About US - Company History

The Hines Group began operations in 1966 as Premium Allied Tool.  Jim Hines, Jim Day and Roy Rutledge started their dream with a few pieces of used tool-room equipment and one used 10-ton press.  Shortly after June of 1966 more employees were added.  The original finishing department was located in a little storage room off Jim Hines' carport.

In September of 1966 they rented a 6000 square foot building on Seventh Street in Owensboro.  Two later additions increased the space to 12,000 square feet.  Also during this time THG added more equipment and more employees.  They soon found they had outgrown yet another building.

During the year of 1971 plans began formulating for a larger and more permanent facility.  16 acres in Philpot, KY were purchased and in April 1973 a 28,800 square foot building went up.  The metal stamping company's physical plant was expanded four more times over the next six years and in 1975 an extra 8,000 square feet was added.  A box storage building was added in 1976 followed by 10,500 square feet in the east addition in 1978 and 8,250 square feet in the west tool room & shipping department in 1979.

The growth continued and The Training Center was built in 1980 to accommodate the expanding apprenticeship-training program.  In 1985, another 26,500 square feet was added for the south addition and Building Three with 3,750 square feet was added to the growing facility.

In 1992, 49,500 square feet in the two level shipping, marketing and cafeteria building was added.  1994 saw the construction of the new 8,800 square foot Training Center.  In 1995 we occupied Building 10 comprised of 115,000 square feet on 2 levels for Production, Maintenance, warehouse & receiving as well as the new garage and outside maintenance building. In 1997 a new 12,000 square foot storage building was completed.  The THG location now has over 300,000 square feet under roof on a little over 300 acres of property in Philpot.

In the spring of 1997 planning for the construction of a west-side plant in the Owensboro Mid-America Air park was started and the contract to begin construction was signed in July of 1997.  The Hines Group took possession of the 115,000 square foot building in January 1999 and officially started manufacturing parts in May 1999.  In 2002 we added two additions bringing the total square feet to 175,000 on a 25-acre site.  The space was used to incorporate a large tool room operation as well as on-site Engineering and Quality.

The west-side plant was established because of the need for space to manufacture large metal stampings, to run production machined parts, and to create work cells suitable for assembly operations.  Because OM is strictly a manufacturing facility, it derives most of its Design Engineering, Marketing, Purchasing, Accounting and Maintenance support from The Hines Group Corporate Offices in Philpot.  With much of the heavy industry in the US relocating to warmer climates, the west-side plant is in position to take advantage of its geographic location resulting in increased opportunities for larger OEM parts for industry.

The Hines Group now ships parts not only to many U. S. companies but also to many other companies and countries worldwide.  Our customer base includes some of the world largest multi-national corporations as well as many smaller public and privately held companies that appreciate the quality, competitive pricing and excellent service provided by the employees of The Hines Group.

The Hines Group Training Center and the Apprentice Training Program

Since its inception, The Hines Group has faced the problem of an inadequate supply of tool and die makers in this area.  It has been obvious that to survive and grow, the metal stamping company would need to train its own toolmakers.

Jim Day was the original apprentice instructor.  In addition to their regular work schedule, apprentices reported to class every Saturday for six hours.  The first three hours covered course work in mathematics, blueprint reading, welding, sheet metal working, and die-making.  The second three hours were used for shop theory and practice.  Many current supervisory employees of The Hines Group began as apprentices working under Mr. Day's instruction.

Class size has varied over the years, depending on the business environment. 1992 saw the largest graduating class in the history of the program with thirteen tool and die makers finishing the program.  In 1972, a full-time Director for Apprentice Training was hired and classes were moved from Saturday to weekday evenings.

Over the years the basic requirements for the apprenticeship program for tool and die makers and die designers have not changed: 2000 shop hours and 144 classroom hours each year for four years.  However, the curriculum has been updated to reflect advances in technology.  Current course offerings are: Geometric Tolerancing, Applied Mechanics, Shop Theory, Die-making I, Die-making II, Die-building Methods, Die-making III, Production Machine Set-Ups, Quality Tools, Die Design, CAD/CAM, and CNC.

In addition to the programs for Tool & Die Makers and Die Designers, new apprenticeship programs for Maintenance, Manufacturing Engineer, Manufacturing Technician, Information Systems and Precision Machining are available.  This Precision Machining program is styled after the original apprenticeship but is shorter, (2 1/2 years).  Today the Training Center is staffed by three full-time trainers and offers training for all levels of Hines Group employees in math, tolerancing and other critical design and manufacturing skills.