Hobby Products International - Timeline

Timeline

The company, originally an export firm, was founded in 1986 by Tatsuro Watanabe and a partner, each with a total investment of US$100 each. Their original office in Costa Mesa, California measured only 300 square feet (28 m2). A line of electric R/C motors called the Uno series were among the first products offered by HPI. Buoyed by the success of the Uno, HPI opened a small office in Japan that same year.

1987 would see world champion driver Masami Hirosaka use an Uno in his first IFMAR World Championship win in England.

By 1988, the burgeoning RC aftermarket proved to be a boon to HPI USA as they started exporting popular American-made R/C products to Japan, including such familiar brands as MIP, Peak Performance and Paragon.

One of HPI's perennial favorites was introduced in 1989 with the hiring of chief engineer Akira Kogawa from Kyosho, he was responsible for a much of its notable race winning cars such as the Optima and Ultima. His line of Super Star wheels remains popular today. Akira also designed the Rush, Micro and Baja kits that have remained popular with RC hobbyists.

HPI moved to a larger building in nearby El Toro, California in 1990. "Large" is a relative term, since the new office was only 700 sq ft (65 m²). A popular line of graphite parts for pan cars was released that year. Touring car motors and offroad truck parts followed suit in 1991.

HPI's second designer, Ito, was hired in 1992 to design pan car parts. Ito would later be responsible for the "Super F1," HPI's first-ever car kit, and was the lead designer for many of HPI's successes, such as the Savage. Continued growth that year literally doubled the size of the facility after their move into a second building unit.

The then-new touring car class was in full swing by 1993, with HPI introducing a full line of parts for both electric and nitro cars. A major Southern California win at the Thunderdrome soon followed as did a major shakeup, when Watanabe bought out his original partner to become sole proprietor of HPI. He retired from day-to-day operations of the company in 2004, making Shawn Ireland company president.

In 1994, HPI took on another notable figure in RC car racing, Kent Clausen, who was an IFMAR and ROAR winning driver. Clausen manages the advertising and graphic design department

In 1995 the RS4 touring car was released to wide acclaim, solidifying HPI as one of the early proponents of the touring car racing fraternity. A "Pro" model followed in 1997, then the "Pro 2" in 1999, "Pro 3" in 2001, and finally the "Pro 4" in 2004.

In 1998, the new RS4 Rally was introduced in May. It was the first sedan-chassis that took advantage of long-stroke shock,springs, and an interior polycarbonate underbody set that increased its utility on off-road surfaces.

Hobby Products International currently operates from a 45,000-square-foot (4,200 m2) facility in Foothill Ranch, California and oversees manufacturing operations there as well as in Japan and Taiwan. HPI also maintains an office in England that provides distribution facilities and market feedback for Asia (including Australia) and Europe/Africa. The location in California sends products to distributors across North America and South America and is considered the headquarters of the HPI group.

In 2005 HPI merged with Hot Bodies, another company owned by Mr. Watanabe, which initially began manufacturing RC car bodies before being purchased by Mr. Watanabe. After its sale, Hot Bodies started producing upgrade parts for HPI models such as the RS4 Pro 3 and Nitro RS4 line of cars. Today, Hot Bodies produces a full racing range of radio control cars, trucks and buggies, plus accessories. Many of the plastic suspension pieces for the Hot Bodies Cyclone, their top-level electric touring car, come from HPI's Pro 4.