Cal Duct

07/16/2026

07/16/2026

We made it to 50! Thank you to everyone we met along the journey and shared in our stories. We are forever grateful for our customers, our vendors and our employees.

07/11/2026

Rotary Kitchen + Bar -You guys are the bomb! Thank you for collecting the Pop tops for Inland Empire Ronald McDonald House

07/06/2026

We can’t thank y'all enough for going on this journey with us. We are 10 days away from Cal-Duct's 50th Anniversary... The category is “The Last 10 Years” (2017-2026).

10 Days Until 50 - Year 41-50: 2017-2026

10. Cal-Duct started partnering with the Inland Empire Ronald McDonald House in 2017, sponsoring a room for a full year, and every year since. Now each year we also help to fundraise and donate gifts to children and families in need.

9. In 2017, we added 10,000 sq ft onto our warehouse to build our in-house production shop.

8. Cal-Duct added solar panels to the roof of our building in 2018, making us the first “green” dry utility supply distributor.

7. In 2019, Cal-Duct was approved by Southern California Edison (SCE) as an approved fabricator of rigid and semi-rigid PVC conduit fittings, elbows, couplings, sweeps and angles.

6. Throughout the chaos of COVID epidemic fears in 2020, Cal-Duct is proud to have been an essential business, allowing all employees to maintain their position while keeping up with all social distancing guidelines. We surely don’t miss wearing masks 24/7, doing daily temperature checks, requiring all orders to be called in ahead of time to avoid direct contact at the Will Call counter and wondering if we were going to run out of toilet paper!

5. Cal-Duct’s first hire, Herb Krause, worked at Cal-Duct for 45 years up until shortly before his passing in 2021. Anyone lucky enough to have worked with or chatted with Herb knew about his extensive industry knowledge and passion for the industry. He will forever be in our hearts and dearly missed.

4. After completing her MBA at Purdue University in 2022, Jenna Spreier joined the business full-time as the General Manager, making Cal-Duct a third generation family business.

3. In 2024, Cal-Duct expanded its product line, moving into the fiber optic market! Today we offer a variety of Maxcell, Corning, Prysmian and other fiber optic cable & accessories solutions.

2. 50 years later, Cal-Duct still has one of its original pipe trailers from '76. These trailers were originally how our drivers made daily jobsite deliveries. Over the years they have been repurposed to be towed behind F650’s to accommodate larger deliveries and were a resource for our sales team whenever a customer needed an emergency delivery. They serve as a nice reminder of where we came from and how we’ve grown since our establishment.

1. 87.62% of dry utility distribution professionals have either started their careers at Cal-Duct or passed through the company at some point along the way. Just kidding, maybe we don’t know the exact percentage - but there has been a lot. That’s what happens when you’ve been around for 50 years folks.

PS. You can also follow this story on our company Instagram, LinkedIn & pages!

06/26/2026

Welcome back to our countdown to 50. We are 20 days away! Dropping some fun facts for your entertainment and pleasure.

20 Days Until 50 - Year 31-40: 2007-2016

20. This era brought major changes to the PVC Manufacturer market. Up until this time, Cal-Duct predominantly stocked either Carlon or Cantex. In 2007, JM Eagle was formed through the merger of J-M Manufacturing and PW Eagle. In 2008, the Carlon PVC Pipe Division was sold, becoming what we know today as Prime Conduit. In 2010 Allied Tube & Conduit was renamed Atkore International and the brand continued its expansion in 2013 acquiring Heritage Plastics.

19. During the Great Recession of 2008, Cal-Duct remained committed to supporting its employees and did not implement any layoffs.

18. Cal-Duct became a certified WBE (Women Business Enterprise) in 2010.

17. In 2011, Darlene LaBree passed away.

16. Cal-Duct was awarded the Executive Distributor Achievement Award from Condux in back-to-back years for outstanding sales in 2011 and 2012.

15. After a few years of resisting the trend, Cal-Duct finally jumped on the piggyback bandwagon in 2015. The purchase of two new Princeton forklifts gave flexibility to offload at jobsites where customers didn’t have equipment available, as well as make deliveries when customers weren’t onsite.

14. 2015 and 2016 were big investment and growth years at Cal-Duct - adding two new Peterbilt 579 semi tractors to the fleet, plus a Peterbilt 337 Mid-Duty with Stakebed.

