HOERBIGER Corporation of America

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One hundred and twenty years ago, Hanns Hörbiger invented an innovative valve for compressors that today is a critical component in industrial compressors. The compressor valves open and close at a rate of up thirty times per second and are integral to energy compression equipment, helping increase efficiencies and reduce emissions.

Today, the HOERBIGER company is a $1.4 billion global leader in compression technology that employs 750 people in the U.S. alone. HOERBIGER Corporation of America in Texas and Florida is one of the largest subsidiaries of the Swiss company, and the valves, rings, and packing HOERBIGER manufacturers are used by companies like GE and other multinational companies for equipment in oil and gas production and shale exploration.

For Christean Kapp, Senior Vice President at HOERBIGER Corporation of America, the Ex-IM Bank is integral to the company. Even though HOERBIGER does not receive direct financing from the bank, the companies to which it sells its products do: “The Bank is increasingly important as globalization increases. The U.S. companies we supply our performance defining components to compete against international competition that often have access to financing through their own governments,” Kapp says. “If U.S. companies aren’t able to get credit through the Ex-Im Bank, companies located elsewhere will get the business and that affects our production facilities in the USA.” That’s the message Kapp wants to tell Congress—reauthorizing the Ex-Im Bank is important for businesses in his home city of Houston.