Don Mountz c. 1965-1968
(Second from Left)
Not unlike most company success stories Mountz, Inc. was formed out of an ideology to be different by an originator. Fifty years ago this month founder, Don Mountz, started Mountz, Inc. after returning from a multi-year international assignment with Cleco Tools, now known as Apex Tool Group (ATG) currently owned by Bain Capital. Don began his career in industrial sales in San Francisco, in his native State of California. He excelled at selling, understanding buyer needs from his early training at General Foods Company. He was later offered a sales management position at Richmont Incorporated, a torque tool manufacturer in Monrovia, California. The company was soon sold and he was transferred to Cleco Tools in Houston, Texas and then sent to Europe, to begin international operations.
Don was outspoken, brash and a known results producer. He challenged those in charge and they quickly decided the best place for him was as faraway from the Texas headquarters as possible. He had a system for selling. At its core was a tireless work ethic and big personality, quickly winning over his customers with his product knowledge and passion.
Prior to leaving his international post in Holland, he and his wife packed their belongings and put them on a boat destined for California. On his return to the head office, he was offered his pick of sales positions in Texas or Michigan. Don wanted neither; longing for more responsibility and recognition for the successes he developed in Europe.
Don, his wife and new child continued west where he had made the decision to start his own business in his home State. With more good ideas than money, he settled in what would become Silicon Valley. DG Mountz Associates was formed in small bedroom of a new home in Cupertino, California a mile or so from the current Apple Computer World headquarters.
Don Mountz with a dial torque wrench
With $20,000 in cash, saved while living abroad, his family bought a new car, bought a home and started a business. 1965 was a year he rolled the dice, giving himself one year to get the business off the ground. With a small arsenal of European produced quality product; a penchant for customer satisfaction and a commitment to succeed Don set out to convince customers in the USA that controlling torque was essential to product quality. Fifty years later, Mountz is known internationally as the torque tool specialist.
Stay tuned for more of the stories behind Mountz…. click here to go to all the Mountz 50 Year Anniversary blog posts.
Interesting US Facts of 1965
– US population – 194,000,000
– Gas price $0.31 per gallon
– Average new home cost $13,600
– Average Income $6450
– Lyndon Johnson President, announced his plan to start Medicare
– Life Expectancy 70.2 years
– Malcomb X shot and killed at a Harlem rally
– $0.05 for a first class stamp
– LA Dodgers won the World Series over Minnesota Twins
– Alabama and Michigan St. were co NCAA football champions
– The 1965 Voting Rights Act signed into law to prevent unfair voting practices that discouraged African Americans from registering to vote
Brad Mountz
President & CEO
Mountz Inc.
