What South Bay Cable does

South Bay Cable, operating as South Bay Wire and Cable Company, LLC, is a U.S. specialty cable manufacturer founded in 1957 and headquartered in Idyllwild, California. The company designs and manufactures fully custom cables—each construction is engineered from scratch to customer specifications rather than selected from a catalog—integrating electrical, optical, and mechanical elements into a single cable. Across two Southern California manufacturing facilities in Idyllwild and Temecula totaling more than 80,000 square feet of production space, South Bay controls the production stack in-house: copper conductor drawing and stranding, thermoplastic extrusion (insulating and jacketing), cabling, strength-member application, taping, striping, fairing, and braiding, supported by a Quality Assurance Department with OTDRs, impedance analyzers, high-voltage test facilities, environmental ovens, and hydrostatic pressure fixtures.

The company's product portfolio centers on demanding-application cable types including neutral tethers, armored umbilicals, tow cables, ROV cables, electro-optical-mechanical (E-O-M) umbilicals, and MUX umbilicals, along with multipurpose, fairing, high/low-temperature, and high-flex constructions. It serves eight named end-market segments—Marine Technology/Subsea, Military/Defense, Aerostat, Exploration, Science & Research, Oil & Gas, Surveying, and Commercial Fishing—with Marine Technology/Subsea and Military/Defense identified as primary verticals. A documented long-running relationship supplies US Navy PMS-401 submarine acoustic systems. Sales are conducted through enterprise direct sales with regional field offices in Deerfield, NH (East Coast) and Galveston, TX (Gulf Coast), supplemented by headquarters inside sales and engineering-collaborative quote generation. All revenue is generated through custom, project-based one-time sales with quote-based (non-published) pricing; there is no catalog or stock product offering.

Name

South Bay Cable

Legal name

South Bay Wire and Cable Company, LLC

Website

https://southbaycable.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1957

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

South Bay Cable is a 1957-founded U.S. manufacturer of custom specialty cables for defense, marine/subsea, oil & gas, and research end markets, producing engineered cable constructions from two Southern California facilities with no catalog products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Cable Manufacturing

NAICS

Communication and Energy Wire and Cable Manufacturing (33592), Fiber Optic Cable Manufacturing (335921)

SIC

Miscellaneous Electrical Machinery, Equipment & Supplies (3690), Electronic & Other Electrical Equipment (No Computer Equip) (3600)

akta.pro primary industry

Marine Cable, Connectors & Cable Management (IMAJAJAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Electrical Engineering & Power Distribution (Generation, Switchboards, Cabling, Lighting) (IMAJAGAF), Hazardous-Location, Marine & Harsh-Environment Cable (IMADAMAO)

Keywords

• Specialty cable manufacturing
• Custom cable design
• Subsea umbilicals
• ROV cables
• Electro-optical cables

Headquarters

HQ city

Idyllwild

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Cable Manufacturing: South Bay Cable generates revenue through the design and manufacture of customer-specific specialty cables. Each cable is engineered to customer specifications with no catalog products. The company produces various cable types including Neutral Tethers, Armored Umbilicals, Tow Cables, ROV Cables, E-O-M Umbilicals, and MUX Umbilicals for demanding underwater and marine applications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

South Bay Cable designs and manufactures customer-specific specialty cables combining electrical, optical, and mechanical elements for demanding applications. The company has no catalog; every cable is custom-engineered to individual customer specifications. Products serve marine technology, military, oil & gas, ROV, and subsea markets through two in-house manufacturing facilities in California.

Product overview

South Bay Cable is a custom cable manufacturer offering a comprehensive portfolio of specialty cable products designed for the most demanding applications. Their core offering is custom cable design and manufacturing services with no catalogue products—all cables are engineered to customer specifications. The product line includes Armored Umbilicals, E-O-M Umbilicals, ROV Cables, Tow Cables, Neutral Tethers, MUX Umbilicals, Multipurpose Cables, Fairing Cables, High/Low Temperature Cables, and Hi Flex Cables. The company operates two manufacturing facilities in Idyllwild and Temecula, California, with over 80,000 square feet of production space and in-house capabilities including copper drawing, extrusion, cabling, and armor application.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Cable Custom-engineered specialty cables designed on an individual basis for each customer order, combining electrical, optical, and mechanical elements to meet specific application requirements. No catalog products are offered.
• Armored Umbilicals Heavy-duty umbilical cables with steel wire armor protection designed for harsh underwater environments and high-load applications. Used in subsea and marine operations.
• E-O-M Umbilical (Electro-Optical-Mechanical)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 60,000 different cable constructions designed and produced
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• US Navy PMS-401 (Submarine Acoustic Systems)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 January 2023South Bay Cable supplies custom cable to the Navy's PMS-401 program for submarine acoustic systems. Representatives from the program, including Captain Mike Hollenbach (Program Manager), Tonya Royal-Benson (Procurement Manager), and Abdul Hassan (Acoustic Engineer), visited South Bay Cable to meet with sales and engineering teams. South Bay has supported this program for many years and continues supplying cable to this program and many other US Navy projects.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Nexans: Global cable manufacturer with subsea, umbilical, and offshore product lines serving energy and marine markets. Comparable to Prysmian in scale and serves many of the same end-customers as South Bay.
• TE Connectivity: Global leader in connectors and cables serving aerospace, defense, and marine markets with a much broader portfolio. Competes with South Bay in marine/defense cabling as part of a much wider offering.
• Prysmian Group: World's largest cable manufacturer with significant subsea cable and umbilical operations serving offshore energy and telecom. Overlaps with South Bay in subsea umbilicals but at vastly larger scale and broader portfolio.

Direct peers

• Tratos: Italian specialty cable manufacturer with marine, subsea umbilical, and offshore product lines. Directly comparable to South Bay in serving subsea umbilical and harsh-environment cable customers.
• New England Wire Technologies: Custom specialty wire and cable manufacturer serving aerospace, defense, medical, and industrial markets. Highly comparable custom-engineering model with niche industrial focus and similar build-to-spec approach.
• Habia Cable: European custom specialty cable manufacturer producing custom-designed cables for defense, nuclear, and industrial applications. Comparable custom-engineering heritage and defense/specialty customer mix.
• Philatron Wire & Cable: US-based custom cable manufacturer producing specialized cables for industrial, military, and commercial applications. Comparable custom-build model and US-based specialty cable focus.
• JDR Cable Systems: Manufacturer of subsea power cables, umbilicals, and termination products for offshore oil & gas and renewable energy. Closely comparable product portfolio to South Bay's ROV and umbilical cables serving similar subsea customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about South Bay Cable