Meet Ralph Hofe - Senior Account Manager

Mr. Hofe received a B.S. in Business Management from the University of Pittsburgh. He also has an Associate in Arts & Sciences from Potomac State College, Keyser, WV, and a Diploma as an Electrical Engineering Technician from International Correspondence Schools, Scranton, PA. He is also certified with the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies, Washington, DC.

He has over 34 years of experience with Allegheny Power System in engineering and engineering services. At Allegheny he held primary responsibilities in the Engineering Standards Department for the standardizing of coatings and substation structures and associated equipment. This included: writing material specifications for paints, primers, and thinners and standardized on these for system use; writing service specifications for the application of various coatings; testing and evaluating new coatings for compliance with EPA regulations; coordinating annual in-house painting information seminars with operating company coordinators and inspectors, and presenting inspection procedures.

He also assisted the three operating companies with paint testing and interpreted paint specifications and developed and maintained a system painting manual. His duties also included the development of engineering standards for new substation designs and associated apparatus. He also wrote specifications for aluminum and steel structures and fasteners and interfaced with manufacturers.

Mr. Hofe is presently a consultant for MATCO Services.  He provides marketing support for MATCO to the electric utility market in the eastern and mid-western United States. Mr. Hofe interacts with clients to detect corrosion-related problems at electric generating stations, transmission and distribution facilities. His duties also include service to clients in the industrial manufacturing business where he coordinates and sells the appropriate corrosion and/or investigative service to resolve their problems.

He has been a member of the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) since 1974, and has served as Secretary/Treasurer, Vice-Chairman, Chairman, Past-Chairman and Awards Chairman. He is also certified with the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET) Washington, DC from 1973 to present.