(upbeat music)
  - Hello again, Maria.
  - Hello.
  - How are you?
  - Good, good, good.
  - Great.
  So we're continuing on the discussion
  of the Grow Salinas Fund,
  which has been a very successful  program that you manage.
  And you work with many  businesses in our community.
  So we did talk to Central  Coast Sign and Design.
  - Yes.
  - And do you now want to  introduce our other guest?
  - Yes, I'm happy to do  so, I'm happy to introduce
  Lorenzo Lopez, who is the general manager
  of North County Industrial Machine.
  And he is here with us today
  and will talk a little  bit about his business
  and how we were able to assist him
  with a Grow Salinas Loan.
  - Thank you very much for having me here.
  - [Ray] Yeah, well welcome, Lorenzo,
  it's great to have you on the program.
  - Thank you.
  - [Ray] And we're gonna hear  a lot more about your business
  and what you do, and  the impact here locally.
  - Yes.
  - [Ray] So how did you first  meet up with the business and--
  - Well, I had started working  with the Grow Salinas Fund
  and let staff know, especially  in our permit center,
  in case they came across  any business owner
  who was looking to expand their business
  and perhaps would be in need  of some financial assistance.
  And I get a call rom Lorenzo,
  who was actually at the permit center,
  and inquiring about  different, maybe perhaps,
  grants or loan programs that  are available through the city.
  So they gave him my business card,
  I always make sure that they have
  my business card downstairs,
  so he made the call, placed the call,
  and I was able to explain to him,
  what the Grow Salinas Fund was,
  made an appointment and  visited with him on site.
  And that's how the relationship started
  and how they started with  the loan application process.
  - Right.
  How long ago was that, Maria?
  - I think it's been about,  again, maybe two to three years
  since they started the process,
  and have successfully  gone through the process
  and actually are looking.
  One of the nice things  about Grow America Fund
  is that they also allow  those existing loans
  that they first approved to reapply
  if any of those business  need some additional funding.
  And so North County was able to do that.
  And they're in that  second phase right now.
  So, it's great to see that happen.
  - Well, Lorenzo, tell us
  a little bit more about your company
  and what product or services you provide.
  - I'm the manager there.
  This is actually Jose Torres' company.
  It's North County Industrial Machine shop.
  We have been in the industry for 14 years.
  We provide repair services  and manufacture of parts
  to the agricultural industry,
  for conveyors, some equipment  that comes from overseas
  that it's hard to get,
  so we try to make the  part or repair the part.
  - [Ray] So it's very customized?
  - Yes.
  We make prototypes of certain items,
  and if the customer  agrees to it and likes it,
  or wants to make adjustments, we do so.
  But, mainly repairs, repairs.
  - So how many clients,
  businesses do you work with in the area?
  Is it just in Monterey, or South County,
  or are you up and down the central coast?
  - We cover all Monterey County,
  down from King City all the  way up to San Juan Bautista.
  We have certain customers  out in Fremont and San Jose.
  But 95% of our business is  here in the Central Coast.
  - And most of those are
  agriculturally based kinds of business?
  - Not necessarily.
  We have wineries, wineries.
  We have wineries, big companies
  like Robert Mann Packing, cardboard.
  So we have a variety.
  There's some walk-in customers
  that need help with their restaurants,
  some items that need to be made.
  So anything to do with  metal, we take care of.
  - So they started out at  a certain location, right?
  - Yes.
  When I first visited their  office on Brunken Avenue,
  there are several small warehouses
  that house small, light  industrial business.
  So I came into the office,
  and there must have been five
  or six individuals in this small office,
  and that was where they operated,
  that was where they had  their reception area,
  their accounts payable,  and then of course,
  Lorenzo's office, and Jose's office.
  So, very small.
  Quickly I had a tour of the facility,
  and Lorenzo showed me some  welding equipment that they had,
  but were not able to use  because of the space.
  They had the certain equipment,
  but because they were  limited to the space,
  they were not able to use this equipment.
  So they were looking at expanding,
  they were looking at moving,
  and they were also looking at purchasing,
  again, specialized equipment.
  And so, part of their  fund was for that use,
  to help them purchase the equipment,
  and also to help them relocate  to a much bigger facility.
  Yes, and so when I went out  again to see their new site,
  much bigger facility, and more employees
  that they were able to hire.
  And it was the equipment,
  definitely was being  used by the employees.
  So to see them from a small location
  to expand into a much larger  location, was really great.
  - Lorenzo, how large a location is it?
