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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
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That’s How He Rolls

Alex Palanjian is the first to say no one needs a custom set of wheels.

That hasn’t stopped him from building a manufacturing business on demand for “super luxury” versions that are “totally unnecessary, like fancy jewelry.”

His MINT Machine Co. in Costa Mesa caters to an exclusive customer—the affluent automotive aficionado. It’s a crowd that believes in wheel craftsmanship, according to Palanjian, and that doesn’t look for it at a mass-production plant.

The move to supply American-made one-off style to well-heeled car buffs grew out of concerns customers expressed about the quality of imported wheels that were being sold at Palanjian’s father’s tire store, Grand Prix Performance, which opened in 1972 and is a few blocks from MINT Machine.

Palanjian, 33, wanted to build upon his father’s success, and he eyed a different path than traditional retail.

“We found ourselves putting more effort into pleasing the customer, adjusting and perfecting the product,” he said. “I didn’t see it as a wise move to open up more Grand Prix stores. I wanted to take what we had and make it better, to produce the products which we sold.”

Palanjian zeroed in on a “high-end custom offering” to penetrate a “market that was already saturated.”

“Wheels are wheels, but then there was a small marketplace where people could get something totally different, totally unique for themselves, and to know that probably no one else would have it,” he said.

Work on forged aluminum wheels started in 2006 with couple of machines at a 1,000-square-foot warehouse. The company spent that prerecession period making and selling its earliest products and “trying to get our processes down,” only to be clobbered when the economy tumbled, Palanjian said.

“If it wasn’t for our overseas accounts, we probably wouldn’t be where we are today,” he said. “I remember telling my father, ‘Next time the economy comes around, I’m going to be ready.’ ”

Getting a Foothold

He made good on his promise last year, when the economic recovery began to take hold and the company expanded into its current location off Randolph Street, adding more equipment and increasing production to meet demand.

Palanjian declined to disclose financial data but said the company is slowly growing, currently manufacturing “multiple high-end sets of wheels a week.” He has fewer than 10 employees but wouldn’t specify the number.

Custom orders, which can go for $10,000 or more, are cut out of forged aluminum blanks manufactured by a supplier in Santa Fe Springs. The custom designs often originate with hand drawings or as alterations of an existing product based on customers’ desires.

Palanjian’s computer engineer drafts the final product using computer-aided design software in compliance with load and safety limits for each vehicle.

“About 90% of the time, we’ll say, ‘That looks good, but you can’t drive on it, so here is what you can get that hopefully follows some ideas that you wanted,’ ” Palanjian said.

Abadjiev translates the final designs into code that a cutting machine reads and executes.

Unique as Their Owners

Some of the company’s more unique designs have included a set of wheels made for an executive of Yard House USA Inc. with the restaurant chain’s logo engraved on the hub. Another order came from a Rolls-Royce owner who asked the team to integrate the factory-made wheel cap into his custom design.

Palanjian “helped” around his father’s tire shop from an early age. He said he owes everything to his father, Jerry, who “instilled work ethics, principles, care and love inside of his people and me.”

Palanjian continues relationships formed back then—he runs his business with two of his childhood friends, who manage the shop and handle Internet sales.

He also has a handful of employees who take on various tasks to manufacture the wheels.

The bulk of Palanjian’s business—roughly 90%—comes through a few retail companies that carry five styles of MINT wheels, updated every season and sold mainly in the Middle East, Russia, Japan and Europe. His father’s shop also carries the line.


New Customer Potential

The high-end business is keeping the shop doors open, but Palanjian said he wants a bigger share of the market.

He’s looking into producing a “middle-of-the-road product that is accessible to the majority of people, as opposed to stuff that we are making that most people would never think of buying.”

He said cheaper, cast-metal wheels are manufactured mainly in China and cost about $3,000 for a set.

Palanjian, with past frustrations over the quality of imported goods still fresh in his in mind, said he’s not ready to go that route.

Importing also has other drawbacks, he said, such as having to order large batches of product to meet a certain price point when that volume may not be needed.

“We are trying to bring a customized element of what we do now on a more affordable scale, and the only way we can do that is to bring casting back to the states,” Palanjian said. “We would be higher than our competition pricewise, but 25% higher on a lower end product would still be sellable on a small scale.”

Forged wheels are made of aluminum that has been compressed to strengthen the molecular structure, while the casting method requires molds into which metal is poured to form a wheel.

American-Made

Palanjian said he is “in the middle of [researching] a casting facility here in the states,” and that his potential casting partner could be the same company that currently produces forged pieces for his shop.

“Sometimes it’s good for us little guys to couple with the bigger guys that are aggressive, that want to jump ahead and be ready for change, and that’s what we are doing right now,” he said.

“There is probably no chance of ownership. It’s a heavy, heavy investment that we cannot do. We are talking upwards of $4 million to $5 million just in equipment, and we’re not up for that. We just want to be able to get our product here through a reliable source.”

Palanjian’s focus is on developing local resources with a broader reach.

“My major goal is bringing back production to the states. America is not what it was any longer,” he said.

“We have a good-sized economy, but we’re not doing anything, we’re just consuming. It would be great to see us become innovators again in manufacturing and producing, as opposed to just being consumers.”

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