Levon John Kemalyan was a model railroading entrepreneur. He founded Kemtron Corporation, a manufacturer of model railway cars, locomotives, parts, and accessories. In 1960 it 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.
Companies owned
Kemalyan had ownership stakes in various companies; Fresno Photo-Engraving Company, U.S. Hobbies, Inc., and Kemtron Corporation. Fresno Photo-Engraving Company was founded in 1903 by A. F. Kemalyan. Levon purchased the company with his brother-in-law in 1929. In 1935, he took over the photo-engraving company himself. Levon sold the firm December 26, 1962, to his brothers-in-law, Thomas N. Vartanian and Jerry Mootafian. Kemtron Corporation was founded and owned by Kemalyan. :Kemalyan started Kemtron in Fresno in the early '50s, and he provided layout space for the Fresno Model Railroad club in the early '50s. In 1960, the Kemtron plant was with 15 employees. One of Kemtron's product lines, photo engraved car kits, particularly the flats, often used zinc sheet, as opposed to brass. The 'blue' coating, was the 'photo resist' that was not cleaned off. Kemtron was initially a sideline of Fresno Photo Engraving, which explains why common photo engraving materials were often used. In the mid-1960s Kemtron also produced a line of slot cars and accessories. Lawrence S. Kazoyan, a retired aerospace engineer, acquired Kemtron in 1970, and moved it from Fresno to Los Angeles. T. Fredrick Hill and Wayne Lyndon, owners of The Original Whistle Stop Inc., acquired Kemtron in 1978 and moved it to Sacramento. The Precision Scale Company, Inc. acquired Kemtron as a merger in 1986. Former Kemtron employee John Anderson later went on to found Associated Brass Products, Inc., maker of the Cal-Scale line.
Kemalyan was born and raised in Fresno, California. He also died in Fresno. His parents, Coshocir and Yonepseper A. Coshocir were born in Armenia. Coshocir was an engraver. Levin had three sisters, Flora, Alice, and Naomi. On March 6, 1941, Levin married Roselle Arax Bezazian in Cook County, Illinois, a pianist who graduated from Oberlin Conservatory of Music. years ago, Roselle Kemalyan was elected president of the Fresno Music Club. The club, this year, is in its season. Levon and Roselle had two daughters: Constance R. and Katharine .