  Do you know, approximately,  square footage?
  - We were about 20 people in  the old location, splitted in--
  - [Ray] That sounds crowded.
  (laughing)
  - And I was splitted in about
  four different locations  in the same complex.
  So we weren't together, but  we were in the same location.
  The new place is one and half acres.
  - [Ray] Good size.
  Huge.
  - With two 10,000 square feet buildings.
  The equipment, that Maria was saying,
  we had a bunch of  equipment tat was unused,
  now since we moved, we were able to
  make these machines to  work and we're using them.
  We went from 20 employees  to now 50 employees.
  - [Ray] Wow, that's quite a jump.
  - Quite a jump.
  - Quite a jump.  - Yes.
  - That's almost two and a half times.
  - Yes.
  - It was quite scary at the beginning.
  I remember--
  - You remember all those employees names.
  - It's so hard to hire  one or two employees,
  and when we had one of the conditions
  and requirements from the loan
  was to hire at least eight  people and retain them,
  I kinda got scared, 'cause I said,
  it's so hard to hire people
  when not only we hired eight,
  but we hired almost 30 more.
  And with the peace of mind  of having created positions
  that were never available to us,
  such as now a human resources department,
  an accounting department,  inventory department,
  designing department, we even have
  an engineer that works on site for us.
  It's much easier for everyone else,
  gives us a peace of mind.
  We're finally running a business.
  - You really scaled up from 20 to 50,
  are you looking to even add more?
  - Well that's one of the purposes
  of acquiring the new piece of land.
  We want to build and we want to expand.
  We do not wanna move, we want to grow.
  - Well we're happy to  hear about that, right?
  - Yes, we are.
  That's why it's called  the Grow Salinas Fund.
  (laughs)
  - We want you here in Salinas.
  (laughs)
  - Yes.
  - So when would that next step happen?
  So you're at 50, two buildings  at 10,000 square feet,
  you wanna add more.
  - Yes, it's happening.
  It's happening starting this year.
  - Okay, great.
  - So, once we have the property,
  we will start beginning the process of
  getting the right personnel in there,
  and hopefully succeed as we are now.
  - So you're scaling up,  you have a business plan,
  sounds like you're doing well overall
  in how your business operates,
  it must do well in the market.
  You must have lots of clients now, too.
  - Yes, it's one of the  things that unfortunately
  we don't advertise and were tied up.
  We're so busy, we can't.
  - Busy.  - A lot of word of mouth.
  - A lot, yes.
  And we have a saying, we get  surrounded by good people,
  then we will be doing good.
  And we have good people surrounding us.
  We have Maria that helps us  when I have a financial need.
  And not only that, but when we're hiring,
  we look for agencies in the community
  that can provide us the people  that we may be looking at.
  Some of these people need  second opportunities,
  and we are there to provide them
  if they are qualified to perform the job.
  Some success histories  that we have in the company
  is that we have maintenance  personnel come in,
  and in one or two years,
  this person who started cleaning,  maintaining the property
  has become a welder.
  - Wow.
  So do you train them, Lorenzo,
  or do you send them to class?
  - If they are interested in learning,
  we take the time to put  him with someone else
  who's experienced to teach him.
  - Great.
  So many of your jobs are  probably skilled kinds of jobs
  because they require customized equipment,
  and customized orders for these  different businesses, right?
  - Right.
  Yes, that's very important to say.
  Yes, this equipment is heavy equipment,
  it's very delicate equipment.
  You can't just have  anybody turn on a machine,
  you need to have the  knowledge, the experience.
  But that's why we have  the right personnel who,
  if someone wants to learn,
  we give him the right person to show him.
  Now this is done after  hours, not during work,
  'cause it becomes a liability  if there's an issue.
  - [Ray] Sure.
  - But we successfully have been open
  seven days a week for the last five years.
  - That amazing.
  So, are most of your  workers local as well?
  - Yes.
  When we're interviewing, where you're from
  doesn't rally make a difference.
  We just wanna make sure  everybody can make it to work.
  But very important is, again,
  my leads start in the city, here.
  If an agency says, I have these young kids
  that are coming out of  Central Employment Training,
  which is CET, or Turning Point,
  or Cal Jobs, that's where I start.
  That's where I start.
  And I start interviewing,
  and if I fulfill the positions  from there, then it's great.
  I don't have to do more.
  (laughs)
  - The businesses that you have,
  you said they're not all agriculture.
  So there are companies in the area
  that have specialized  equipment that need repair,
  or in some kind of maintenance
  or something like that as well.
