Span-O-Matic

Span-O-Matic, Inc. is a privately held company located in Brea, California. Span-O-Matic was incorporated in 1972 and at that time was manufacturing camper holdowns, pickup truck bumpers and bumper extensions. When the oil crisis of 1973/1974 hit, the bottom of this market fell out. This was primarily due to the high prices of gas and oil and the expense of the maintenance of recreational vehicles. Sales for Span-O-Matic began to fall, and they were up and down for the next few years. In 1975, an ornamental iron business was purchased and integrated into the manufacturing base. For the next few years, the company relied primarily on the ornamental iron business as a basis of survival while it began to solicit job shop work to supplement the recreational vehicle equipment line. As Span-O-Matic's reputation as a job shop became better known, the work required more precision and there was a need to purchase additional equipment to meet these needs. The purchase of an CNC Turret Punch, in 1978, permitted entry into the precision sheet metal market. In 1979 Span-O-Matic began to phase out of the ornamental iron business due to intense competition and low profitability. They also discontinued the camper holdown and bumper product line to concentrate solely on precision sheet metal fabrication. In 1988, Span-O-Matic purchased Metal Cabinet and Fixture Company. This acquisition gave Span-O-Matic entry into the metal cabinet market, one of the fastest growing segments in the industry. This allowed Span-O-Matic entry into the market with an established name, established accounts and the equipment necessary to produce the cabinets. The president of Metal Cabinet and Fixture Company was retained for three years to be sure the integration of the two companies was a good one. The acquisition was a success, with cabinetry now accounting for a large portion of Span-O-Matic's sales. To expand the job shop capability and enter new markets, a 1600 watt CO2 laser was purchased in 1992. This equipment enabled Span-O-Matic to do quick and accurate prototypes in steel, stainless and aluminum at a significantly lower cost than punching them on the NC press. By producing a prototype, it allowed customers to see exactly what the finished product would look like, and they could then make any modifications that were necessary at a significantly lower cost than in the past. It also let Span-O-Matic compete cost effectively for short run orders, which they could not do in the past.