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Hunter Engineering Company
Company typePrivate
IndustryManufacturing
Founded1946; 78 years ago (1946)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Founder
Headquarters
St. Louis, Missouri
,
United States
Key people
ProductsProfessional Automotive Service Equipment
Websitewww.hunter.com

Hunter Engineering Company is an American manufacturer of passenger car and truck service equipment including computer-based wheel alignment systems, vehicle inspection systems, tire changers, wheel balancers, alignment lift racks and brake lathes.[4][5] Founded in 1946 by Automotive Hall of Fame inductee Lee Hunter Jr. (1913-1986), Hunter Engineering Company's 26-acre headquarters is located in St. Louis, Missouri.[6][7]

Hunter Engineering also operates four manufacturing facilities in St. Louis, Missouri, Durant, Mississippi and two in Raymond, Mississippi.[8][9] Hunter Engineering Company employs about 1,000 people worldwide.[10] In addition, Hunter fields approximately 800 independent contractors that provide support to customers across North America.[9]

History edit

In the 1930s Lee Hunter Jr., an architectural student, often faced a dead car battery. In 1936, Hunter designed the Kwikurent, the first battery charger to reduce the charging time of a battery from days to hours.[6] Lee Hunter Jr. founded Hunter Engineering Company in 1946 and introduced another invention, the Tune-In, the first on-the-car wheel balancer.[11] In the 1950s Lee Hunter began assembling a large dedicated sales and service force and laid the foundation for global distribution.[12] Hunter Engineering entered the field of wheel alignment in 1955 with the Lite-A-Line, a simplified light beam alignment system, using wheel mounted instruments and projected light beams to achieve correct wheel alignment.[13][14]

 
Lee Hunter Jr.

In 1964 Hunter moved their global headquarters from Ladue, Missouri to the 26-acre St. Louis, Missouri campus it occupies today.[15] The campus consisted of an 80,000 square-foot factory and 28,000 square-foot engineering, research and training building, including an 11-bay training garage.  In 1973 Hunter opened the 18-bay St. Louis Training Center adjacent to the company headquarters, research and development center and manufacturing plant. Hunter's Super Service Center opened in 1991 to provide parts support to Hunter's sales and service team.[16]

Present Day edit

Hunter is a primary supplier in major car and truck manufacturer dealership equipment programs.[17]

Hunter's campus also includes the Research and Training Center containing fully equipped training and testing service bays and classrooms, along with a specialized facility for heavy-duty trucks used for research, product development and technician training.[18][19]

Hunter’s main product line features computer-based wheel alignment systems for dealerships, general repair shops and tire dealers including the HawkEye Elite Alignment System, HawkEye Alignment System and ProAlign Alignment System.[20] All Hunter aligners use digital cameras to measure the position of the wheel-mounted targets to measure alignment angles in comparison to OEM specifications. Hunter alignment racks are available in four-post or scissor lift style. Scissor lifts have a 10-, 12- and 16,000 lb. capacity depending on the model. Four-post racks have an 18,000 lb. capacity, 26-inch wide runways and are available in open- and closed-front configurations.[21]

Hunter manufactures wheel balancers such as the Road Force Elite, Road Force Touch, SmartWeight Touch, QuickMatch, DSP9200 and DSP7705.[22] The Road Force Elite and the Road Force Touch use a mechanical roller to apply up to 1,250 lbs. of force to the tire to identify vibrations and vehicle pulls.[23][24]

There are two types of Hunter tire changers; center-clamp tire changers and traditional table-top tire changers. Hunter’s Revolution tire changer is an automatic, center-clamp style system.[25] Hunter’s other center-clamp tire changers include the Auto34S, TC3700 and TC3300 tire changers. All center-clamp tire changers help prevent damage to the tire and rim. Hunter’s table-top, or conventional, tire changers include the TCX57, TCX56, TCX53, TCX51 and TCX50.[26][27]

Hunter’s AutoComp Elite is a new on-the-car brake lathe with a 7-inch touchscreen and the QuickComp on-the-car brake lathe has a 1.5-hp motor. The BL500 series brake lathe is a bench brake lathe that can service rotors up to 23 inches and drums up to 28 inches.[26][28]

Hunter produces inspection equipment including the Quick Check inspection lane[29][30] and the Quick Tread drive-over tread depth measurement system.[31] Quick Check and Quick Tread gather information about a vehicle’s wheel alignment, tire tread depth, tire inflation, battery health, diagnostic codes and braking balance.[32][33][34]