  What kinds of business, I guess,
  are those that might need  that kind of service?
  - Well in the agriculture,  we have Taylor Farms,
  and Dole, and we have--
  - Big companies.  - Big companies.
  - Big companies.
  And we have A Oceguera,
  they have a lot of farm workers,
  and a lot of equipment of there own
  that we manufacture for  them as well, or we repair.
  Then we deal with wineries.
  We deal with a lot of small shops
  that give service to the farming industry.
  Not only we fabricate,  we also sell materials.
  A lot of people come in  to just buy material.
  And they find out we do other things,
  so they subcontract us for  work that they can't do.
  'Cause they don't have all  the equipment that we have.
  One of the great things that happened
  with our loan here, was  that we were able to
  bring in equipment that  cut our labor time in half.
  It's equipment before it was so hard
  to put together a layout,
  and cut and customize it the  way the customer wanted it.
  Now, we input everything  through a designer
  and auto CAD on the computer.
  We transfer it to where the water jet is
  and it does all the magic.
  Everything gets cut.
  - It's really amazing to  be able to see that, I've--
  - So you've been through there.
  - I have been to the shop  and I've learned quite a few,
  just by conversations with Lorenzo
  and by seeing how this process works.
  And as we know, we are surrounded by ag,
  and we're the ag community.
  - That our bread and butter.
  - And unlike, if a machine breaks down
  and the part breaks off,
  oh, they can't just ship it off
  and wait for two weeks, or a week.
  They need it repaired now.
  And I think that's one of the things
  that Lorenzo would work with,
  just different types of machinery,
  and the detailed work that's involved,
  and the quickness, because  that's what they're looking for
  is that quick turnaround  time to get equipment fixed.
  - We have a 3D printer.
  - Oh yeah, that amazing  what you can do now.
  - This printer would make  a five by five feet dryer
  into a eight by eight inches size
  for the customers to look at it
  and prevent loss of money,  and prevent problems.
  They look at it, and if  they wanna make changes
  before invest all this amount  of money, they can do that.
  So we offer that for the customer
  so that way they can see  it before it's even made.
  We do that.
  Jose's knowledge in  this industry is so big
  that he, most of the times,
  shares his knowledge with customers,
  and sometimes when they  share this information
  they're able to come down  with better decisions.
  - That's wonderful.  Economical decisions, as well.
  - Right.
  So you mentioned that the owner's from
  one of our sister cities.
  - Yes, the owner is from our  sister city of Guanajuato,
  and again, Jose started as a welder,
  and through, I believe it was through CET
  or through some trade program,
  and then eventually went off to
  wanna start his own business.
  So his story is really incredible to hear
  how you went from a one person  or a two person operation,
  to where he is now.
  - [Ray] Yeah, 50 plus people.
  - Yes.
  - Oh, he's got his own little story, yes.
  Like Maria said, he started with CET,
  got hired as an apprentice at  a local small machine shop,
  he learned his way up to a foreman.
  While he was doing that, went to Hartnell
  to learn English and machinist,
  and once he was ready to move on,
  other people give out two week notice,
  he gave out a two year notice.
  (laughing)
  And he moved on and got into--
  - Yeah, sounds like a  very successful person.
  - Got into this venture.
  Success is not easy.
  He had a couple of failures.
  Who doesn't?
  But you learn from those  mistakes and those failures,
  and it just makes you better.
  - Right.
  I think that, too.
  I think that a good way  to learn lessons in life.
  It's not perfect, a lot  of challenges, right?
  Especially when you're running a business
  And you're responsible for so many people,
  not just your employees,  but for customers, right?
  They're counting on you, as Maria said,
  to get that fixed, or that  new part as soon as possible.
  - [Lorenzo] Yes.
  - And it's just really  amazing to see with technology
  what they've been able to do.
  They actually, and you can  highlight on the robot welder.
  - [Ray] Oh yeah, it's robotics now.
  - Yes, robotics.
  It's very interesting to see that.
  - Jose has always tried  to be ahead of the game.
  We have a robotic welder now,
  I think we're the only one
  in Salinas to have a robotic welder.
  So, we're ready for the next challenge.
  So if anybody wants to throw  out some production this way,
  we will gladly have the  capacity of doing it.
  - So there's always this  question in technology
  whether or not the robotic part
  or machine would replace workers.
  And some of the answers I've given is,
  well, somebody has to  understand how the robotics work
  and program the robotics, or make the app
  or the parts for the robotic,
  and that's where it's important to
  train our own people locally  to have that capacity.
