Ernie Hoffmann
W & H Stampings
Website: www.whstamp.com
Ernie Hoffmann's family emigrated to the U.S. from his native Berlin, Germany when he was an infant. He remembers, as a boy, watching the limousines that would come to pick up his father in the morning to take him to work. His father, you see, was a talented upholsterer, and the limousines belonged to his celebrity clientele, the likes of George Raft and Leo Derocher, who valued his expertise and fine craftsmanship. Ernie is the middle of three children, not unusual, you would think. However, he and his older sister were both born within the same week in February, and both in a Leap Year. If that's not remarkable enough, we should add that his younger sister shares this birthday novelty. She was also born within that same February week, and, that's right, in Leap Year, eight years later. The Hoffmann family lived in various parts of New York City, where Ernie attended elementary school until 1939. His destiny changed, however, when he accompanied his mother on a visit back to Germany to visit her ailing parents. The outbreak of World War II prevented their return and he finished his schooling in Germany. After completing the 8th grade he went on to learn his trade as a tool and die maker at age 14. "I wanted to be an aircraft mechanic," he said. "But my uncle said if I did, I would always have to live near an airport. Now, it seems everybody lives fairly near to airports anyway." His uncle also gave him other advice he recalled. "If I want to get back to the U.S., he told me, never volunteer. So I didn't." Barely 17 when he returned to New York after the war, he found it difficult to get work as a tool and die maker. "At first, nobody would believe that at 17 I was already experienced," he remarked. "Finally, the German foreman in one plant knew about the training I had received and I got my start." In only a short time, Ernie was the highest paid tool and die maker in the company. It wasn't until 1956 that he and a partner started their own business,W&H Stampings, Inc., making metal stampings and fine blankings. Their product was so precise that most parts did not require secondary machining. "It is a high precision process," he said. Ernie was certified by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers as a Manufacturing Engineer in the field of Tool Engineering. Now in their 45th year of operation, W&H Stampings boasts customers from across the country and around the world. Business is split nearly fifty-fifty between commercial and military orders, he said. And, despite a shift away from military manufacturing on LI, Ernie said a large part of their business remains in making parts for military fuzes (spelling fuZes is correct). Serving on the Board of Directors of the Precision Metal Forming Association (PMA), a national trade organization, keeps him traveling. He is also the District Director for PMFA of the New York/New Jersey District. Ernie is a past president of the local PMA District as well as the National Tooling and Machining Association, NY Chapter. Locally, in addition to being a charter member of the HIA, he is a charter member and past president of the Hauppauge Rotary Club. Ernie, who is bilingual in English and German, likes to collect antiques, particularly American pottery such as rookwood. "I also have a number of Mettlach steins," he said. "Some of these are not easy to find." He sometimes finds a piece during a trip back to Germany to visit family, friends, suppliers or clients there. He also enjoys traveling... having visited some 30 countries. His own two daughters are grown now, and Ernie has two grandsons and a granddaughter to keep him busy. He also has a love for diesel cars and owns several "older" Mercedes sedans. Each boasts more than 260,000 miles and the newest, a 1983 model, is his everyday vehicle. "I think they are beautiful and very safe," he explained. "They are very fuel efficient. With a dual tank, I can get 1,000 miles on a fill-up. - I became involved with the HIA when it first began," he said. "I thought it was a good idea because we were in a huge industrial park and coming together would afford us certain amount of clout in solving problems." Has it met his expectations? "Absolutely," he responded. "The HIA gets things done."
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