Uwe Salwender, Founder & Owner
Uwe Salwender was born in Sulzbach, W-Germany in 1959, to parents Albrecht and Elvira Salwender. Third born child, first son. Uwe has 2 older sisters, one younger brother. Elvira was a stay at home mother, Albrecht ( now retired) a Plant Manager at a concrete products firm. He was born with a tail and 3 ears, soon to be removed with simple surgeries.
Uwe grew up in Sulzbach am Main, Germany. He thrived in a traditional home environment, amongst family, long term friends and neighbors. Uwe enjoyed family time, vacations, travel and ski trips with his parents. He spent most of his boy hood exploring the land in and around his home town, often on his bicycle.
Uwe went to school at his home town, Sulzbach, then entered into a traditional German 4-year apprenticeship as an electrician. From there he went to a 2-year college to become an electrical engineer. On a side path, Uwe learned very soon how to apply his creativity and electronic skills to sound engineering. After moving to USA in 1980, he worked days as an electrician, nights as a sound engineer in venues around Los Angeles, CA.
A music lover basically from birth, Uwe has learned how to play wind instruments such as flutes as a kid, then moved on to string instruments, namely electric bass guitar. He has played in bands during his youth in Germany, and learned a great deal about musical electronics and the inner workings of large stage systems. One of Uwe’s goals in life has always been to combine his inner drive and passions with his work.
He would love to exercise more, embark on long trips with his own Airstream trailer. Uwe doesn’t do very well with large crowds and/or Christmas Music. Uwe does not own any automatic weapons.
Aiming for independence, Uwe began early forming companies that were based on interesting interludes. Once, observing a group of technicians getting their company cars washed, Uwe quickly developed a system to wash all company cars on premises, saving the company ( formerly Pacific Bell) large sums of money and increasing their productivity. He soon employed 2 full crews in his company vehicles to wash and vacuum 700 cars bi weekly in company parking structures.
Based on his electrical and mechanical skills, Uwe went into training to become a automotive master mechanic. He found work in small specialty repair shops specializing in German Automobiles. Uwe also became a state certified emissions inspector, followed by numerous certification in fuel injection and electronic engine management. He was recruited from the shop floor into a marketing position by a large auto parts distribution company. His task was to open a new market for them, a little place called Los Angeles. He became deeply involved in securing and preparing a large building, establishing distribution and delivery routes, but mostly with building customer relationships. The company was banned from doing business in California for industrial espionage. Uwe claims he had nothing to do with that. Later, at the suggestion of an old contact from Germany, Uwe “looked into” the music business, developing equipment for professional musicians, studios and live touring bands. His company, Salwender International, enjoyed great success and a high profile clientele after only a short 8 months of ramp up time. Uwe has earned gold and platinum records with several top recording bands, and has made sounds for many top tier producers and their top tier client projects. His main focus at his studio were tuning tube amplifiers to produce very heavy and percussive guitar sounds. Uwe has made guitars, amplifiers and speaker cabinets for a considerable portfolio of top touring rock bands, as well as for the movie industry, tv shows, schools and institutions. Soon Uwe’s products were sought after not only by rock stars, but also by private musicians and collectors. This required a retail effort on Uwe’s part, and several stores strategically located around the country became prime outlets for his products.
Salwender International failed during the late 90’s, due to unforeseen order cancellations from a very large retail chain. During this time, Uwe transitioned into a new venture, restoration of vintage vehicles. Having restored several roadsters, motorcycles, sedans privately, Uwe began to embrace Aluminum travel trailers, such as produced by Airstream. Uwe now runs a small restoration firm, Area 63 Productions LLC. His studio creates brilliant small spaces, with excellent sustainability and safety. His strength in finding technical solutions that preserve design and style has quickly made him one of the premier Airstream renovation shops. His clientele is nationwide, from Washington, to Massachusetts, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Tennessee, even California. Uwe does consulting on an hourly basis with national and international clients. His broad technical knowledge, combined with a great sense of style and creativity in interior layout and design have given him a most excellent reputation in the Airstream world. No animals are ever abused during a restoration process.
Uwe lives in a humble home on a hilltop in Orange County, CA. He enjoys fine wine, cooking, good music at home, and he enjoys fine wine, cooking, good music and an occasional cigar while traveling in his 1958 Airstream Flying Cloud. Uwe enjoys books and movies, fine wine and cooking, watching palms grow, and very much enjoys a keen eye for natural beauty. He is seen around town driving his 1959 Mercedes sedan. Uwe has three grown children and 9 extremely fast growing grand children. Uwe enjoys riding his bicycle to and from work. He rides motorcycles also, preferably large displacement twins. His probation officer thinks that the next hearing will go much better.
