The demise of a California tech company raises questions about the future of U.S. manufacturing
The shelves adjacent to the factory floor are growing bare. Old equipment is piling up in corners, destined for the scrap heap. Out of a workforce that once had reached 650 people, 15 remain. Most will be gone by New Year's Day.
On the factory's front wall facing the street hangs a bright yellow banner reading: "Out of Business Sale. All must go - Office, manufacturing tools, computer."
The banner marks the final stage in the life span of Pioneer Magnetics, a maker of high-tech power supply units that deliver stable and reliable electricity to run sensitive electronic equipment.
"The world has changed for Pioneer, and for me," Jerry Rosenstein told me.
Rosenstein, 74, is president and CEO of Pioneer, which was founded in 1957 by his late father, Allen, a UCLA engineering professor. The firm has occupied its Santa Monica quarters for some 50 years. I last wrote about Rosenstein and
