Our History

Hoffman Manufacturing was established in 1959 by John E. Hoffman, as Hoffman Refrigeration, a refrigeration service business. At the request of a business associate Mr. Hoffman began producing controlled environment chambers by 1961. The need for a supplier to the seed testing industry prompted Mr. Hoffman to investigate further.

By 1983 the first Hoffman Refrigeration catalog was produced and by 1984 Hoffman Refrigeration became Hoffman Manufacturing, a name more suited for the type of business we had developed. By 1984 Hoffman Manufacturing had become a worldwide distributor and manufacturer of seed testing equipment and supplies.

In 1994 Mr. Hoffman chose to retire. The assets of Hoffman Manufacturing Co were sold to Michael and Sherri Bartosz, long time employees, and Hoffman Manufacturing, Inc. emerged.

Our Owners

At the present time Hoffman Manufacturing is managed by Michael & Sherri Bartosz. Michael and Sherri have been with Hoffman Manufacturing for more than 15 years. Michael, a mason by trade, became involved with Hoffman Manufacturing when Mr. Hoffman needed assistance producing equipment. Michael began assisting on weekends and evenings and soon became a full-time technician. Michael has supplemented the knowledge passed on from Mr. Hoffman by attending classes on refrigeration, controls and electrical wiring.

Sherri began bookkeeping for Mr. Hoffman in 1974. She has performed bookkeeping and accounting for many businesses and was employed as an Accounting Tech for Deschutes County for two years. After being employed by Hoffman Manufacturing as a full-time employee Sherri attended the Small Business Management course offered at Linn Benton Community College. Sherri has been in management at Hoffman Manufacturing since 1982.

Our Philosophy

Besides being well respected for our service, Hoffman Manufacturing is known for having competitive pricing. Our policy has always been to make only enough profit to support our business. Our products are an important part of the world’s food supply and therefore we feel our pricing effects everyone. Hoffman Manufacturing has an efficient inventory system which maintains cost of equipment produced. Our selling price is determined by our cost.

Our Future

Hoffman Manufacturing will continue to cater to the seed testing industry. Our customers consist of private seed testing laboratories, government seed testing laboratories, various other government agencies including the USDA and USDI, seed companies and anyone else who finds a need for our products. Our customer base is worldwide with 30% of total sales being international. The majority of our customers establish an account when they are first introduced to Hoffman Manufacturing and continue their business indefinitely.

A local computer industry business approached Hoffman Manufacturing to manufacture an oven for their company. The unit they were requesting was similar to what we were producing for the seed testing industry. We built the first unit to their specifications and have steadily received orders for more, some with modifications.