High Price of County Industrial Space Forces Manufacturer to Move Inland : REAL ESTATE

A lot of manufacturers say the high price of Orange County real estate forces them to look inland when they think about expanding. Richard Pernosky is no exception.

Pernosky’s Fireless Furnace Inc. recently moved from Anaheim to Corona, leaving behind 7,200 square feet in a 25-year-old industrial building for 20,000 square feet in a brand new complex.

When Fireless Furnace moved into the Anaheim building five years ago, it paid $560 a month; by the time the company moved the rent had soared to $2,300.

While the company is paying the same rent per square foot in Corona, Pernosky said, the space is in a new, problem-free building with more amenities.

Fireless Furnace is leasing the Corona building, but the company also has an option to purchase it. And that will cost considerably less than it would to purchase a 20,000-square-foot building in Orange County, Pernosky said.

“We have always intended to own our own building,” Pernosky said, “and we just couldn’t afford to do that in Orange County.”

Pernosky also says he has been finding it increasingly difficult to find qualified workers in Orange County at wages that enable his company to remain competitive.

Fireless Furnace manufactures heating systems that use the heat from a home’s hot water heater and require no fuel.

Pernosky, who invented the system and holds a patent on it, said that Fireless Furnace anticipates $1.5 million in sales this year. The company employs 14.