Southwest hosts variety of tech companies.

Southwest California is no stranger to technology and innovation. The communities of Lake Elsinore, Murrieta and Temecula are home to a wide array of established and emerging technology companies.

The area certainly is well known for its biotech industry, which supports thousands of jobs. Companies such as Guidant, Boston Scientific, FFF Enterprises, Hudson RCI and Chemicon International have taken advantage of the area's affordable land, skilled work force and enviable lifestyle.

But the region also supports a growing list of technology firms ranging from international semiconductor fabricators to telecommunication equipment providers.

"People don't automatically associate the area with technology even though it has a strong technological base," said Stephen Austin, managing partner with Swenson Advisers, an accounting firm that has an office in Temecula.

International Rectifier is a world leader in power management technology. The New York Stock Exchange listed company operates a wafer fabrication plant in Temecula that employs more than 500. Customers include manufacturers of computers, energy efficient appliances, lighting, automobiles, satellites, aircraft and defense systems.

While International Rectifier products allow laptop computers to run longer and vehicles to operate more efficiently, another Temecula-based technology firm is keeping us all safer.

If you ever have to make an emergency 9-1-1 call, chances are that the person who answers the call will be using equipment made by Plant Equipment Inc.

The company, which operates from about 80,000 square feet in Temecula, is one of the first industrial companies to set up shop in Temecula and it introduced the first modular or computer based 9-1-1 system in 1989. Five years later the company released a PC-based 9-1-1 system.

Today PEI provides 911 telecommunications equipment to some of the nation's largest 9-1-1 call centers, including Boston, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and San Diego. Since 1972, when it installed its first 9-1-1 system, PEI has provided telecom equipment to more than 3,000 call centers.

"We primarily have been known over the years as the leading provider of 911 telephone systems," said Tim Fuller, PEI president. "Today that legacy has evolved to providing integrated technologies for industries that require critical communications systems."

PEI also created software that gives firefighters critical information about how best to get to an emergency, where the closest fire hydrants are located and other important information.

Another Southwest California company that helps keep us informed is Channell Commercial Corp., which makes equipment for telephone companies and cable television network operators all over the globe. Products include a complete line of thermoplastic and metal fabricated enclosures, advanced copper termination and connector products, fiber optic cable management systems and heat shrink products.

Southwest California also is blessed with many emerging technology companies.

Vertigo Inc. of Lake Elsinore has developed some creative solutions for our fast-moving military.

Products include lightweight inflatable shelters that can protect important military hardware such as helicopters and an advanced airdrop system that allows pilots to deliver payloads by parachute with amazing precision.

Innovative Engineering Solutions has been assisting some the biggest names in the aerospace and medical device business for the past 10 years. But the tiny Murrieta firm also is helping to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. IES is helping to develop fueling stations for hydrogen powered vehicles of the future.

"We have the highest concentration of experts on hydrogen outside of NASA," said Mike Gruszczynski, chief executive officer.

When the company decided to expand, it looked beyond its San Diego roots. Property the company looked at in San Diego County was about twice as expensive as Southwest California County.

"Land cost was an issue," Gruszczynski said. "But a big factor was not so much the cost but the availability of the land."

The company needed to locate in a heavy industrial area that could accommodate its outdoor testing.

IES's 6,000-square-foot facility in Murrieta houses engineering offices, a machine shop and an assembly area. The property also is home to a couple of test pads where IES evaluates the effects of very cold temperatures on products and components used in spacecraft.

The company is working with Lockheed Martin to upgrade the external fuel tanks for the space shuttle and also has done work for Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Aerojet.

One of Southwest California's biggest selling points is its skilled work force. One-quarter of its residents hold bachelor's degrees and more than 35 percent are professionals and managers.

The region certainly has benefited from its proximity to San Diego, one of the top three life sciences center in the nation behind the Bay Area and Massachusetts. Many of the employees from its more than 120 biomedical companies live in Southwest California.

Information for this article was provided by the Southwest California Economic Alliance. For more information, visit www.southwestcalifornia.com.