In 1917, at the close of World War I, the founders of Jackson-Markus recognized the need for a qualified company to redistribute the stockpiles left over from the war effort into the private sector. Through two more major dislocations of industry, the depression of the early 1930’s and the end of World War II, Jackson-Markus continued and expanded its role in redistributing surplus materials. Founder and company inheritor, Peter Markus and his 3 sons, Arnold, Harold and Alvin realized that by being first with data processing technology they could manage huge inventories of parts and supplies and create a new flexibility that would ensure that their company would continue to serve an important role in the dynamics of the nation’s industrial economy.

In 1982, the last of this dynamic generation retired from business but the Markus tradition continues with Harold’s son, Daniel Markus. Under Dan’s leadership, his company Cal Pipe Manufacturing has expanded his fore-father’s vision to develop diversified manufacturing and industry services. Cal Pipe, first established for its pipe and tube bending services, has expanded into major structural beam and specialty bending, including pieces for motion pictures such as spiral bending for Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report and the dramatic canopy shaped like a desert bloom, of the Morongo Casino Resort.

In recent years Cal Pipe has added stainless steel conduit products to its product line and is pioneering a new type of thin-wall stainless steel that promise to revolutionize several industries that depend upon non-corrosive piping. Cal Pipe continues to develop it’s “Corrosion Busters” conduit products with PVC and PVC-coated, and Aluminum line of fittings that it provides along with the rest of its rigid metallic lines for both electrical and plumbing. With its latest offering of flexible conduit, the company has split off and re-named its electrical conduit business
Cal Conduit Products.

Paralleling this development, Cal Pipe began offering standard pipe bollard products in early 1996. Expanding on this success, Cal Pipe formed a joint venture with one of the world’s leading manufacturers of a full line of bollards. With this experience came knowledge at a time when security issues are at their highest. Cal Pipe Security Bollards, now wholly owned, is fast becoming a market leader in the rapidly expanding business of protecting people and property from vehicle impacts.

For 86 years there has been a Markus serving industry with the pipes, valves, and fittings that help make industry work and it looks like there will be a Markus for a long time to come, not only continuing that service and far-seeing vision of his family tradition but expanding on the products necessary for the new industries of today and tomorrow as well.