A-1 Marine Electronics

 

From classic wooden boats to futuristic fiberglass vessels; from tubes to solid state touch screen multi-function display, A-1 Marine Electronics has come a long way.

 

With 43 years in the industry, I have seen my fair share of booms and busts.  A-1 Marine Electronics is built on a solid reputation of delivering on promises and reaching far and beyond our customer's expectations.  By remaining nimble and quickly adapting to the marketplace, we have created a solid business that delivers its services as promised, on time and on budget.

 

My technical education was courtesy of the United States Air Force:  two years intensive training in basic electronics, computer weather electronics,  reconnaisance electronics, and communication.  I took over operations of A-1 Marine Electronics when I returned from Vietnam in 1967.  Back then, the bulk of our business was replacing 18' and 24' marine radio antennas and tuning each radio to the antenna.  It has been a wild ride since then.

 

Our first store, at Spindrift Marina, did great until it was washed away in a 1972 levee break.  We later opened another store in Sacramento.  It was there that we added a new, very productive mobil telephone business with two large providers.  The early systems were very expensive but in high demand.

 

In 1985 I was appointed Pac-Tel Cellular Dealer, which launched us into a very fast moving and exciting period.   A-1 Marine Electronics was diversifying and we learned how to be competitive in a very customer service oriented market.  A fire leveled our service shop in 1989 and  our small office had to suffice for a while until we were able to move.  It is our belief that adversity creates strength.  Our early set backs now serves as the backbone for our inspiration.  In 1992 the cellular phone companies opened their own stores and started giving away phones.  That was the end of our brief venture into the cellphone business.

 

We were swept into the fast growing computer field which spilled over into Marine Electronics.  We began approaching new boat dealers providing electronics and installation for dealers and their customers.  It was refreshing and stimulating to work with state-of-the-art systems on beautiful new yachts.  We had three large yacht dealers that kept us busy installing sophisticated systems on Searays, Formulas, Navigators,  and Stripers.  This period lasted until the financial collapse of the market in 2008.

 

With the market collapse, many new boat dealers couldn't hang on and we lost their business.  While A-1 Marine Electronics was strategically sound and remained strong, many new boat dealers in the area could not sustain themselves and we lost their business.  Even then we were kept busy.  Word of mouth spreads fast in the boating world.  A-1 Marine Electronics' reputation for prompt, reliable service served us well.  We closed our stationary shops and began working exclusively on a mobile basis.  This is where we are today, and we are looking forward  to see what the next decade will bring!