Who is Les Hall?

HISTORY

Les (pictured at right here in 1963) worked alongside his customers to help solve technical filtration problems.

Les Hall was a Navy engineer who knew his way around a marine engine room.

Les was also an entrepreneur, and upon his retirement from the Navy in 1959, he used his knowledge of marine engines to procure and sell a range of industrial products to commercial marine vessel operators.

Les could be seen regularly walking the docks in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with his assortment of hoses, belts, plastic tubing, zinc anodes, Davidson batteries, hand cleaner and even portable barbeques! In the 1960’s, Les decided to focus more exclusively on filtration, and quickly became the leading supplier of replacement filters for a broad range of applications for customers across Western Canada and into Washington and Oregon.

Around the same time, Oil Filter Service was growing in the Pacific Northwest. After its establishment in 1946, the company built a reputation for expertise not only in filtration, but also high performance hydraulic hose, fittings and adapters, while servicing the logging, construction, marine and manufacturing industries.

The two businesses grew separately through the decades, each of them developing deeper expertise, stocking and selling a broader range of products, and adding experienced employees to service a growing assortment of customers. Les Hall unexpectedly passed from a heart attack in 1971, which lead to a change in management, but not a change in strategy. The newly established owners of both Oil Filter Service and Les Hall Filter eventually met, and quickly realized that by combining the two companies, the larger business would be far better positioned to service their customers, and compete against the larger multinationals in the industry. Thus, Les Hall Filter USA was born, and it still remains a privately held company with a focus on customer service, a broad product assortment, and deep technical expertise.

The original Les Hall Filter delivery truck. Seen here in 1965.
A typical marine engine room in 1962. Fuel filtration is even more critical today.
Les liked big equipment! Seen here with duplex hydraulic filter housings.

WHY LES HALL FILTER?

In addition to the largest inventory of filters, filtration equipment, hoses, fittings and adapters, we offer a variety of services to simplify the procurement process for our customers.

  • Knowledge: Our technical sales team has a combined 150+ years of experience and a database that includes over 1,500,000 parts.
  • Vendor Consolidation: With the largest inventory and the widest range of filters, hose, fittings and adapters in the Pacific Northwest, we can drastically reduce delivery time and eliminate vendors.
  • Fleet Surveys: Our staff regularly surveys industrial equipment to identify, record, stock and supply all required filters, hoses, fittings and adapters. Our surveys provide an easy reference to help determine which parts you require on an on-going basis, organized according to each piece of equipment in your fleet or facility.
  • Custom Kits and Order Forms: Assembled using the information from our surveys, we create customized ‘kits’ and order sheets for specific service intervals or a piece of equipment. All you need to do is tell us which service kit you require, or which piece of equipment you are maintaining, and we will provide all parts in a convenient package.
  • Custom Packaging:  We understand how many unique parts our customers require, and our custom packaging can be labelled and shipped according to your unique requirements. This can greatly reduce shrinkage and simply your receiving process.
  • Customer Inventory Management: Our staff regularly reviews and re-stocks inventory levels at the location of our customers, ensuring that when you need a part, it’s on your shelf.
  • Direct Account Management: We assign each of our customers to one of our professional technical sales people, ensuring that you have a knowledgeable, accessible point-of-contact at our company. It’s the only way we can be sure that we maintain the service level on which our customers have come to rely.  All our technical sales representatives have a minimum 20 years of experience.
  • Guaranteed Inventory: We regularly quarantine inventory for specific customers. If there’s a part that you can’t live without, tell us, and we will keep it in stock…guaranteed.
  • Custom Part Numbers: Les Hall sells to a variety of industrial supply houses, auto shops and marine shops. In many cases, we create custom part numbers with your company name to remind your customers where they can get their replacement parts.
  • Customized Reporting & Billing: Every company has unique reporting and invoicing requirements, and our systems have been built to accommodate difficult and customized requests.
  • Diverse Customer Base: Chances are, with our large and diverse customer base, we likely deal with an operation like your and already have an understanding of your filtration, hose and fitting needs.  This experience can lead to more economical and/or efficient filtration methods for your company.