| HISTORY |
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| Chemicals to Patches |
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| In 1980, company founder William C. Liu moved his family to San Diego, California from Fallston, Maryland. The family would often times visit a relative who owned a coffee shop in Huntington Beach, about 80 miles north of San Diego. The family would always walk down the Huntington Beach Pier and remark how lovely it was. |
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| In 1986, "Bill" began a part-time import business from his garage in order to supplement his family’s income. When it came down to name the company, Bill decided to call it Huntington Pier International because not only did it remind him of the fond memories he had with his family at the Huntington Beach Pier, but he also envisioned HPI becoming a bridge to Asia. |
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| At the time, Bill had been working as a Research & Development Manager at a division of the Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC) for close to fifteen years. Prior to Brunswick, Bill had also spent several years as a Chemist at Dow Chemical. |
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| Throughout his life, Bill has always studied and worked hard. He had migrated to the United States on a scholarship to North Dakota State University where he received a Master’s Degree in Chemistry. It was at North Dakota where Bill met his wife, Jade, who was also on scholarship receiving her Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics. Bill then went on to receive his Ph.D. from New York University in Chemical Engineering in 1973. |
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| In 1987, the Brunswick Corporation wanted to transfer Bill from San Diego back to Baltimore. Since 1973, Brunswick had already transferred Bill from Skokie, Illinois to Baltimore, Maryland, and then to San Diego, California. This became a pivotal moment in Bill’s life. He felt he had hit a “glass ceiling” working for Brunswick and wanted to go for a piece of the American dream. He also had his family to think about and did not want to uproot his family again. After much thought, Bill decided to leave his R&D position at Brunswick for an early retirement and pursue HPI Emblem full-time. |
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| Modest Beginnings |
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| The company's beginnings were very modest. For the first several years of the company, Bill would ship the embroidered products from his garage. Within five years, the business began to expand greatly. By the mid 1990's, HPI Emblem had also built a successful business specializing in emblems for the uniform industry. This was where Bill's chemical training became an advantage. His background helped in laying a foundation to the understanding of the textile, chemicals, and quality control necessary to produce these products. |
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| Expansion |
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| In 1996, the company became so busy that Bill purchased a new warehouse/office facility in San Diego and hired additional employees to accommodate the growing business. |
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| In 1998, Jade Liu joined the company full-time as the company's CFO. Prior to HPI Emblem, Jade was the Controller at a mid-size architecture firm. Of course, Jade always handled the company finances since inception in addition to running the Liu Family household. |
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| In 1999, the company moved manufacturing operations from Taiwan to China. |
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| In late 2003, Bill's son, Stephen Liu, joined HPI Emblem full-time and opened a second office near the Los Angeles airport to handle sales, marketing and shipping. Prior to HPI Emblem, Stephen spent close to 15 years as a successful banker, strategic consultant and Internet entrepreneur. |
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| In 2004, Bill decided to retire and Stephen purchased the business from his father. |
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| Under Stephen's leadership, HPI Emblem has continued to grow and prosper. Stephen's entry into the family business has been marked with several significant changes including the expansion into new industries and products as well the creation of a sophisticated online order management system to better service the company's customers. |
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Letter from CEO  |
