Make it BIG in Los Angeles County
Cal Spas
Casey Loyd, President
Pomona, San Gabriel Valley
"Cal Spas has built our business in Los Angeles County
because of its people. Some of the smartest and most educated people in the world live and work in
Los Angeles County. It is also a beautiful and culturally rich place to live with convenient access
to airports, ports and countless other resources."
COM DEV USA : Manufacturer of Electronic Hardware for Spacecraft
Glenn Barney, Founder and Vice President, Business Development
El Segundo, South Bay (2006 LAEDC Inaugural Most-Business Friendly
City winner)
“When choosing a location for COM DEV to expand from Canada
into the U.S., our most important consideration was access to a highly skilled and specialized
workforce. No region, anywhere in the world, has a higher concentration of the technical and
management talent we need than Los Angeles County. With help from Mayor McDowell and his team in El
Segundo, we found, purchased and renovated the ideal facility for our unique needs. We are
surrounded by our customers and suppliers. We have numerous direct flights a day between LAX and our
company headquarters near Toronto. And many of our employees, including myself, use the convenient
Bus and Metro system for an easy and inexpensive commute to work.”
Olmstead Williams Communications
Tracy Williams, President and CEO
Los
Angeles, Westside
"Olmstead Williams Communications
celebrates its second year in business in 2010, and I credit Los Angeles County for our success.
We started in the ashes of the recession and are growing with a team of professionals from all over
the country. They choose L.A. County in order to find challenging work, and I choose them because
they came here. My clients in technology, life sciences, clean technology and professional
services are similar. I sense that both my successful business friends and my bright summer
intern see Los Angeles as a wave they want to ride. It has a limitless sky and an edge that
makes life interesting. The businesses we provide public relations for all need to grow their
businesses, not rest on their laurels. As a result they’re open to innovation and full
commitment—which is what gets the people in this company revved up and makes me jump out of bed in
the morning. That’s what I tell people who don’t quite understand Los Angeles: it’s not about
the sunsets, it’s the sunrise."
The Union Ice Company
Pete De Grandis, Senior Plant Manager
Vernon,
Gateway Cities (2008 LAEDC Most-Business Friendly
City winner)
"I have been in the Ice business for 25 years. I can tell
you very factually that no market compares to L.A. County. Some of the markets are beach activities,
camping, fishery business, produce markets, motion pictures and entertainment industry, catering
companies, and food processors. If you can think of it, it exists here in L.A."
LA Tropicana Market
Rana Redfield, Owner
Highland Park, Central Los Angeles
"Every business needs guidance. Together, the
LAEDC and LA City WIB create a one-stop shop. With their help we lowered our utility costs, expanded
our seating and parking while retaining needed employees. I highly recommend any small business to
get in touch with them."
UltraGlas, Inc.
Jane A. Skeeter, Founder/CEO
Chatsworth, Central Los Angeles
"Trying to shine above your competition isn’t easy in a
down economy. We needed to purchase new equipment and expand to make that happen. When the LAEDC,
CMTC and the LA WIB sculptured a new path for us, we found new funding and resources needed to
increase market share by 98 percent."
Handsome Coffee Roasters
Tyler Stonebreaker, Consultant
Los Angeles,
Central Los Angeles
"Opening a unique coffee roaster in LA's Arts
District boiled down to getting simultaneous approvals from 13 different city departments, a tall
order for any business. The LAEDC and WIB went to work for us, creating a fast and workable solution
that let us go from design through construction in under eight months."