Santa Ana Firm Capitalizes on List of Owners : Ultratech Resources provides clients with names of companies held by minorities.

Aaron Lovejoy discovered that sometimes a special interest can be a springboard for a business tomorrow.

In 1979, Lovejoy, then a manager for affirmative action programs for an Irvine pipeline company, began compiling an informal list of minority-owned businesses. He fed the information into his personal computer, using a software program that sorted the companies by their type of business and other categories. His list grew and grew.

What the Santa Ana man did not know at the time was how valuable the list might be to a lot of companies. Large companies that do business with the state or federal government are required by law to hire minority-owned firms for a portion of the work. But these companies frequently complained that it was difficult to find minority-owned suppliers because there was no readily available listings.

Lovejoy formerly worked for a construction industry trade group in Washington and discussed the list with his friends in the construction business. Eventually, he began getting calls from other construction companies interested in the list. When his employer moved to Salt Lake City in 1983, Lovejoy declined a transfer and decided to start his own business in Santa Ana.

A few months later, at age 43, he started Ultratech Resources Inc. from an office in his Santa Ana home. He began marketing his list to large companies that do business with state and federal agencies. Companies can retrieve the information from a computer database and arrange the information to suit their particular needs.

Business was good right from the start, Lovejoy said. When he discovered that some companies lacked the expertise to set up the computer program or train employees how to use it, he expanded into computer consulting. Another side business is helping to train minority business owners how to use computers.

His clients include Morrison-Knudsen Corp., a major engineering and construction company in Boise, Idaho; the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, and the California Department of Water Resources in Sacramento.

Lovejoy expects Ultratech’s sales to reach $800,000 this year and, based on contracts signed, projects sales to nearly double in 1992.

As Lovejoy’s business grew to 13 employees in Los Angeles, Glendale and Santa Ana, he became more involved in community work. “I found my work at Ultratech more enjoyable as I got more involved in community work,” he said.

He said his community activities help his business by putting him in contact with a lot of government officials and executives, who often know of future jobs in Southern California for which his company can bid.

As president of the county’s Black Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce’s council for small business, Lovejoy encourages small and minority business owners to do business with each other and with major corporations.

His business got a big lift last year when Los Angeles County designated Ultratech as a so-called disadvantaged business enterprise. The designation allows minority- and women-owned businesses to get preferential treatment when bidding for public contracts. Within weeks, Lovejoy landed a two-year, $500,000 contract to provide computer support services for the county’s Transportation Commission.

Through this contract, Ultratech linked up with DMR Group Inc., an international information systems consulting company in Boston, to pursue computer-related projects in California. Ultratech provided computer support services while DMR designed and implemented computer systems for clients.

“It’s been a true win-win relationship for us right from the start,” said Dan Kubrin, management information systems manager at DMR and at the Transportation Commission in Los Angeles.

Earlier this year, Ultratech won a computer training contract with Walt Disney Imageenary Inc., the arm of the Disney company responsible for creating theme park rides. And two weeks ago, the Small Business Administration in Santa Ana awarded Ultratech a contract to provide technical assistance to small businesses seeking to computerize their operations.

“I always believe that you reap what you sow,” Lovejoy said. “I worked very hard, and I knew that I’d succeed no matter how long it takes.”