By JEFF WEISS Contributing Reporter The Valley has a new rocket on its hands and for once, it has nothing to do with the aerospace industry. Instead, it concerns the world of power supplies and Red Rocket Inc., a new 650-employee power supply firm based in Camarillo. The result of a management buyout by senior executives of Mumbai-based Celetronix Power India Private Limited, Red Rocket has bold plans for growth, aiming to boost revenue from $20 million to $50 million over the next two years. “We’re really excited about the future because we have the leading product in the AC to DC power supplies field,” Red Rocket President and CEO James Schultz said. “We work with top product designers around the world and with dedication and focus, we think we can double the company in the next 18 months. We have great distribution channels, and Red Rocket’s EOS brand of power supplies is very strong and having been around since the early 90s, it comes with a great built-in reputation.” Red Rocket’s sales channels include such industry powerhouses as Arrow Electronics and Future Electronics, as well as XP PLC, Acal Electronics, RS Components, Ultimate Renaissance, Codico and Craftec. Additionally, Red Rocket will serve several major direct accounts in the computing, industrial, automation and telecommunications markets. Currently, Red Rocket has six employees based in Camarillo, with another half dozen remote sales directors scattered across America. The majority of its employees are based in Mumbai, in a 100,000 square foot, manufacturing, engineering and design facility. However, Schultz anticipates a major expansion in the coming months. “The expansion will be global as we grow the business. We will likely expand the sales and marketing teams, the customer service team and some engineering opportunities, primarily in India,” Schultz said. “But it’s likely that we’ll also add an engineering presence in Camarillo and add more marketing locally. We’re aiming to fill out the team in areas that are key to our infrastructure.” Though technically a new firm, Red Rocket’s roots stretch back 15 years, when it was originally founded as Simi Valley-based Celetronix. Celetronix was purchased by India-based Jabil Circuit in April of 2006 and became the firm’s power supply division, before its senior management bought it out and founded Red Rocket. Before becoming the new president/CEO of Red Rocket, Schultz had formerly served as the vice-president and general manager of Celetronix. “We all knew the industry and the competitive landscape very well,” Schultz said. “We saw an opportunity to go to our parent company and buy the business, so we did it. It’s a great product set, providing some of the smallest and most efficient AC/DC power supplies available today. It’s the heartbeat for some of the world’s leading original equipment manufacturers.”
