ENTREPREUR SHIFTS GEARS; INVESTOR RIDES TO COMPANY'S RESCUE.Byline: Enrique Enrique (IPA [en'ɾike]) is the Spanish form of the name Henry. As a given name, it ranked 298 out of 1219 for males of all ages in the 1990 U.S. Census. Rivero Daily News Staff Writer Earlier this year, Tony Pellegrino presented a detailed business plan at a venture capital forum in hopes of attracting an ``angel'' - an investor that would take his mountain bike parts firm underwing. An angel appeared in the form of Ric McCants, owner of Newbury Park-based aerospace contractor WTM WTM World Travel Market (London) WTM World Tamil Movement WTM What's the Matter? WTM Windows Task Manager WTM Web, Trattamenti e Materiali (Italian) WTM Winner Takes Most WTM Wind Tunnel Model Manufacturing Inc., which swooped up Pellegrino's Adventure Components Inc. and merged it with a bike component manufacturing division McCants had been attempting to start. Adventure Components recently moved out of its small Westlake Village digs into WTM's much larger, 52,000-square-foot facility on Corporate Center Drive near biotechnology giant Amgen Inc. Pellegrino credits last April's California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). Lutheran University/Southern California Edison Enterprise Development Forum and the plan he was required to formulate formulate /for·mu·late/ (for´mu-lat) 1. to state in the form of a formula. 2. to prepare in accordance with a prescribed or specified method. to participate in the forum with helping attract McCants. ``All the hard work getting together the business plan paid off in letting me pursue my vision of what I wanted to do with these components in this industry,'' he said. Pellegrino sold most of his interest in Adventure Components for about $1 million and now owns 10 percent of it, and he's vice president of operations for WTM's bicycle bicycle, light, two-wheeled vehicle driven by pedals. The name velocipede is often given to early forms of the bicycle and to its predecessor, the dandy horse, a two-wheeled vehicle moved by the thrust of the rider's feet upon the ground. division, which operates as Adventure Components. Pellegrino is basically a WTM employee. Yet he has no regrets, because he says this was the only way to ensure that his brainchild brain·child n. An original idea or plan attributed to a person or group. brainchild Noun Informal an idea or plan produced by creative thought Noun 1. would continue to live. ``In business, it's very important for an entrepreneur entrepreneur (än'trəprənûr`) [Fr.,=one who undertakes], person who assumes the organization, management, and risks of a business enterprise. to recognize that they have taken it as far as they personally can; the entrepreneur either takes it to the next level or grinds it into the ground and dies,'' Pellegrino said. ``Basically I wanted to be part of seeing my vision come through, and the way that made the most sense was to find someone who could properly fund it.'' McCants said he had been trying to form a new division for his 7-year-old company that would specialize spe·cial·ize v. 1. To limit one's profession to a particular specialty or subject area for study, research, or treatment. 2. To adapt to a particular function or environment. in manufacturing parts for mountain bikes - an effort stemming from his childhood affection for BMX BMX abbr. bicycle motocross BMX Noun 1. bicycle motocross: stunt riding over an obstacle course on a bicycle 2. bikes. Though he had for several years been aware of Adventure Components, he decided to meet Pellegrino after reading a Daily News article in May about the company's efforts to find an investor. He immediately liked what he saw and heard. ``By the end of our first meeting we knew we were going to be together,'' McCants said. Privately held WTM's aerospace operations have generated about $4.5 million in annual revenues, which McCants expects to double in the next couple years. He anticipates that WTM's new Adventure Components bike division will rake in rake in Verb Informal to acquire (money) in large amounts Verb 1. rake in - earn large sums of money; "Since she accepted the new position, she has been raking it in" shovel in some $4 million to $5 million in the next two years. Now with a combined 71 employees in both divisions - including the eight Pellegrino added to the mix - McCants expects the company to swell to about 110 employees over the next year. The addition of Adventure Components is key to WTM's overall growth. Pellegrino, McCants said, has just the right combination of an eye for engineering and business know-how to get the new bike division rolling. ``He knows the market really, really well,'' McCants said. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (Color) Ric McCants, right, acquired Tony Pellegrino's bicycle business, Adventure Components. The company recently moved to a larger facility. Phil McCarten/Daily News |
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