Founded by Les & Kathie Tjelmeland in 1969, Sabina was one of the leading pioneers in the early solid-state motor control industry. At that time Sabina built small horsepower DC drives under its own name and also name branded drives for several other manufacturers.

By 1975 Sabina had grown to a point where it needed a newer, larger facility. So, it moved to its current facility at 1440 North Burton Place in Anaheim. At over 32,000 square feet today, our facility houses a drives service center, manufacturing facility, motor repair facility plus a huge inventory of AC drives, DC drives, and motors. SABINA carries most major brands of drives, ABB, BALDOR, EMERSON, BARDAC, FUJI, HITACHI equipment and many more.

In 2000 Les and Kathie both retired from the operation of the business. Les can still be found most days at the facility working on one of his personal projects.

Vincent Tjelmeland, the current President, started working for his father, Les, when the company was formed in 1969. Later, Vince graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering with an emphasis on controls systems from CSUF that greatly helped his career at SABINA. Most of his time was spent working in application engineering, and to this day he still coordinates many of the more unique systems that SABINA builds.

Adam Tjelmeland, Vince’s first son, and Les’ grandson, is the third generation working within Sabina. Adam also went to CSUF. Today Adam is working in the drive service department, repairing and designing AC and DC drives for steel, paper and plastic industries. With Adam's hands-on experience with drives he is perfectly positioned to continue his career at SABINA and to keep SABINA moving forward in the coming years.

Cody Lapka, Vince’s second son, is also an integral part of the company, scheduling deliveries and taking care of the vehicle fleet. Vince's wife, Sue, retired in January of 2019 after a 40 year career in the Security industry. When she got bored staying at home, she joined SABINA as the Office Manager in July of 2019. Often Vince and Sue's four grandchildren get to visit the office and we have four generations of Tjelmeland family at one location!

SABINA is proud of our family history and the many individuals who have helped build the brand over the years. SABINA would not exist without the passion and commitment of its employees.

Sabina Motors and Controls is still the largest and most complete drives facility on the west coast. Plus Sabina Technical Services and its motor repair facility gives Sabina a well-rounded service base to handle any and all industrial repairs you might need.