Hunter also produces a line of products for heavy-duty trucks, trailers, buses and RVs. This line includes WinAlign HD alignment, ForceMatch HD balancer, TCX625HD and TCX640HD tire changers, RKHD heavy-duty lift rack, heavy-duty pit racks and the B400T brake tester.[35][36]

References edit

  1. ^ "Hunter Engineering Company: Private Company Information - Businessweek". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  2. ^ "Stephen Brauer among 5 getting honorary degrees from Washington University - St. Louis Business Journal". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  3. ^ "Stephen F. Brauer - Ambassador, Belgium - U.S. Department of State Archive". www.state.gov. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  4. ^ "Hunter Engineering Company: Private Company Information - Businessweek". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  5. ^ "Hunter Engineering Co. Competitors and Products in the Tire Business Dealer Directory". www.tiredealerdirectory.com. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  6. ^ a b "Lee Hunter | Automotive Hall of Fame". www.automotivehalloffame.org. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  7. ^ "Lee Hunter, Jr (1913 - 1986) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  8. ^ "Hunter Engineering Celebrates 40th Anniversary | Kosciusko, Mississippi: KosyTrace.com". www.kosytrace.com. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  9. ^ a b "Plant tour reveals the obsessive nature of a tire equipment manufacturer - Modern Tire Dealer". www.moderntiredealer.com. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  10. ^ "Working at Hunter Engineering Company". Glassdoor. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  11. ^ "Jefferson City News And Tribune, July 1, 1962, Page 3". 1962-07-01. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
  12. ^ "Independence Examiner, January 30, 1992, Page 11". 1992-01-30. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
  13. ^ "Jefferson City Daily Capital News, November 6, 1962, Page 7". 1962-11-06. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
  14. ^ Hunter Lite-A-Line Wheel Aligner Instruction Manual: Form 154T, 10-56. Hunter Engineering Company. 1956-01-01.
  15. ^ "Hunter Engineering Company Company and Product Info from VehicleServicePros.com". Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  16. ^ "Hunter Engineering Service Center in Maryland Heights , MO". YP.com. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  17. ^ "VAS6292PLWM, Hunter Alignment System - VW Authorized Tools and Equipment". vw.snapon.com. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  18. ^ "Hunter Engineering Corporate Café & Training Center - Archimages". Retrieved 2016-08-15.
  19. ^ "Sikeston Daily Standard, March 30, 1966, Page 9". 1966-03-30. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
  20. ^ "Hunter Engineering Wheel Alignment – RPM Car Care". rpmcarcare.com. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  21. ^ "#SEMA/GTE: New Tire Changer, Lift Line from Hunter - Tire Review Magazine". Tire Review Magazine. 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  22. ^ "How do you mount and balance tires safely? - Retail - Modern Tire Dealer". www.moderntiredealer.com. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  23. ^ "Fixed Ops Mag March April 2016". fixedopsmag.com. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  24. ^ Company, Smith Tire. "Hunter Alignment & Balancing | Smith Tire Company". www.smithtirecompany.com. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  25. ^ Tire Business. "Hunter's 'Revolution' promises savings - Tire Business". Tire Business. Retrieved 2016-12-09. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  26. ^ a b "Hunter unveils products, accessories at SEMA - Tire Business". Tire Business. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  27. ^ Hanneken, Douglas S. (Mar 15, 2016). "Wheel assembly service machine with back cone center clamp mechanism". Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  28. ^ "3 Editors, 3 Takes: A Complete Brand Experience in a (Relatively) Small Space - Retail - Modern Tire Dealer". www.moderntiredealer.com. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  29. ^ "The Art of Purchasing: Quick Inspections - Tire Review Magazine". Tire Review Magazine. 2015-12-01. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  30. ^ "Goodyear Unveils Test Store - Tire Review Magazine". Tire Review Magazine. 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  31. ^ "Automated Tire Tread Depth Scanners Gain Traction". Consumer Reports. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  32. ^ "Dealers gain big in replacement-tire sales". Automotive News. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  33. ^ McCarron, Kathy. "Hunter promotes 'Shop of the Future' for building trust - Tire Business". Tire Business. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  34. ^ "Quick (oil) change artists lead service turnaround". Automotive News. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  35. ^ "Ounces of Prevention Means Miles of Cure For Your Tires - Article - TruckingInfo.com". www.truckinginfo.com. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  36. ^ "Heavy-Duty Alignment Opportunities - Commercial Business - Modern Tire Dealer". www.moderntiredealer.com. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
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