By expanding its sales to Africa and China, Hoffman International Inc. has made a record start in exporting heavy equipment to the world markets it serves, according to Joseph F. Watters, president of the Piscataway, NJ-based equipment exporting company.

The Hoffman firm is entering its 30th year of export business. Hoffman International, Inc. and its domestic affiliate, Hoffman Equipment Inc. recorded total 1999 sales exceeding $25 million.

Hoffman International distributes the products of 23 machinery manufacturers overseas. The wide variety of equipment includes machines used for construction, lifting, road-building and timber/logging.

New Markets

The company concluded the first quarter of 2000 having completed several significant equipment export projects to new markets. One of the most unusual of these was the sale of road-repair milling machines and infrastructure reconstruction equipment valued at more than $1 million to Yunnan Province in the Peoples’ Republic of China.

In the African country of Ghana, a “package” of new equipment comprised of five truck tractors, two Franklin log skidders and two new kilns was delivered to a timber company in Kumasi. In Monrovia, Liberia, a 54-metric-ton (60 ton) Terex rough-terrain crane was sold for use along the cargo docks. While in Gabon, West Africa, Hoffman delivered a $700,000-pipeline “package” of equipment including dump trailers, two new Terex cranes, three used Mack tractors, a pipe bending machine and three flat trailers.

“A major reason for our growth and success is our ability to handle every part of an export transaction,” Watters explained. “First, we carry equipment lines that we know from experience will perform well in the difficult work environments encountered, especially in developing countries. Second, we coordinate every step ourselves, from working with the overseas user to determine the most suitable equipment to managing the shipping, the purchase, lease or rental, the import-export paperwork, the delivery and setup, right through to training the operators and service personnel, and supplying the necessary parts to support the equipment.”

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