13. In 2015, we updated our Condux storage room to become our Will Call Store - Open 5am - 5pm, Monday through Friday!

12. Cal-Duct joined the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) in 2015.

11. In 2016, we said goodbye to the South El Monte branch and consolidated into a single operation at the Bloomington facility. The entire transition was completed in just two weeks using only Cal-Duct’s own trucks and team. Cal Duct

06/16/2026

The road to 50 continues, we are 30 days away! Next stop: 1997-2006.

30 Days Until 50 - Year 21-30: 1997-2006

30. In the late 90s, the smoke finally cleared… literally. California became the first state to ban smoking in offices, and Cal-Duct suddenly had the perfect excuse to update company policy. Most employees were thrilled about the fresh air, and the workplace stepped into a new era of cleaner air and clearer thinking.

29. A longtime tradition at the S. El Monte branch was seeing who could successfully scare our Outside Sales Rep, Wes Battles. A 30-year Cal-Duct veteran with a larger-than-life personality and presence, you’d think Wes would’ve been impossible to startle — yet somehow a surprise jump from behind the Will Call counter or hiding in a supply closet could produce a scream that echoed through LA County. Wes started with Cal-Duct at just 18 years old working out in the yard, and over the course of his career worked his way up into Outside Sales. In 2009 he and his family decided to move to Georgia where he continued dedicating his life to the industry until his unexpected passing. We will always remember Wes for his infectious laugh, industry knowledge, work ethic, and the countless memories he gave all of us over the years.

28. In 1998, the third generation of Cal-Duct was born. Jenna became a familiar face at both S. El Monte, and the Bloomington location over the next couple of years while Tracy worked. When she wasn’t napping or watching Elmo on the “rabbit ears” TV, Jenna was busy learning the ins and outs of the family business. One lesson came the hard way after she accidentally got her feet stuck in a mouse sticky trap—thankfully, no mice were involved.

27. On December 31, 1999, we closed out the month and year and carefully backed up our computer systems onto offsite tapes—just in case the arrival of the year 2000 caused computers to fail. Fortunately, the much-anticipated Y2K computer crash never happened, and business carried on without issue.

26. After the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11, Cal-Duct ordered red, white and blue logo T-shirts, and all proceeds were donated to the Red Cross to help 9/11 recovery and victims.

25. After outgrowing the Bryant St. location, Tracy and Jack Spreier began looking for a property they could make their own, with plenty of space to grow into. In 2002 we finished construction on our current Bloomington facility making it the largest single stocking facility. It sits on 7.5 acres with over 20,000 sqft office and warehouse space.

24. Our third direct competitor opened their doors in 2002.

23. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. With 7.5 acres available, we filled our yard to capacity. During this time, resin prices rose substantially—although, in hindsight, it was nothing compared to the increases experienced 15-years later from COVID.

22. Frank and Darlene agreed to sell Cal-Duct to Tracy Spreier in 2005.

21. Frank LaBree passed away in August 2006 after several years fighting Alzheimer’s.

PS. You can also follow this story on our company Instagram, LinkedIn & pages! Cal Duct

06/06/2026

We are so grateful for everyone's positive responses to our countdown so far! Please, continue to share your memories and stories with us, we love to hear them! Thank you again to our customers, vendors and employees for making this possible.

Without further ado...

The countdown to 50 is underway. 40 days to go, here’s a sneak peek at Years 11-20: 1987-1996!

40 Days Until 50 - Years 11-20: 1987-1996

40. Our first underground dry utility competitor entered the marketplace in 1987.

39. Annual Cal-Duct river trip weekends eventually became a thing of the past thanks to a growing list of injuries and liabilities. Prior to that, everyone would pile into Frank’s boat and spend the weekend camping on the beach, drinking questionable amounts of beer, and water skiing.

38. Deliveries were written up by hand and directions to the jobsite were noted using the Thomas Guide by County and page # (e.g., D-5)…. There was no GPS back then, we relied on pagers and payphones for communication.

37. In 1988, Cal-Duct switched from all manual inventory & accounting systems and begrudgingly learned the new ADP Distribution software.

36. Back in the late 80’s, before Angry Birds, TikTok, or even texting existed, one former manager in S. El Monte found creative ways to stay entertained in the yard… like rotating the direction the pipe was facing. You know… just giving the inventory equal opportunity to tan evenly.

