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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

‘Traditional’ Keeps Valley Economy in Tune

Take a look at our Fastest Growing 50 Private Companies list in this issue and you’ll get a snapshot of what our Valley economy looks like. You can also see why our economy, although it has its ups and downs from time to time, is generally solid and sound and diversified. The fastest growing private companies in our area at first glance don’t look like a real sexy bunch. Yes, we’ve got a lot of technology companies but we’ve also got contractors, moving companies, refrigerator door manufacturers, landscaping firms, car dealers and a metal distributor. “Traditional” may be the best word for many of these firms. And that’s OK. That’s what keeps us alive. Unlike such places as the Silicon Valley, we’re not vulnerable to any volatile tech scene like our neighbors up north were vulnerable to a few years ago. These “traditional” firms here generally can weather the storm more easily than some other companies because they have proven business models and sell products that generally don’t go out of style. Take the No. 1 company on the list this year Capital Network Leasing Corp. This is an eight-year-old firm that is a small-ticket lender to businesses for equipment purchases. Unless there’s a huge slowdown in the economy where production slows drastically, there’s usually a general need for buying equipment and for financing it. Take a look at some other companies on the list. No. 9 Onestop is a distributor and wholesaler of office supplies such as toner. No. 22 Regency Lighting distributes industrial and commercial lighting products. No. 23 Munchkin Inc.designs, manufactures and markets baby products. No. 29 A-1 Textiles & Hospitality Products provides products to the hospitality and health care industries. No. 47 Maria’s Italian Kitchen is a no-frills Italian restaurant chain. All these companies mentioned provide staples of some sort, whether they are staples for dinner or for the office. As I said, these may seem like boring industries but they’re sustainable if run properly. They’re generally not susceptible to huge contract losses, major layoffs or boom-and-bust cycles. Before you think that our industries are downright vanilla, let me also point out that the No. 2 company on the list, NxTV, provides Internet protocol video on demand to hotels and other such venues. Fairly cutting edge, As Mark Madler points out in a story in this issue, the L.A. music scene is vibrant in the Valley. You’ve got No. 18 Schecter Guitar Research Inc., a manufacturer of guitars, basses and acoustics. No. 48 Line 6 develops and manufacturers amplifiers and effects processors for guitar and bass. As I said, we’ve got a diversified business inventory here. And diversified is good. Jaycees Awards Congratulations to the San Fernando Valley Jaycees for receiving seven awards among Jaycee Chapters from all across the state at the California Jaycees (Junior Chamber) convention earlier this month in Santa Clara. The local chapter received “Top Chapter for the 3rd Quarter,” “Top Impact Project” – shared each year by three California chapters, “Top Membership Vice-President” Max Haghighi, “Top Executive Vice President” Victoria Bourdas, “Impromptu Speak Up (Speech) 3rd Place” Leslie Kaz, “Brownfield (Interviewing) 3rd Place” Leslie Kaz “Impromptu Write Up (Timed Essay) 1st Place” Juliet Mothershed. Business Journal Editor Jason Schaff can be reached at (818) 316-3125 or at [email protected] .

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