From the CEO – A Message from Richard Hunter, November 2006

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your continued support of Hunter Industries. It seems like only yesterday that my brother Paul, father Edwin, and a small handful of people began an upstart irrigation manufacturing company known as Hunter Industries. In truth, that was almost twenty-five years ago and those humble beginnings have now blossomed into an international operation with a well-deserved reputation as an industry leader.

Change, and lots of it, is required to grow a manufacturing company from zero to where we are today:

• We have grown from a mere 6 to over 1300 employees.
• Starting out in a single 10,000 square foot building in San Marcos, we now occupy over 500,000 square feet in California, North Carolina, Mexico, France, Australia, and China.
• Our initial product in 1981, the Series 75 Geared Rotor, had 4 SKUs (Stock Keeping Units). It became the PGP-ADJ in 1985. Today, we sell over 600 SKUs, not counting miscellaneous models, parts, and literature.
• We are a major player in not just rotors, but sprays, valves, and controllers as well.

Our core purpose, to be the landscape professional’s first choice for irrigation products and service, is now true in many markets. With valuable products, services, and people, we are well on our way to being regarded as the number one name in what we do.

What do we need to do to continue our success?

We need to maintain our culture that is built on tradition, teamwork, communication, learning, and recognition. We need to maintain a heritage of trust and honesty, provide the best quality and value to our customers, and be actively engaged in our communities. Most important, we need to continue our tradition of having the best people and being customer focused.

We continue to research, develop, and launch new products and services. New products will continue to be a fundamental part of our future growth. We need to hire quality people and grow key talent to meet the needs of a growing global economy. We need to work harder and smarter than the competition, not copy them.

Our customers are our partners and we are dependant upon your success for our success. All of us at Hunter understand that. Fortunately for us, most of our competition does not.

Again, let me thank you for your passion and loyality toward our company. Your commitment, combined with our dedication to always work harder and smarter than the competition, will enable us to face the future with unsurpassed enthusiasm and confidence.