Road to stardom: valley company becomes Hollywood's auto shop by quickly supplying customized vehicles for film and television productions.

In the parking lot of Cinema Vehicle Services there are fleets of taxi cabs, police cars, buses, limousines, armored cars and ambulances.

Company founder and owner Ray Claridge isn't a cabbie, police officer, limo driver or paramedic but a supplier to movie and television productions in need of classic or custom-made vehicles.

"On an average day, if it's slow, there are 100 vehicles out," Claridge said. "If we're really busy it can be up to 200 vehicles."

Claridge turned a passion for cars that started as a child hanging out at garages into a multi-million-dollar business whose vehicles have been seen in "The Dukes of Hazzard," "Gone in 60 Seconds," "The Terminator" and "Die Hard" films.

There have been times, Claridge said, when he's gone to a movie and not realized his company had done work on it because the title has been changed.

The challenge for Claridge and his staff of 35 isn't necessarily fabricating and painting the vehicles but the tight timeframe in which to deliver their product.

In his business, it is not unusual to have to put together one custom vehicle in a week or even a dozen vehicles in several weeks, Claridge said.

During production for last year's "Herbie: Fully Loaded," Cinema Vehicle Services became the site of the transportation shop for the 36 different versions of the film's Volkswagen Beetle.

For "Gone in 60 Seconds," the company made 11 different versions of the film's signature black and gray Mustang nicknamed "Eleanor."

"Right now we are working on a Denzel Washington movie and there are a variety of different cars, three of this, six of that; they ,are all copies of the same car," Claridge said. Gary Hellerstein, the transportation coordinator for "CSI: New York" called Claridge's company "fabulous" to work with as he knows what's needed for a production and can often turn a vehicle around in a matter of hours.

"Sometimes the paint is still wet but it's painted," Hellerstein said.

Hellerstein said that while there are other companies that he uses, Creative Vehicle Services gets about 90 percent of his business due to a sense of loyalty and rapport he established with Claridge since they began working together in the late 1970s.

"He has what you need," Hellerstein said. "If something can wait and you are more important he will move things around so that it works out for everyone."

Hal Lary, the transportation coordinator for "24," called Cinema Vehicle Services one-stop shopping.

"When Ray tells me something will be done, I know I don't have to worry about it," said Lary, who has worked with Claridge since the late 1980s. "He's the one person who can get the job done. There are other companies out there but none that have the inventory or facilities that he has."

Getting into the vehicle rental business was something that happened "by chance," Claridge recalled.

Served independents

He had been operating a Van Nuys auto shop doing repair and recondition work for car dealers and used car lots when a fellow business owner asked Claridge if he was interested in doing work for Quinn Martin Productions, the company behind such television hits as "The Streets of San Francisco" and "Barnaby Jones." At that time in the mid-70s, film and television studios functioned as "mini factories" with their own vehicles, prop shops and body and paint facilities, Claridge said, adding that there were not many opportunities to get into the vehicle rental business.

"You had to go to people like Quinn Martin or the old Jack Webb Productions," Claridge said. "People who were independent and didn't operate within the studio structure were the only ones who did stuff on the outside."

Claridge's business began to take off when the studios realized there would be cost savings to outsourcing their vehicle needs.

What had been 20 to 30 vehicles grew into a collection of I, 100 vehicles, most of which are kept at Cinema Vehicle Service's North Hollywood lot. The company also has a storage area 'n the Mojave Desert for lesser used vehicles.

The combination of good service, dependability and the products the company provides is the main reason why it attracts and retains clients, Claridge said.

His price structure is always the same whether working with independent productions or established filmmakers, Claridge said.

"It costs me the same to work with a Steven Spielberg as it does with a Steven Smith," Claridge said. "We give the same service across the board."

As the business has grown, the employees have become more specialized bringing with them expertise in welding and forming car bodies, Claridge said.

Adding services

Cinema Vehicle Services also has its own upholstery shop and five years ago added a graphics division.

"That's been a big addition for us," Claridge said of the graphics division. "It takes three people in that department from the computer operator who designs the graphics and a couple of installers."

While providing vehicles for movies and television remains a bulk of Cinema Vehicle Services, the company is expanding into other areas.

The company has been doing warranty work for an ambulance manufacturer and recently signed a deal with a second company for similar work, Claridge said.

In the entertainment field, Claridge is considering branching out into asset management for the studios to better keep track of and dispose of items such as props and vehicles left over from television shows and movies.

"It's kind of a disjointed effort right now," Claridge said. "We're forming a company to build software to manage that part of the business more efficiently."

Spotlight

Cinema Vehicle Services

Year Founded: 1975

Employees: 2000:32

Employees: 2005:35

Revenues: 2000:$6.5 million

Revenues: 2005:$8.5 million

Driving Force: Trend of studios to outsource customization of vehicles.