Patricia Farrell Aidem, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 03/23/2008 10:45:16 PM PDT
VALENCIA - Virgil Walker is in the business of hiding TVs - in cabinets, behind portraits and even in the ceiling.
And now his Auton Motorized Systems' lifts, driven by rack-and-pinion, conceal everything from coffee makers that disappear into granite countertops to computers concealed into desk tops.
"We have endless possibilities," he said during a recent tour of his plant. "Whatever the imagination comes up with, we can make it happen."
A stunning hand-carved Mayan-style cabinet in muted shades - a mix of the ancient and the 21st century - opens by remote control to reveal a high-tech safe, used as a display at trade shows. Auton has sold four such safes at about $5,000 apiece.
Auton's two-story-high Smart Waiter - a modern version of the dumb waiter - sends loads up to 150 pounds between floors, using a single cable. Price tag: $4,800.
"It's great if you have a condo with the garage underneath: You can send the groceries upstairs," Walker said. "Or in a two-story home, you can lift anything that's too heavy to carry up or down the stairs.
Founded in 1955 in the San Fernando Valley, Auton has been headquartered in Valencia for 23 years. The company employs 39 people, mainly in on-site manufacturing. Most direct sales are to wholesalers.
While Auton first specialized in lifts that raised the hidden televisions from a cabinet, the high-tech age - with plasma sets and computers in multiple rooms - gave birth to all sorts of new ideas.
"I just like to make things move, make things happen," Walker said.
Auton did $5 million in business last year, Walker said, noting that his goal is $10 million annually once the economy picks up. A boost comes from the plasma-TV market. The nearly flat television set hanging on the wall begs to be concealed and is easily camouflaged.
A click of the remote slides a framed picture up to reveal a 50-inch plasma above the fireplace. In the kitchen, push a button: A ceiling panel opens, and the TV descends. Computers, too, sink into the surface of a desk or countertop, opening up space in the home, office or aboard a private jet or yacht.
Customers include the finest hotels from Las Vegas to China, studios, major corporations and cruise lines. Even in the White House, there are 10 Auton lifts.
"Guests in hotels call down to the desk and tell them there's no TV in their room," he said.
Auton counts among its patrons celebrities including Ben Affleck, Oscar De La Hoya, Jay Leno, Vanna White and Matt Damon. One customer in Dubai has a TV lift in each of his 12 bedrooms.
Auton's best sellers are the $2,200 In-Vis-O-Trak - the movable artwork - and a swivel lift that raises the TV and remembers the preferred angle.
"It is for people who have money, no question," Walker said. "We're doing a lot of media rooms."
The Texas-born Walker suffered an inner-ear ailment that caused vertigo and forced him to retire as a commercial pilot when only age 24.
A drapery-cleaning business came next, and his new field was born.
Walker, who lives in Stevenson Ranch, said he is an inventor at heart, and he came up with a remote-controlled system to open and close draperies. And, while installing draperies, he often had to move heavy furniture, including the cumbersome TVs of the 1950s and 1060s that were far more furniture than screen.
"I thought, what if we could hide this," he said.
"A lot of people have good ideas, they just don't move on them."
The earlier TV lifts were within large cabinets. Today's are designed within sleek steel frames. One corporate boardroom has multiple computer lifts, which sink beneath the surface, by the seats around the table.
About four times a year, Auton takes its products on the road to trade shows. The exposure has brought customers from all over the world.
"We sell to China," he said, noting that China, with its thriving manufacturing base, exports far more than it imports. "We sell to Dubai. There's a lot of money there."
Patricia Farrell Aidem pat.aidem@dailynews.com 661-257-5251
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