G & L; Guitars cofounder Leo Fender may have died nearly two decades ago, but he lives on at the guitar maker? Fullerton factory.
His office and workbench remain untouched. Old tools and drafts of guitar designs by Fender lay scattered about.
?e like to think of him as still with us,?said Steve Grom, director of manufacturing at G & L.;
Fender was a guitar pioneer who came up with a way to mass produce electric models. He sold his original company, which once made about 75,000 guitars a year from Fullerton, to CBS Corp. in 1965 for $13 million.
In 1985 it was sold again and now is Scottsdale? Fender Musical Instruments Corp.
Fender went on to start G & L; in 1980 with partner George Fullerton, a longtime Fender associate. He? also responsible for starting San Luis Obispo-based Music Man, another guitar brand owned by Ernie Ball Inc.
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Fender? work space at G & L;: left intact for more than two decades |
Today G & L; is a part of BBE Sound Inc. in Huntington Beach, which makes audio equipment for musicians. BBE has estimated yearly sales of about $25 million.
Fender didn? play any instruments but surrounded himself with people who did, according to Grom.
It was his love of musicians, or ?ngels?as he liked to call them, that drove him to improve each design.
In the world of guitars, G & L; is small. It makes about 75 guitars a week, down from about 90 a week a year earlier, according to Grom.
The operation has about 25 workers, which is down from the more than 30 it had a year ago.
The guitars sell for $1,500 to $1,800 on average. G & L; touts customization as its main selling point, which can bring the cost up to about $3,000.
A larger part of sales comes from G & L;? lower priced Tribute brand of guitars that it imports from a South Korean maker.
Tribute does up to 25% more in sales than the G & L; brand, according to Grom. Bass guitars make up about 30% of production.
About 30% of its sales are international. About 30% of those are in Japan.
Hitting the Gas
Business software maker Altametrics Inc. expects an acquisition to boost its revenue by at least a third.
The Los Alamitos-based company sells online software that allows restaurants and convenience stores to keep track of sales, employee hours, theft and other items.
Altametrics recently acquired Auto-Gas Systems Inc. for undisclosed terms.
?e always thought buying it was strategic for our business,?cofounder Mitesh Gala said.
Altametrics has about 200 customers, and some of its biggest are Wendy? International Inc., Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., California Pizza Kitchen Inc., Jamba Inc. and Marie Callender Pie Shops Inc.
The company did about $16 million in sales last year. This year it? looking for about $20 million. Up to $10 million could come from Auto-Gas, according to Gala.
Altametrics has 170 employees and plans to hire another 20 in the coming months.
Auto-Gas previously was based in Abilene, Texas, and is credited with inventing the pay at the pump software.
The company is about the third largest in its category today, according to Gala.
Some of its larger customers are ConocoPhillips, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.?ncluding Sam? Club?nd Murphy Oil Corp.
One of Gala? challenges in integrating the two companies is to come up with computer code that allows the technology of the two companies to communicate, he said.
Gala started his business in 2000 when he came up with the idea while running his 10 Jack in the Box restaurants.
Though Gala had no formal software training, he taught himself enough to get by. Today he has little to do with the technology and leaves it to programmers.
Expanding globally is a priority, according to Gala.
?e want to be in China by the end of the year,?he said.
Meal Deal
A lot? been cooking over at Susan? Healthy Gourmet LLC in Irvine, a maker of meals it delivers directly to customers.
Owner Susan Johnson expects to double her sales with the acquisition of Irvine-based Lifespring Home Nutrition, which delivers frozen meals to the elderly.
The companies each do about $4 million in yearly sales.
Johnson also has tripled her kitchen space to about 15,000 square feet with a new headquarters.
Last year was the best ever for Susan? Healthy, but sales have been down so far this year.
?t? strictly an economy thing and we know it,?Johnson said.
Customers order Susan? Healthy through its Web site and typically spend $34 to $40 a day, with an extra $10 added for delivery. On average, customers buy about nine meals a week.
Her sales pitch: The food is delivered fresh and is healthy. The mostly upscale customers see it as a convenient alternative to going to stores for the meals, Johnson said.
Johnson hopes to add more sales from her Xan Confections brand of gourmet chocolates that she launched at the beginning of the year with a $100,000 investment.
The chocolates, which are non-dairy, gluten-free and low-calorie, already are sold in some Whole Foods stores.
?nce we get the packaging design together, we?l make a push to expand it,?Johnson said.
