Eric Hoover

At 22 months old, Eric Hoover was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints which is usually crippling. Eric spent much of his childhood years in hospitals, and was predicted to spend much of his life in a wheelchair. He credits his family and friends for not letting him get down. He dreamed of starting a children's hospital so that he can make a difference in the lives of those in need. Facing and overcoming the disease, and the dream of starting a hospital, has given Eric the drive to be successful in business.
In 1988 he founded Excalibur Machine Company, a heavy steel fabricating and OEM machining company, and hasn't looked back since. The company has grown at an astounding rate, despite the struggling industry and local economy. In 2006, Eric won the Small Business Person of the Year Award from the Small Business Administration (SBA), in large because of his dedication to his community. The SBA recognized him as the Regional winner, then State, then finally he went to Washington DC where the President of the United States of America, George W Bush, presented him
with the National Small Business Person of the Year Award. With the success of Excalibur Machine, Eric started three other companies: Camelot Consolidated, a sales organization; Blade Transport, a trucking firm; and Lancelot Construction, a construction firm. As of 10/06, Eric brought another local company in to join his group of companies with the merger of Sipco Molding Technologies, a precision machining and plastic injection molding company. As of 5/07, Multi-Tool, Multi-Plastics, Multi- Plastics of New Mexico, and Tru-Position Metrology joined the team as well. With so many companies working as one, it was deemed that CORE Manufacturing would be the umbrella name to represent them all. In 2007, Eric's original company, Excalibur Machine, was honored as the 20th fastest growing privately owned manufacturing company in the United States by Inc Magazine. In November 2005, Eric's dream finally began its trek to fruition, as he held his first fund raiser under the name Excalibur Charitable Foundation and raised over $15,000 for Katrina victims and local scholarships. The Foundation became an official charity in 2006, and it's second major event raised $15,000 to donate to Hospice, the headlining charity for that event, and almost $5,000 for other local charities. In early 2007, a formal gala called An Evening At Camelot in which Newt Gingrich came and spoke on the future of small business and the economy raised over $45,000 for local charities, including Hospice and Women's Services. His goal is to grow these charitable events as he has grown his companies so that he can continue to give back to the community and those in need, focusing on health care and children. This year, Terry Bradshaw will be the keynote speaker at the spring event (6/6/08). Eric hopes to be donating several hundred thousand dollars back into the community on a yearly basis in the very near future.