Empty cable reels picked up in Costa Mesa

What gets made in Costa Mesa

Costa Mesa calls itself the City of the Arts, and the performing arts centre and South Coast Plaza on its north side are what most people know. Around them, along the 405 and the 55 and next to John Wayne Airport, sit business areas full of offices, showrooms and light industry.

The city's older industrial land is on the west side, between Harbor Boulevard and the Santa Ana River and south toward the 55's end at Newport Boulevard. Here are machine shops, surf and skate manufacturers, cabinet makers, auto businesses and contractors. The Orange County fairgrounds sit in the middle of the city.

Southern California Edison serves Costa Mesa. Its distribution work, and renovation at the shopping and arts district, keep building-wire reels moving.

Newport Harbor is just south of the city line, and boatyards and marine electricians there buy tinned cable on small reels. Their empties travel up Newport Boulevard to Costa Mesa yards, and from there onto our truck. Sign shops, audio installers and stage-lighting firms on the west side add steady handfuls of plywood spools too.

Costa Mesa's reels are mostly modest: small plywood spools from makers and electronics firms, and 30 to 48 inch nailed reels from building work. Retail and showroom renovation is constant here, and every refit is wired. Stops tend to be small, so they group with Huntington Beach, Irvine and the airport-side stops. Its industry is light, but it is constant, and the spools it empties are the clean, small sizes people ask to buy.

Where Costa Mesa's empty reels come from

Retail and showroom refits

Renovations along the 405 empty 30 to 48 inch building-wire reels.

West-side makers and shops

Manufacturers and machine shops empty 24 to 36 inch reels.

Event and fairground work

Power for shows and fairs uses heavier cable; empties come from the contractors who supply it.

How the Orange County on the 5 run reaches Costa Mesa

The run reaches Costa Mesa from Irvine across the airport area, or from the 405 at Harbor Boulevard or Fairview Road, and often continues to Huntington Beach. West-side lots are compact. If the truck must load from the street, stage the reels by the gate. Mornings before the shopping district gets busy are our preferred window here, and fair weeks bring closures around Fair Drive.

Other stops on the Orange County on the 5 lane: Santa Fe Springs, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Tustin, Irvine, Huntington Beach. Reels from Costa Mesa can share a deck with any of them.