Focusing on Clothing Staple, Apparel Firm Rides Wave.

Brian Hirth's work is key to the wardrobes of millions of teenagers and young adults across the United States. But it's unlikely any of them have heard of his Santa Ana company, Melmarc.

Melmarc counts some of Orange County's biggest surfwear makers and retailers among its customers, including Irvine-based Stussy Inc., Irvine-based Billabong USA, Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. and Huntington Surf & Sport. It has 230 employees and recently relocated to bigger digs with new equipment in Santa Ana. The privately held company doesn't disclose revenue figures, but said it does 24 million to 26 million impressions on about 18 million T-shirts and sweatshirts per year.

"They're not famous. They don't have team riders that get the press," said Frank Kaufman, partner at accounting firm Moss Adams LLP's Irvine office, which has Melmarc as a client. "The way they get the credit is the elite in the industry use them and rely on them."

Melmarc faces the same challenges plaguing the rest of the industry: higher electricity costs, increased minimum wage rates and a sluggish retail environment in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

But Melmarc has an advantage: T-shirts and sweatshirts continue to sell despite the downturn. "I've seen a little dip but not much. Nothing to get alarmed about," Hirth said.

That's because they are the "bread and butter" for a lot of surfwear companies, according to Tony Cherbak, a retail analyst in the consumer products group at Deloitte & Touche. "It's usually a very high-margin business for the screen printers' customers," he said.

Added Craig Purkis, assistant production manager at Irvine-base Stussy: "T-shirts and hats are what carry us through most seasons."

Cheaper to produce

Wardrobe staples like T-shirts, which cost less to make than more fashion-driven, cut-and-sew pieces, become more important when retail sales are down by 5 percent to 20 percent, according to Kaufman.

He said retailers, unable to predict the immediate future, are creating shorter windows for orders and deliveries. That means apparel manufacturers are under the gun to fill and deliver orders quickly.

And although he acknowledges that the nature of the business Melmarc a "slight advantage" in a tough economic climate, Hirth said it doesn't mean that he can "relax and fall asleep at the wheel."

"I know I bank away a lot of pennies," he said. "We're still out there soliciting customers."

Stussy's Purkis said his company sticks with Melmarc because it is "customer-oriented," with excellent quality, fast turnarounds, and top-notch finishing and shipping departments. The manufacturer has about 30,000 to 40,000 T-shirts screen rioted by Melmarc each month. "Their new bui ding has state-of-the-art equipment. Functionality is right on top," Purkis said.

Paul Naude, Billabong USA president, agreed.

"They're our screen printer of choice," Naude said. "They have a new state-of-the-art facility, which I think will only enhance their efficiency."

24-hour production

Melmarc's new 85,000-square-foot warehouse buzzes inside with men and women in different stations. Some mix thousands of colors. Others clean and dry screens. Still others operate pod-like machines that emboss designs on hundreds of thousands of T-shirts and sweatshirts.

Demand is so high that Melmarc is running its machines 24 hours a day.

"(Melmarc has) really set up themselves to be a really good partner for larger and larger businesses," said Diane Nance, vice president of sourcing at Pacific Sunwear. "When we started business with them, we had 125 stores and now we're at 700 stores. And they've been able to keep up with that growth both financially and from a technological point of view."

Like other screen printers, Melmarc considers itself a "silent company," a behind-the-scenes-player in a competitive industry where prices, quality product and margins are everything.

"We're looked at as a service you provide a real company," Hirth said. "Our salesman calls us bottom feeders, in that everything trickles down to us."

But Melmarc considers itself a "service" rather than just a place that provides product, Hirth said.

He said he's constantly improving technology and screen printing techniques, such as flocking (which produces a soft, felt-like logo or design), sonic welding and treatments.

To that end, Melmarc is developing a research and development area in its warehouse, led by a technical creative person that can help customers fine-tune looks.

"I consider us more embellishers than I do printers," Hirth said. "The things you're looking at now don't even look like screen printing."