- Lane
- South Bay and the 405
- Freeways
- ZIP codes
- 90245
- County
- Los Angeles County
Empty cable reels picked up in El Segundo
Yes, we collect empty cable reels in El Segundo on the South Bay run, where the 105 meets the 405 south of LAX. Reels here come mostly from aerospace and office-campus electrical work and the refinery at the city's south end.
What gets made in El Segundo
El Segundo is small but busy: the refinery along its southern half, LAX across Imperial Highway to the north, and between them a dense band of aerospace, defence and technology campuses on both sides of the 405 and along Rosecrans Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard. The Los Angeles Air Force Base, home of Space Systems Command, is here as well.
Campuses and labs rewire constantly, for new equipment, new tenants and data rooms. Those jobs empty reels of data cable, control cable and building wire, mostly on smaller nailed and plywood reels that pile up in a contractor's laydown area or a loading dock.
El Segundo has its own city departments but buys its power through Southern California Edison, so street-level cable work is SCE's. The bigger reel jobs, though, come from inside the fences: campus rebuilds, lab fit-outs and data rooms in buildings along Nash Street, Douglas Street and Continental Boulevard. Those contractors tend to fill a dumpster corner with small reels; we would rather take them for resale.
Where El Segundo's empty reels come from
- Aerospace and lab fit-outs
- Data and control cable on 24 to 36 inch plywood and nailed reels.
- Office and data-room electrical work
- Building wire and feeder cable on 36 to 48 inch reels.
- Refinery-side contractors
- Process and instrument cable on larger reels, sometimes bolted.
How the South Bay and the 405 run reaches El Segundo
El Segundo is the first stop on the South Bay run coming down the 405 from the north, or the last coming up. Loading docks on the campuses are busy, and security is tight, so give us the receiving contact and the hours deliveries are allowed. A cart-load of small reels can be a ride-along; a laydown yard full of them may need a stop of its own.
Other stops on the South Bay and the 405 lane: Torrance. Reels from El Segundo can share a deck with any of them.
Getting El Segundo's reels ready for the truck
Count by flange
Measure across the round end of each reel and group them: 24, 30, 42, 60 inch flanges are the sizes we see most from El Segundo. A phone photo of the stack helps us size the run. The measuring guide shows where to put the tape.
Stage them where a flatbed fits
Put the reels where a 53 foot flatbed can pull alongside off Interstate 405, not down a lane it cannot turn in.
Give us a window
Tell us the hours your gate is open and staffed. Stops on the South Bay and the 405 lane get a pickup window by email once the run is planned.
Say how they get lifted
A forklift on site loads anything up to 96 inches. Without one, reels up to about 42 inches can be tipped and rolled up a ramp; bigger ones need a lift.
Flag the stencilled ones
A reel painted with a cable maker's name may be returnable. Tell us and we will say whether it should go back to its owner before we take it.
After the run, sound reels from El Segundo are sorted for resale to contractors, makers and growers who want wooden spools; split flanges, torn arbor holes and rotten staves go to wood recycling. See resale or recycling for how a reel is graded.
Reel sizes that usually come out of El Segundo
| Flange | How it loads | Empties per 53 ft deck (est.) | Empty weight, lb |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 in | Flat, stacked 4 high | 416 | 23 to 24 |
| 30 in | Flat, stacked 3 high | 189 | 39 |
| 42 in | Flat, stacked 2 high | 60 | 90 to 100 |
| 60 in | On edge, two rows | 24 to 28 | 187 to 347 |
Estimates from published reel and loading charts; method on reels per load.
Nearest areas to El Segundo on the grid
Straight-line miles between town centres, not road miles.
Other Los Angeles County areas, by grid square
- Vernon 90058D6
- Commerce 90040D6
- City of Industry 91744F6
- Santa Fe Springs 90670E7
- Long Beach 90802D8
- Carson 90745D7
- Rancho Dominguez 90220D7
- Compton 90220D7
- Wilmington 90744D8
- Torrance 90501C7
- Huntington Park 90255D6
- Northeast Los Angeles 90031D6
- Sun Valley 91352C5
- Pacoima 91331C4
- Chatsworth 91311B4
- Canoga Park 91303B5
- Van Nuys 91401B5
- Santa Clarita 91350B3
- Palmdale 93550E2
- Lancaster 93534E1
- Pomona 91766G6
El Segundo pickup questions
What should El Segundo contractors do with small spools from a lab fit-out?
Keep them out of the dumpster and stack them on a pallet by the dock. Small plywood and nailed spools in good shape resell to makers and event planners.
Do you need site badges for El Segundo campuses?
Usually the reels are staged at a loading dock outside secure areas. If a badge or escort is needed, tell us when you book.
Do you take plywood reels?
Yes. Plywood reels are common on data and fibre cable; many resell to makers.