Santa Ana-based Calmont Wire and Cable Inc. evolved from making tubes for hula hoops to making cables for space ships.
The company generates $6 million to $7 million yearly making custom wire and cables for the aerospace, medical device and industrial sectors.
NASA, Chicago-based Boeing Co., Irvine’s Futek Advanced Sensor Tech-nology Inc. and Illinois’ Baxter Inter-national Inc. are some of the companies and agencies that have used Calmont’s products.
This year marks the company’s 50th anniversary in business.
Bill Chilcote started Calmont in 1958 out of his home in Santa Ana.
The chemical engineer from Montana started making hula hoop wire in his garage and eventually took on jobs to make wire and cable products for local aerospace and medical device makers, according to Don Dodge, vice president of research and a longtime employee.
Bobbie Monteleone, Chilcote’s daughter, runs the company today as chief executive. Her mother, Blanche Chilcote, often comes to Calmont’s 50,000-square-foot headquarters to check in on its 42 employees, he said.
Most of Calmont’s products are custom-made according to customer specifications, said Gordon Dunn, a company spokesman.
A good chunk of Calmont’s clients tap the company to make early prototypes for
products, he said.
Many of the company’s medical device clients are moving to disposable wire and cable products, which puts pressure on their manufacturers to make them cheaply, he said.
Calmont once considered moving its headquarters to another state where insurance and labor costs are lower but Orange County’s talent pool made it stay.
“You can’t find the quality of workers here anywhere else,” Dunn said. “They have
the skills.”
A good chunk of Calmont’s employees have been with the company for some 25 to 30 years, he said.
In recent years, Calmont has seen a windfall of business come from Chinese companies looking for development work.
“We’re thinking global,” Dunn said. “Expanding internationally could help us tap new markets.”
Citizenship Check
Irvine-based AltoE-Verify generates $1 million in yearly sales by being the middleman for businesses that need to check their employees’ citizenship statuses with the government.
The company uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system run by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in partnership with the Social Security Administration, to do its citizenship checks.
The program provides an automated link to federal databases to help employers determine the work eligibility of newly hired workers and the validity of their social security numbers.
The company verifies citizenship background checks in less than 48 hours for $6 to $10 per employment verification plus an $80 sign-up fee.
John Alcorn started AltoE-Verify last year and has 12 employees. Alcorn is an immigration lawyer who runs the Law Offices of John R. Alcorn.
It wasn’t until last year that Alcorn decided to spin off his e-verification service.
Alcorn saw a windfall of inquiries come from clients in Arizona, where the E-Verify system is mandated.
Companies in California, which has millions of undocumented immigrants, also sought help from Alcorn.
Today both of Alcorn’s businesses operate out of a 6,000-square-foot office in Irvine.
Alcorn’s looking to take on an additional 3,000 square feet of office space to house AltoE-Verify as it adds more workers this year, he said.
Art Tees
Graphic designer Stacy Messerschmidt is taking a stab at fashion.
The owner of Costa Mesa-based Fr & #228;ulein Design has launched an art-inspired T-shirt and clothing company called Fr & #228;ulein.
Fr & #228;ulein is made up of a collection of silkscreen and embroidered T-shirts decorated with vintage-style art, as well as dresses, scarves, sweaters, hats and jewelry.
The company’s clothes are made at a local factory and sold on its Web site.
Fr & #228;ulein’s signature shirts, which boast illustrations of fr & #228;uleins (young women), sell anywhere from $25 to $40.
Messerschmidt, an OC native, started Fr & #228;ulein Design as a boutique graphic design company in 2000.
She made T-shirts to help market her graphic design company earlier this year but decided to start a separate clothing business when she realized how much she enjoyed making clothes, she said.
“Apparel was one avenue where I could express my graphic design talent,” she said. “It seemed like a natural progression for me.”
Messerschmidt is financing the new clothing line with her own money but is mum about how much she has invested.
Fr & #228;ulein is getting the word out about its clothes by hosting art shows at its OC headquarters.
The shows, which are dubbed “Fr & #228;ulein Affairs,” showcase works by local artists and Fr & #228;ulein gear.
Fr & #228;ulein plans to debut its line at a company runway show in February, Messerschmidt said.
