Hocking NDT

The original company was founded in 1962 by the current Chairman Donald Hocking, under the name DEB Electronics. The company carried out printed circuit board assembly and wiring, based at Don's home in St Albans. In 1968 he secured a contract with the Admiralty, developing the first Hocking eddy current product, the Amlec, to inspect welds on Royal Navy submarines. Its successor, the Halec, a more highly sensitive unit, was released two years later. At this time Don moved the rapidly expanding company to new premises at New Barnes Mill, St Albans, where there was more room for growth and development.

Don increased the distribution range of Hocking products by flying to various international destinations to demonstrate their scope and advanced capabilities. On one trip to Australia, the Department of Transportation was so impressed with the effectiveness of the instruments to check for flaws in propellers, that they ordered 100 for immediate delivery. This proved to be the start of Hocking’s world-wide distribution network, one that has expanded to encompass over 50 countries.

The phase plane instruments, the Phasec D4 and D5 were introduced between 1971 and 1980. These were followed by the Locator UH in 1983, the design of which was so impressive that it became the industry standard for meter display eddy current instruments. This instrument is still used today for in-service inspection of military and civilian aircraft. During this period, the original company was divided and an instrument business, Hocking Associates, was formed. Twice, expansion was needed and the name of the company was changed to Hocking Electronics. Finally, in 1985, the company received its present name of Hocking NDT Ltd and moved to Inspec House, St Albans, where it is still based today.