House of Batteries Moving to New Facility

Advanced Battery Technology, Mar 2005

This month, House of Batteries (HOB), a certified woman-owned custom battery assembler and distributor, expects to move into its new 36,000 square-foot facility in Fountain Valley, California. "This will quadruple our manufacturing capacity," says CEO Maggie West, who earlier announced that HOB had received 1809001:2000 quality certification and had hired 30-year veteran Craig Lorey to head its quality assurance operations.

HOB, founded in 1965, is the largest woman-owned battery distributor and assembler in the U.S. The firm is an authorized assembler for more than 30 battery manufacturers, making 250,000 custom battery assemblies per month in Southern California, Mexico and China. Products range from batteries for portable electronics to standby UPS batteries. HOB also maintains a nationwide sales rep force that covers all 50 states.

"We are adding a dedicated EE on staff to specialize in lithium-ion battery pack design," said President Don West. The firm is also adding an experienced sales person dedicated to developing HOB's market share in larger storage batteries and vehicle replacement batteries, perhaps expanding to a full service operation for hybrid electric vehicles.