The History of
Hodges Badge Company

1990s

Expanding is the Name of the Game!

The 1990s were all about expansion for us at Hodges Badge Company. Our Missouri manufacturing facility and Rhode Island office were getting cramped on space, again. Computers were becoming more pivotal to business and everyday life. 

In 1993, we enlarged the Missouri facility to a total of 22,500 sq. feet. This gave us enough space to spread our wings into other product lines. With this expansion completed and operations running smoothy, it was time to turn our focus onto Rhode Island. The next two years were spent with more planning and development. 

In 1996 Hodges purchased a vacant 45,000 sq. foot building in Portsmouth, Rhode Island at 1170 East Main Road. This allowed our Rhode Island offices and Rhode Island manufacturing facility to be combined under one roof again. The move was not without some hiccups as the move occurred during a major blizzard, typical New England weather! Shortly after the move was complete, we were tapped to creating the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games rosette and medals for the 1996 Para-Olympic games. 

1996 Rhode Island Customer Service Team

United States in the 1990's:

  • East and West Germany are reunited after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
  • The Internet becomes available for unrestricted commercial use.
  • The Mall of America opens in Minnesota.
  • The Hubble Telescope is repaired in space by a crew on the Space Shuttle Endeavour.
  • Nelson Mandela becomes the President of South Africa after being elected in the country's first multi-racial elections.
  • The online auction website eBay is founded.
  • Princess Diana and Prince Charles get divorced.
  • The first Harry Potter book is published by author J.K. Rowling.
  • The search engine Google is founded.
  • Y2K problem and the millennium bug were the most important thing on most companies minds in 1999. Critical industries (such as electricity or financial) and government functions could stop working at 12:00 AM, January 1, 2000. This fear was fueled by the press coverage and other media speculation, as well as corporate and government reports. All over the world, companies and organizations checked and upgraded their computer systems.

The plant in Washington, Missouri.

The new plant in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

Hodges Badge Company’s new logo.

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