KemTron

The Kemtron story is about a custom modeling operation that was very fluid with many people contributing to its history over time. The originator of Kemtron was Levon J. Kemalyan (1907-76) of Fresno California. Kemalyan grew up in Fresno and attended Fresno public schools. In 1929 Levon started out running the photo engraving business that his father had started in 1903 called the Fresno Photo Engraving Company. Kemalyan's interest in model trains led him to found Kemtron Corporation in the early 1950's as a manufacturer of model railway cars, locomotives, cast metal and lost wax cast parts (especially for scratchbuilders), conversion kits and accessories. Kemtron Products Co. was initially located at 750 Fulton Street in Fresno. The company produced scale model kits and parts in 'O', On3, HO, HOn3, 'OO', S, and TT. In the mid-1960's Kemtron also produced a line of slot cars and accessories. The name Kemtron was derived from 'Kemalyan' and 'electronic'. By 1960 Kemtron was the world's largest maker of scale railroad kits, producing one million parts a year and selling them worldwide to enthusiasts as far away as India and Australia. Eventually Kemalyan also established an ownership stake in U.S. Hobbies, Inc., an importer of brass scale trains from Japan