  - The robotic machine, when we brought it,
  people that that that's  what we were doing,
  trying to replace welders.
  (chuckles)
  But no, actually, that robotic welder
  opened up four positions.
  We brought in a couple of mechanics
  and a couple of maintenance people,
  and we hired a person  that would teach them
  how to use the robotic welder.
  And now we have four people
  that are capable of running this machine.
  - [Ray] There you go, right?
  - So, we created  opportunity for four people
  who never thought they were going to learn
  how to handle a robotic welder.
  Robotic welder is never gonna  go pick up the material,
  cut it, go get it together.
  - Or talk to the customer.  - Or talk to the customer.
  (laughs)
  - Or program by itself.
  So you need that.
  What the robotic welder's purpose is
  to do all the hard work.
  And you're not
  - The repetitive work.
  - Hurting your back,  yeah, it's just there.
  So it's something that  hopefully if it works
  and our new goal works out this year,
  we're probably gonna bring  in more robotic welders
  and we're gonna get people  to work on them and grow.
  - Well, that's good news.
  You have a 3D printer, a machine,
  and then you have the robotics,
  you're really embracing technology,
  but at the same time, you're  increasing your business,
  increasing the number of  workers that help you.
  - Yeah, we bought one water jet,
  when we started with the loan,
  now we have three water jets.
  - Yeah.  - Yeah.
  - That's interesting,  how does the water jet
  help with the fabrication.
  - This is the water jet table right here.
  So you just place raw material on top,
  and the jet's gonna come and  cut the design you want it.
  It can cut up to two  inches thick in material.
  We couldn't do that by hand.  - No.
  - So we have machine do it.
  - Very precise.
  - Very precise and clean.
  So when it comes out, we  just do the easy work,
  which is just to bend a put it together.
  - So it doesn't require extra milling,
  or any other finishing.
  - Nothing.
  - Wow, that's amazing.
  - Yes.
  That's why, now that we are at three,
  and all three are running,
  we opened up, not only that one position,
  now it's two more positions  for the other two water jets.
  - Sounds like the loan  has been really wonderful
  in helping you realize some  additional opportunities.
  And you seized those opportunities.
  - Yes.
  Investing was very smart.
  And one thing I do wanna say,
  I do wanna thank all the people  that work for North County.
  I enjoy working with them,
  and I know they enjoy coming to work.
  Behind them, we always see a family.
  So it not just that one person,  it's the family behind him.
  And the peace of mind that
  where we're at now, has  given us the opportunity
  to create a benefit package  for them, employee manual,
  and care more for the  employee and their family.
  They're happy at work and happy at home.
  - Yeah, they make better workers.
  - Yes.  - Make better workers.
  (laughing)
  Yeah, so I'm really happy to
  be able to be part of that progress,
  to see them where they were before
  the Grow Salinas loan was able to assist,
  and where they are now  and where they're headed.
  Because I think we've sort of  established that relationship,
  especially now, going through  the whole permitting process
  for the new project that  they're undertaking.
  And you sort of develop  these relationships
  and these bonds with our  customers, with out clients.
  I think that's kind of  what we've been able to do
  with all of our Grow Salinas Fund clients.
  - Well, that's wonderful.
  How many loans do you have out now
  with the Grow Salinas Fund?
  - We are at the end of our  program, of our funding,
  and we were able to do,  I believe right now,
  there'll be about six that  we've bee able to finalize.
  - And those loan payments  will be recycled back in
  and then you'll have enough...
  - We'll have hopefully  some additional funding.
  But it's been a great  program, a great experience,
  not only for me, but I think  for the business owners
  to be able to go through this process.
  - Right.
  - Yes, there's some paperwork there,
  but at the end, the end  result is just great
  to see how they've been  able to develop and to grow.
  - Right.
  So was it difficult in  the beginning, Lorenzo,
  with getting into the program,
  thinking about all those  forms, and documents,
  and information you had to put together?
  - You know, it's weird because
  it was very simple, to be honest with you.
  Because before I was  able to stop by the city,
  which I happened to go update a license,
  I was looking at local banks.
  I went through local banks
  and got their condition  list, I couldn't qualify.
  It was so hard, it made  it a little harder.
  So when I saw the GAF flyer,
  and they told me who was responsible,
  they gave me her card of Maria's,
  I said, okay, I'm gonna call her
  and see how hard is it to  get money from the city.
  So we made an appointment,
  and I already had sort of a  checklist of what we needed.
