Times are tough for sure, but at least one local small manufacturer is expanding into cushier quarters.
It’s LaunchLab Inc., the maker of the Sleepypod, a line of dog and cat carriers that can be used as beds or car seats.
“We’ve reached a milestone,” said Greg Mote, 38, who founded the company 11 years ago with two partners in his downtown L.A. apartment. “We can finally afford to pay rent on a building and continue to grow.”
The new digs, which the company is in the process of moving into, comprise just a 900-square-foot suite on East Foothill Boulevard in Pasadena. It’s small, but has enough room for an office, design studio and showroom. It’s a far cry from Mote’s apartment, which was only large enough for a handful of people.
“The biggest difference is that we can now all be in the same place working instead of talking to each other by telephone and meeting only once in a while,” he said.
In addition to affording the added design and showroom space, the office will allow the company to add two more workers by early next year. It currently has only one employee.
Mote said the move was made possible by a doubling of sales to about 7,000 units since last year.
“The economy seems to be picking up and our new products are doing well,” Mote said. “People are less frightened of purchasing our items, which are priced at the higher end.”
Sleepypods come in a variety of colors and resemble fancy cushioned carrying cases for dogs and cats. They sell for a suggested retail price of $165 apiece, and are available online and at 600 boutiques and pet stores.
After recently adding a product called Sleepypod Air, designed to carry pets on airplanes, the company is planning to expand its offerings.
“We want to fill out our product line to where, whatever pet you have, we’ve got something to cover the needs of that pet in sleeping and travel,” Mote said.
In addition to its main product, the company sells such accessories as blankets, warming systems and beddings.
LaunchLab is profitable. But Mote admitted, “We’re not quite where we want to be. We have a positive number each year, but it’s not very large.”
On the Roof
Soliant Energy Inc., a solar energy manufacturer in Monrovia, is going global.
The company, which specializes in solar systems for commercial rooftops, announced earlier last month that it had completed its first project in Portugal.
The new solar system was installed on the roof of Turiprojecto, a leading Portuguese construction company, at its corporate headquarters in Alverca.
Founded by several former NASA engineers in 2005, Soliant produces concentrated solar units – each weighing about 198 pounds – arranged on special lightweight roof-mounted racks. The units are said to capture up to 80 percent more energy than traditional systems by tilting toward the sun using a motorized self-guided system.
Soliant has attracted financial backing from a number of large companies including General Electric, Rockport Capital Partners, Trinity Ventures, Rincon Venture Partners, Convexa and Nth Power.
The company had previously focused on providing solar panels for commercial use in sunshine-rich areas such as California, Arizona and New Mexico.
Notable Merger
Talk about an odd coupling, or maybe not.
A Rancho Dominguez manufacturer of custom wine cellars is expanding into home saunas and steam baths – all home additions generally found in only the most upscale residences.
Vinotemp International, a 25-year-old company that makes wine storage and refrigeration units, recently purchased the assets of a Seattle company called Apex Saunas and Wine Cellars. The newly merged firm, based in Los Angeles, is called Apex by Vinotemp.
The company now sells wine racks and modular sauna rooms that can shipped and assembled by homeowners. It also makes custom versions of its products, which are definitely pricey.
A portable three-person sauna room equipped with infrared heating, for instance, goes for $1,970 to $3,690.
Staff Reporter David Haldane can be reached at [email protected] or at 323-549-5225, ext. 225.
