Altus to Move Technacell Division Out of Santa Ana
Altus Corp. said Monday that it will move its Technacell battery manufacturing division to San Diego and Tijuana from Santa Ana in June, a move that will cause the layoffs of 100 Altus workers at the Santa Ana plant.
The San Jose-based company, which makes lead acid batteries used in computers, toys and security systems, is building a 68,000-square-foot plant in Tijuana on a five-acre site that may someday accommodate up to 170,000 square feet of Altus buildings, William Markus, the firm’s vice president, said. About 150 workers will be hired for the new Tijuana facility.
Altus plans to relocate the division’s administrative and research staff from Santa Ana to offices in the Trolley Business Park in San Diego, Markus said. A closely held company, Altus reported sales last year of about $35 million.
Altus employs 400 at a manufacturing plant in Mexicali but ruled out expansion there because of the difficulty in getting executives to move to nearby El Centro and Calexico on the American side of the border, Markus said. Altus’ Santa Ana workers have been informed of the impending layoffs, he said.
