MAKING IT IN O.C. : Versatility Helps Laundry Suppliers Survive Cycles

Though it has spent only the last 20 years in Orange County, R&B; Wire Products Inc. has been supplying self-service laundries with laundry carts, garment baskets and hamper stands since 1946.

The key to staying alive has been to stay versatile. While supplying self-service laundries has been a stable source of income, the number of orders R&B; receives from those businesses has leveled off in recent years.

Not a problem for R&B; and its 25 employees. The Santa Ana-based business has simply expanded its horizon. It now supplies the same products to new industries such as hospitals and hotels. Their laundry carts can also be found in the Hold Everything mail-order catalogue. And in recent years, R&B; has started producing directory signs for malls.

“We even get some small custom jobs,” said Scott Moody, marketing director. “Most recently, we made some in-line skate racks.”

That versatility is at the core of R&B;’s business philosophy, said Rick Rawlins, the company president. “We have tried not to limit our thinking to one product or one industry,” Rawlins said. “We think it is important to stay open-minded and look for new niches as they come along.”

Despite its ability to move into new areas, R&B; will not stray too far from its core business of selling laundry-related products. “Laundromats have been around, and they will always be around, and our distributors keep coming back for more,” Moody said.