a subsidiary of Deep Vein Coal Co. These companies are Terre Haute Indiana based Corporations and part of our 5th Generation Family’s Heritage that spans more than 100 years.
1930
An interesting note.
An interesting note: The Princeton Farms, established in the early 1930’s by the Smith Family, was one of the largest Farming Operations in Indiana. A major part of its business was raising and packaging Popcorn. Part of our heritage included Orville Redenbacher.
His start in the Popcorn industry began in Princeton. Orville’s tenure with our company was somewhere between the late 1940s and through the early 1950s. He left Princeton Farms and went back to his home in Valparaiso Indiana, and as you probably know, did quite well in the Popcorn industry.
1940
A long family history.
In 1942, after the death of Robert J. Smith Sr., Henry P. Smith took over HMC, directed and grew the company for the next 50 years.
1973
The 1973 Oil Embargo.
The 1973 Oil Embargo caused one of the greatest economic inflations since World War II. Prices on every commodity escalated dramatically.
Due to the supplementation of domestic big coal and oil companies and a chain of events that caused contract coal to skyrocket, the Mining Equipment OEM’s became inundated with new machine orders. Their lead times for delivery of replacement parts went out to as long as several years. Overnight many surface mines discovered that the replacement parts and service they required for their machines was nonexistent. This chain of events presented HMC with the opportunity it needed
1980
The beginning of large gear manufacturing.
The opportunity from the embargo along with its profitability allowed us to begin updating our company with advanced technology and resources. We were able to bring engineers and other technical associates on board and we began acquiring more equipment.
By 1980 we were manufacturing quality gearing up to 10 feet in diameter.
1990
Expanding for our future.
In the early 1990’s we developed a Marketing Campaign that would expose us to industries nationwide. Within a short period of time this venture became promising enough to give us the confidence to move forward in 1994 with our Year 2000 Expansion and Updating Plan.
This planning encompassed new buildings, machine tools, inspection equipment, more welding technology, the “beefing up” of many of our departments with additional technical resources.
2000
Growth through diverse industries.
By the year 2000, HMC’s Large Precision Gears were furnishing or transmitting power for companies throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Latin America for Bridges, Mining Machines, Steel and Aluminum Equipment, Sugar Mills, Cement and other Aggregate Mills, and for the Military.
We continued to show the same quality, technology, responsiveness, commitment, dedication, and service, as we had for decades to the mining industry.
2007
Building for larger capacity.
In 2007, HMC completed building a new Super Heavy Welding and Fabrication Facility.
This new facility allowed us to move our welding from our 18,000 sq. foot High Bay Buildings and double our welding capabilities in this Brand New Building. It is supported by 2 – 50 Ton Cranes. We also added a huge new Stress Relieving Oven, Manipulators, Turning Rolls, Lay-out Tables, and much more…
2008
The largest gear grinder in the world.
The Largest CNC Gear Grinder in the World. This gave HMC a “Quantum Leap” in efficiency with gears Internal/External of up to 240″ Diameter and to Tolerances of AGMA 15.
The Rapid 6000 offers HMC Unique Inspection Capabilities. HMC has the unparalleled capability to chart tolerances for Lead, Pitch, Profile, & Runout, on Gears up to 6 meters in diameter.
2011
Exclusive large scale capability.
New for 2011: 8-meter manufacturing and inspecting capability.
HMC now has the ability to specify, design, manufacture and verify gearing up to 315″ in diameter. We are one of very few companies in the world possessing this capability.
2018
An investment in speed.
HMC made huge investments in milling technology with several new machine tools. This was a tremendous leap forward for large close-gap double helical (herringbone) gearing.
In addition, we added the capability of machining complex parts from solid using only one machine resulting in incredibly fast delivery times for components like pinion shafts.
2021
Celebrating 100 years
Founded in 1921, we are very proud to be celebrating this milestone as well as five generations of family ownership. We continue to move technology forward while relying on our knowledge from our long history of producing high quality gearing for industries all over the world.