U.S. Hoffman was the successor company to what started out as the Hoffman Pressing Machine Company in Syracuse, NY in 1904. By the 1930s, the U.S. Hoffman Machinery Corp was one of the largest producers of a full line of laundry and dry cleaning machinery in the United States.

In 1936, U.S. Hoffman opened a new plant in Poughkeepsie, NY, while maintaining their main plant in Syracuse. The Poughkeepsie plant was located at 18 Violet Avenue. Before the outbreak of WWII, the Poughkeepsie Plant produced a variety of equipment for the commercial/industrial laundry/dry cleaning industries.

Shortly after the start of WWII, the Poughkeepsie Plant produced a number of mobile, truck mounted laundries that could be placed in rear areas of combat zones for use by the Quartermaster Corps. However, this plan was quickly dropped, as the Plant was converted to produce desperately needed munitions. Starting about June 1942, the Poughkeepsie plant began manufacturing the projectiles for 40mm anti-aircraft shells and continued this work until August 1945. During this time period, almost 15 million projectiles were made, and the Plant received the Army-Navy E Award, with two subsequent stars, for excellence in production. This Award was given to only about 3% of all war production plants in WWII, and fewer yet to receive subsequent stars. Approximately 600 people worked at the Poughkeepsie Plant during the war years, and the Plant Manager during the entire period 1936-1947 was Peter H. Prenting, a Poughkeepsie resident.

After the War, the Plant returned to its usual peace time production of laundry/dry cleaning machinery and continued in operation until August 1947, when the Hoffman Corporation decided to consolidate all its NY laundry/dry cleaning machinery production at its main plant in Syracuse, N.Y.

A portion of this collection documents another Poughkeepsie business known as Valetor Deluxe Cleaners and Dyers. The founding of Valetor Deluxe was a direct result of the decision by U.S. Hoffman Machinery Corporation to close their Poughkeepsie Plant. The former Plant Manager, Prenting, an engineer by profession, decided that he did not wish to relocate his family to Syracuse. Instead, he and his family, opened their new dry cleaning business.

The Valetor Deluxe Cleaners and Dryers opened in April 1948, and the business started with a store and two-story plant on Hooker Avenue. This Plant was expanded several times in subsequent years to accommodate the growing full-service dry cleaners. Valetor ultimately provided dry cleaning, shirt laundering, carpet cleaning, tailoring, invisible reweaving, in-house leather glove and apparel cleaning and dying, wedding gown cleaning and preservation, fur cleaning and storage, upholstery cleaning, drapery cleaning, lampshade cleaning, and an interior car cleaning service.

Valetor quickly became the second largest dry cleaning establishment in Dutchess County and typically employed about 20 full time people. The Prenting Family were all involved in the business from the outset. Mary Prenting, wife, was involved through much of the life of the Company. Daughter, Marta, worked part or full time for a couple years, and, son, Theodore (Ted) worked part time while in high school, subsequently studied at the National Institute of Dry Cleaning in Silver Spring, MD, and managed plant operations or sales for the business for a total of about five years.

When Peter Prenting passed away in May, 1963, his son, Theodore, temporarily returned from his research position at IIT Research Institute, Chicago, and managed the business until it could be sold in May, 1964. The new owners were Isidor Haitkin and Abraham Marinoff, both from Long Island, who relocated to Poughkeepsie. They owned the business until May 1974, when the Hooker Avenue Plant and Store were damaged in a devastating fire. The business never reopened.