In December, 2015, Cal-Tron Corporation received one of Northrop Grumman Corporation’s World Class Team awards for their outstanding performance in support of its Global Supplier Diversity Programs (GSDP). Cal-Tron was one of only 34 suppliers who received this honor out of a supplier base of more than 9,500 companies worldwide.

This award is given to companies demonstrating exceptional support and commitment to the GSDP goals and objectives using criteria such as product, service and quality. Other considerations included demonstrated delivery performance, outstanding program support, superior technical achievement and reported cost performance/competitiveness and/or continuous process improvement. Karen Leatham, Operations Manager, and Christina West, Administrative Assistant, daughter and granddaughter of Dan Pool, the owner of Cal-Tron, traveled to National Harbor, Maryland, a suburb of Washington DC, to receive the award. An evening reception and an awards luncheon were held at the Gaylord National Resort & Conference Center.

Cal-Tron has a long history with Northrop Grumman. They began molding parts for Litton Guidance and Controls in Woodland Hills, CA, in the early 1960’s. Northrop purchased Litton in 2001 and the business relationship continued. Clarence Pool, founder of Cal-Tron Corporation, was an acquaintance of Jack Northrop, founder of Northrop Grumman. Back in the late 1930’s, Clarence worked for Douglas Aircraft and was occasionally sent over to Northrop to help out as needed. This was a pivotal time in aircraft history with many advances being made.

Over the years, Cal-Tron has received various awards from their suppliers. They were part of the original General Dynamics Supplier Advisory Board and were instrumental in implementing Statistical Process Control (SPC) within the General Dynamics system and supplier base. They have received awards and/or special certification from Aerojet Rocketdyne, General Dynamics, Hughes Missile Systems, Sargent Aerospace and Shurflo, to name a few. In the late 1990’s they were nominated for the SBA’s Small Business Of The Year and received the U.S. Small Business Administrator’s Award For Excellence.

In early 2013, Cal-Tron began the process of becoming ISO 9001-2008 certified. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) created a standard which aimed to harmonize quality management processes in manufacturing from a global point of view. Over time, the success of the ISO 9001 series led to the introduction of industry-specific standards, setting the table for applying quality management across a broad range of industries, such as the aerospace and defense industries. Cal-Tron received their three-year certification in July, 2013. Each year they go through an on-sight audit done by a specially accredited outside agency. Every three years an extensive on-sight audit is completed to obtain the three-year renewal.

Cal-Tron Corporation is a family owned business that moved to Bishop, California at the base of the Eastern Sierra’s in April 1970. The business was started in the Los Angeles area in the early 1940’s. Ms. Leatham and Ms. West are the 4th and 5th generations to be involved in the business.