BUILDING ON THE LEGACY OF OUR FOUNDERS

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OUR BEGINNINGS

Hopkins® was founded in Emporia, Kansas by E. L. (“Bud”) and R. E. (“Gene”) Hopkins in 1953 with auto body repair tools, beginning with the Dial-Pick, an adjustable pneumatic pick hammer; this was followed by an invention that forever changed the way automotive headlights were installed. The Hoppy® Head Light Aimer has become synonymous with head light aiming globally. Hopkins embraced plastic resin technology to help make aimer lighter, more durable and more accurate. This technology was adapted to winter tools and in 1975, the company introduced the Bear Claw ice scraper and the Super Deluxe snowbrush, which created the category at retail from what traditionally had been a give-away item from your insurance agent or local gas station. This changed the course of the company, transforming from a body shop focused tool maker, into a consumer products company. Over the ensuing years, Hopkins has become the #1 developer, manufacturer and seller of winter snow and ice tools.

 

As our position in winter expanded, Hopkins sought to add a business to complement our winter products. In 1985, Hopkins acquired Olathe Wiring, creating another category at retail for DIY’ers that prior to this was only available from an installer and a business that has since grown into the #1 vehicle-to-trailer towing electrical solutions company in North America. The growth of these businesses into market leaders was driven by what the Hopkins brothers called “The Image of Difference.” Their simple idea was to not accept the way things are currently done, but strive to make them better. This philosophy remains a guiding focus at Hopkins today!

 

TRANSITION FROM THE HOPKINS’ FAMILY

In 1997, the Hopkins family decided to retire and Hopkins began a transition from the family business to a more dynamic company whose growth was driven by organic growth and acquisitions that complement the business and the company’s competencies.

 

Between 1997 and 2004, Hopkins broadened and strengthened its focus in consumer products, acquiring Jasco, a leader in interior organization products; Gary Plastics, a winter scraper, snowbrush and vehicle cleaning company; Towing Accessory Products (TAP), a trailer brake control and wiring company; FloTool the leader in fluid handing products; and Brake Buddy, inventor and market leader of portable RV tow-brake solutions. Each acquisition expanded the company’s footprint in the Aftermarket and strengthened its position in core categories.

 

In 2005, Hopkins purchased Carrand Companies, Inc., the leader in car care tools selling products under the Carrand® and AutoSpa™ brands. This expanded the vehicle cleaning business into a market leading position and complemented the existing winter tools business, making Hopkins the #1 vehicle cleaning company year round, whether it be cleaning snow and ice off a vehicle in winter or dirt and grime in the summer.

 

Also in 2005, Hopkins added electronic safety products from Design Tech, Inc. which formed the basis for the company’s award winning back up camera technology. In 2008, Hopkins established an Innovation Design Center (IDC) in Los Angeles to focus on developing new product categories. Over the next several years, the IDC facilitated the entry into the Booster Cable market with Juice™ and Sun Protection and Floor Mats under the GoGear® brand.

 

As Hopkins expanded, so did its Operations footprint, including a manufacturing facility in Juarez, Mexico, the electrical sub-assembly capital of North America to support our Towing Electrical business; a marketing office in Los Angeles to support our cleaning business; and establishing a supply and logistics office in Ningbo, China to support local manufacturing and supply chain effectiveness.

 

EXPANSION ACCELERATES

Since 2011, Hopkins has broadened and strengthened its position in the aftermarket with important acquisitions.

 

• In 2011, the company acquired Mr. Funnel, a fuel filter product range, expanding our FloTool brand reach to the fuel purification segment.
• In 2012, Hopkins acquired F3 Brands, whose oil drains, ramps and funnels complemented the FloTool offering, establishing FloTool as a one-stop shop for all fluid management accessory products.
• In 2013 the company acquired Tow Daddy, the inventor of a patented towed-vehicle wiring harness that strengthened our towing electrical range to the RV market.
• In 2013, the company acquired Mallory, Inc., the #1 winter tools brand in Canada, that was complementary to our market leading SubZero® snow tools brand in the US. Mallory also maintains the leading position for gas station island squeegees across North America. This also added a manufacturing and distribution center in Canada and is the site for Hopkins Canada.
• In 2015, Hopkins purchased Bell Automotive Products, Inc., which includes safety, protection and convenience products sold under the recognizable Bell® brand, along with Genuine Victor™ and Monkey Grip™ tire repair brands.
• In 2017, the company acquired Air Power America, whose oil extractors expanded the FloTool reach to the marine market and positioned FloTool in the emerging automotive oil extraction trend.
• In 2017, the company acquired Acme Chamois, the market leading supplier of genuine leather chamois products in North America sold under the Tanner’s Select® brand, now part of our vehicle cleaning category.
• In 2018, we acquired Tiger Accessories Group, including the market leading Blazer® brand of trailer lighting to complement our market leading Hopkins Towing Solutions® trailer wiring range. The Blazer brand also includes a growing range of innovative auxiliary lighting products. Their Detailer’s Choice® brand of cleaning products bolster our market leading vehicle cleaning product offering. This acquisition includes a marketing and supply chain office in Arlington Heights, Il.
• In 2020, Hopkins acquired RCR Automotive, which includes the established brand names PolarGrip®, Topsi®, Eskimo®, and Essentia®. This acquisition adds additional ice scrapers and snowbrushes to our category leading winter tools assortment; automotive, window and floor squeegees to our vehicle cleaning products; and the log stacker to our 2x4 Basics® DIY brackets line.
• In 2020, the company acquired RoadSport, Inc., the market leader in retail automotive splash guard products, growing our position in vehicle accessories in the United States and Canada. Brand names included in the acquisition are Big Mudder™, Pro•Fit™, BadgeZ™, RoadGuard™, and Defender Tow Guard™.
• In 2021, Hopkins acquired Lumax LLC, one of the leaders in grease guns, grease fittings, pumps and related products in North America, strengthening our position in fluid management products. In addition to lubrication products, the Lumax product line includes funnels and drains, pumps and accessories, oil measurers, and filter wrenches.

 

In addition to a robust acquisition platform, Hopkins has driven organic growth through award winning product innovation, development of a strong category management capability and by attracting recognized brand partners through licensing. This includes two brands with Church & Dwight with the ARM & HAMMER™ brand fueling the company’s growth in automotive air fresheners and OXICLEAN™ for automotive interior and exterior appearance chemical and tools. Other notable brand partners include Hoonigan, Rain-X®, Body Glove®, DGA™ – David Gonzales Art, Mossy Oak®, National Breast Cancer Foundation® and Breast Cancer Society of Canada™.

 

With each of our brands, including acquired and licensed brands, we continue to build on this legacy of our founders by leveraging The Image of Difference to make everything we do better than it had been done before.