35. Our second direct competitor opened in 1994.

34. Cal-Duct opened its third location on Montgomery in Oxnard, CA, operating out of a leased property. As the company continued to grow, an empty lot was purchased one street over on Lambert with plans to build a permanent Ventura County location. However, after construction costs continued to rise and a county building moratorium halted permits for new development, the project was ultimately abandoned. The Lambert property was sold, and the Ventura crew was relocated to S. El Monte.

33. Breaker Breaker Charlie Roger… 1996 brought the arrival of Nextel phones, giving Cal-Duct drivers and the office a whole new way to communicate with two-way radio features and (spotty) cell service. Suddenly dispatches, jobsite updates, and the unmistakable chirp of the Nextel walkie talkie became part of daily life.

32. Cal-Duct quarterly meetings were sometimes held at Edwards Steak House, where the team enjoyed the famous rare “Lily Langtree” roast beef dinners. It was also the location of some of Frank’s lunchtime “Bored” meetings— Yes you read that correctly, as he liked to joke, they were “bored meetings,” not “board meetings”.

31. For Cal-Duct’s 20 years in business celebration we ordered a custom cake. The baker asked what color we wanted the ribbon decoration to be, and the response was, “Use your best judgment.” When the cake arrived, the ribbon literally read: “USE YOUR BEST JUDGEMENT.” Since then, the “Cal-Duct cake curse” has become a long-running company joke and a tradition that gets brought up every time a cake is ordered for a celebration.

05/27/2026

The Countdown to 50 starts now! Every 10 days we’ll be sharing 10 facts, memories, milestones, and behind-the-scenes moments from throughout the years. This week we’re kicking it off with our founding years (1976-1986)!

50. Cal-Duct was founded in 1976 by Frank & Darlene LaBree.
49. Our original location was in South El Monte on approximately three-quarters of an acre.
48. In 1976, General Telephone (GTE) was California’s leading communications company and utilized specialized conduit products (ie. GT-80 and later GT8342).
47. Founder Frank LaBree personally washed the trucks and mowed the lawn at the South El Monte facility after hours each week. If someone tried to assist and a hose was not wound back up with succinct precision or the grass was not cut to his standards, he would redo it.
46. Cal-Duct’s first tractor was a used 1979 Ford 7000. During one memorable incident, Frank attempted to help a driver hook up a trailer but forgot to lock the pin in place. The driver soon realized the trailer had detached and was traveling in the lane beside him. After that, Frank was no longer allowed to “help” with trailer hookups.
45. In December 1983, second-generation owner and current company leader Tracy Spreier joined the business, starting in the accounting department.
44. In 1984, Cal-Duct expanded by opening its second location at 175 W. Bryant Street in Bloomington.
43. One afternoon, while assisting in loading a stakebed truck with gates, Frank jumped down and his wedding ring caught on the gates, leaving him hanging until help arrived. Several stitches later, his finger survived— but the wedding ring did not as it had to be cut off to free him.
42. Back in the early days, the South El Monte facility featured a working keg of Michelob in the famous “yellow refrigerator,” complete with frosty mugs for after-hours enjoyment by employees and local customers. Much to everyone’s disappointment, the tradition ended in the early 1980s.
41. Cal-Duct’s trucks were converted to LPG fuel because propane was significantly less expensive at the time. While diesel prices had climbed to roughly $1.00-1.15 percent gallon, propane cost $0.50. Missing those fuel prices today!

07/16/2025

Celebrating 49 Years of Cal-Duct!

Today marks Cal-Duct’s 49th year in business—a milestone that brings both reflection and gratitude. Over the years, much has changed—some for the better, some not—but through it all, we’ve remained true to our purpose and values.

I’m proud to say I’ve had the privilege of being part of this journey for 42 of those years. I’m deeply thankful to my father, Frank LaBree, whose vision and entrepreneurial spirit led him to start Cal-Duct. He recognized a need in Southern California for a local stocking distributor of underground dry utility and electrical supplies—paired with a true commitment to service—and he stepped up to fill it.

Our people have always been the heart of this company. I’m forever grateful to the many individuals who have worked tirelessly and passionately to help us grow and succeed over the decades.

To our loyal customers—thank you for your trust and continued partnership. And to our vendor partners—thank you for standing with us and helping us deliver on our promises.

As we look to the future, I’m excited to see the next generation step into leadership. With Jenna Spreier helping guide the way, I’m confident the legacy will continue strong.

Here’s to 49 years—and to many more ahead. Thank you all for being a part of our story.