Since 1981, Santa Fe Springs-based Hurlen Corp. has been supplying aerospace metals to commercial companies and military contractors. Chief Executive Jay Hurtado founded the company after a similar one he worked for folded, and he later brought aboard Emily Mountcastle, who was forming the Florida-based Kenig Aerospace, as a partner. She serves as a co-owner with Hurtado and is president of the operation, which is No. 64 on our List of Minority Owned Businesses.
Hurtado spoke with the Business Journal about starting a company and being his own boss.
Tell us about Hurlen Corp. and how you came to be an owner and CEO.
I was a controller with Transamerica at one of their divisions. After that, I went to a controllership position with TI Industries out of Garden Grove. Small company, similar to my company now. I was working for a friend of mine. He got divorced and he had to shut his company down and he left the industry. Five of us — myself and four salesmen — opened up Hurlen in 1981. We struggled. It was pretty tough days, trying to get loans from the banks. We financed our receivables, which is the thing to do when you don’t have any money, but it’s also very expensive. We did struggle for about five years until we met someone in Florida we dealt with who wanted to start her own company, so we financed her in obtaining a building and opening up there. That really got us going. It doubled our sales, and we became an international selling company with her on board. She’s still here now. She’s my only partner. Since then, we expanded, and our revenue went up to $50 million one year. We’ve had our best years during the pandemic.
What advice would you give someone who’s about to start their own business?
Back when I got out of a college, I went to work for a large CPA firm called Ernst & Ernst for about five years. I got my CPA certificate, the whole works. For someone starting off in business, that’s just a step in the right direction — a business degree and CPA certificate are a great combination. That’s important to know how to run the financial part of the business. After that, hiring good salesmen. I wasn’t a salesman at all. I had a quiet disposition and personality and I had a tough time.
Do you like being your own boss?
  It’s great, of course. You can go as fast as you think possible. You can hire the people that you think will benefit the company and yourself. We’re a small company and that’s better than working for a big corporate company. You make the calls and you don’t have to worry about a board of directors that hired you to make all of your decisions for you. At my age now, 79, I still love jumping out of bed and going to work every day.
What’s the best aspect of running your own business?
Being in charge of your own destiny.
And the worst?
The financial part of it. You really have to watch your profits and losses.
 If you’re losing money, you have to cut back in places and cut back on some of your staff.Â
How has the pandemic affected your business?
We did get a PPP loan from the government. Our sales were down in 2020, when it got down to $16 million, but in 2022, we had $26 million in revenue sales, so we’ve bounced back.Â
Has being Mexican American affected your business?
It did help back in the day. The government was able to set aside contracts for minorities. I don’t know if it’s legal anymore, but back then, they did, and we got our share.Â
We also took advantage of an SBA program for small minority businesses that teaches how to maintain inventory, which really came in handy with a big contract we had with Northrup.
Do you think you’ll ever start another business?
It’s a little late for me to start another business. My daughter’s taking over, and she has some ideas. She’s young, barely 50, and she may take it in another direction or just add to what we’re doing now.
— Zane Hill