  So we provided it, and less than 30 days
  we had a pre-approval  with certain conditions,
  which we met as well.
  Pretty soon, I think it was  the week we were moving,
  we had the signing.
  - Oh, wow, you got it that quickly.
  - Yes.
  - It was very helpful, again,
  Lorenzo being familiar with  some of the loan terminology,
  and knew exactly what paperwork to get.
  And that process always, in some cases,
  takes a little bit longer for some,
  but that was great to be able to
  work directly with Lorenzo  on this and move it forward.
  - So how big would your business be?
  You're acquiring this other piece of land,
  and then you're doing that now,
  you have 50 workers now.
  What will be your new capacity
  as you progress down this expansion path?
  - I think that at 50 we're  maxed out where we're at,
  I think we're good.
  Where we're moving is 2.3 acres.
  So we're not moving, I'm worry,
  we're expanding, is 2.3 acres.
  So our plan is to build  10,000 square feet buildings
  or a project that can take  us up to 30,000 square feet,
  and grow, maybe within the next
  five years to a hundred people.
  - That's quite a jump.
  - [Maria] It really is.
  - Originally 20, 50, and then  in a few years a hundred.
  - [Lorenzo] Who knows?
  - And three facilities.
  - [Maria] And three facilities.
  - And who knows?  - And who knows?
  Yeah, and I think  especially with all the new
  type of equipment that may be needed,
  the new industry, as we all know,
  the cannabis industry is a  totally different industry.
  - Exactly.
  - So there may be some  additional opportunities there
  for some additional type of equipment
  that is yet to be tapped into.
  - Now that's an Excellent point.
  Agriculture itself is a huge industry,
  it's our biggest industry here  in Salinas and the Valley,
  and worldwide it's known.
  So you have a good base now,
  and then if the cannabis  business really takes off,
  they're gonna need repairs,  and specialty equipment,
  and more fabrication, et cetera.
  So yeah, the future appears  to be bright Lorenzo.
  - Yes that's what we're  looking forward to.
  About four years ago, I  remember having a meeting
  with some of the Taylor  people, on their offices,
  and I can't forget what Jose said,
  he said, while you guys are sleeping,
  we're repairing the machines,
  making sure they're ready  for the next morning.
  (laughs)
  And it's true, 'cause if they call us
  at 10, 12, one in the morning,
  we will make sure we have a  crew out there that repairs.
  - Wow, that's amazing.
  So that's how it works.
  - Yes.
  - 'Cause you said before, they  don't wanna wait three weeks,
  and they don't wanna  send out for the part,
  they want it tomorrow.
  (laughs)
  - Right.  - Yes.
  - For the beginning of the business day.
  They want it fixed and ready to go.
  - Yes, 'cause they can't  afford to have 30 people
  standing right there  by the machine waiting.
  - Right.
  Yeah, if that production line stops,
  then not only will people not work,
  the profit goes down overall
  and the business might lose  more, obviously, revenue.
  - [Lorenzo] There's the butterfly effect.
  - The butterfly effect.
  And we've seen the change  throughout the years
  from our agricultural industry, too.
  I remember talking in my other capacity
  for the housing program,
  when we did the first  time home buyer program,
  I would have applicants who would come in,
  oh, well I enjoy my job because
  it's just the harvest  season is only six months.
  Well that harvest season  is now year round.
  - [Ray] It's year round.
  - So we've seen the change  since that's taken place,
  even within our agricultural industry,
  because now these businesses are open,
  as Lorenzo mentioned, 24 hours.
  The shops are working,  shifts are coming in,
  some are going, it's now lettuce  in a bag, salad in a bowl.
  It's that production is also changed,
  and the type of production  that's taking place.
  So yes, ag jobs are now  basically year round ag jobs.
  - Yeah.
  Well that's good for,  I think, our community.
  - Yes yes it is.
  - And businesses like yours,
  which help employ our local residents
  and the investment you're making,  helps the overall economy.
  So it's really great news  to hear your story, Lorenzo.
  - [Lorenzo] Thank you very much.
  - Yeah, we look forward to  hearing more in the future
  about your expansion and  how well that will be going.
  And I'm sure you'll see more clients
  as the fund keeps revolving,
  and more assets are accumulated over time
  then you can loan out more dollars.
  - Additional dollars.
  - Alright, thank you both  for being here today,
  and we look forward to  hearing more success
  from the Grow Salinas Fund and  from North County Machinery.
  - Thank you very much.
  - Thank you.
     
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