Empire's History

Empire was established 60 years ago by William Horne, Sr. for the purpose of offering Hard Chrome Plating to extend the useful as well as the performance life of plated parts. The company continues under the Horne family ownership. Empire has developed a reputation for providing the best available quality and service. Empire was the first to install Air Pollution equipment in its industry, and the first to install fiberglass under his factory cement floor to prevent ground contamination. Empire prospered due to its commitment to Quality and Customer Satisfaction.

Over the years, Empire has expanded it's facilities to provide greater capacity and timely turnaround of customer's work. Empire, has distinct departments to handle all categories of work that require Hard Chrome Plating. Departments for roll plating, heavy deposit salvage plating, production plating, plating of precision mold and die tooling, and precision plate to size work, were set in place. Research and Development expenditures of between $350,000 to $600,000 were yearly budgeted to assist Empire in continuing to be a leader in its field of expertise by having available proprietary treatment options that render superior results to the market place.

In late 1997, one of Empire's developments, Plasma Source Ion Implantation, was judged by the National Academy of Science and the prestigious Research & Development Magazine as one of the top 100 Scientific Developments, World Wide of that year. This first in the world true Pollution-free, cost effective plating replacement technology is offered by Empire. Empire holds, along with Los Alamos National Labs, and North Star Research, the patent use rights for P.S.I.I.

Empire continues to be a leader in Air and Water Pollution Prevention and installation of Recycling methods in our industry. Per recent letter from the EPA, Empire has "state of the art Pollution Prevention Technology in place." Empire also has clean Phase I Environmental Studies on all facilities.

By establishment of a mission statement, which included continuous refinement of quality, combined with development of superior quality proprietary treatment options, Empire has continued to prosper and has great opportunities for further expansion in the future.

Major diversified markets, such as Agricultural Machinery, Steel and Aluminum Mills, Rubber and Plastic Molding, Textile, Aircraft, Military, Paper Mills, Flooring Tile Manufacturers, Engine Piston Manufacturers, Mining, Oil Drilling Industry, are just a few of the diverse markets served by Empire.

Empire's customer base includes Fortune 500 companies.

Empire has, and will continue, to excel in its field of expertise by demanding continuous self improvement in all areas of our Company, by continuous development of Improved Treatment Technology, and by offering superior services with exceptional delivery!

Empire is, indeed, positioned for significant near future growth and prosperity. We pride ourselves on rendering superior treatment options at competitive price levels.



Steve Wallin, President