Freedom Rises From Ashes

Last Nov. 25, as fire destroyed the Simi Valley plant of Freedom Designs Inc., Ginny Maloco, the company’s president, feared that her 10-year-old concern might never rise again.

“Practically everything was destroyed--our inventory, our tools, our computers,” Maloco said, recalling how she and her employees gathered that night to watch flames engulf their building on Easy Street.

Perhaps it was the nature of her business--Freedom manufactures mechanical positioning systems for people who use wheelchairs--that convinced Maloco that her problem could be overcome.

Her employees’ attitude helped, too.

“They told me it didn’t matter if they didn’t get paid for a while, that they liked working for me and they’d stay and help rebuild the company.”

The very next day, Maloco and her employees found a new building, which the privately held company leased on Madera Road, less than a mile away.

“Fortunately, we’d saved some boxes of papers and some computer disks,” Maloco said. “The disks were especially important, because they held our accounts receivable records.”

Maloco and the 30 people she employs in Simi Valley worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week until they had their production line functioning again. They even expanded, adding a machine shop that the company had lacked before the fire.

Maloco not only met her payroll every week, but she hired three new employees, bringing Freedom’s total work force, including a nationwide sales and servicing staff, to 68.

Ignoring the advice of some bankers and others that she ought to consider leaving California, Maloco has now bought the 17,000-square-foot building on Madera Road.

“Looking back on it,” she said, “I’d say the most important thing we did was to keep going, day to day. Our customers never had to worry that we might go out of business.

“For a few hours, we thought our hopes and dreams were going up in flames. But we found out that we’re a team. Now, we’re stronger than ever.”