BUSINESS NEWS : Industry Toy Firm Moves, Will Hire 60 More Workers

* The Little Tikes Co. will hire an additional 60 employees for its West Coast toy manufacturing plant in the City of Industry, which is moving within the city to a new facility twice as large.

The company, based in Hudson, Ohio, is moving from John Reed Court to 200,000 square feet at 19605 E. Walnut St., said spokeswoman Leslie Mapes.

Since 1975, the company has operated a plant in the City of Industry, where it manufactures many of its large, outdoor toys such as playhouses, forts and slides. The plant operates 24 hours a day and employs 150 people.

* The Dewey Pest Control Co. has moved its corporate headquarters and 30 employees to Pasadena from Los Angeles.

Steven R. Dewey, the company’s chief executive officer, bought a two-story, 15,860-square-foot office building at 939 E. Union Ave. and is leasing space in it to his pest control company.

Dewey said he moved the company from Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles to avoid that city’s graffiti problem and its gross-sales taxes.

“We have 29 branch offices throughout the state of California, and the city forces us to pay a gross-sales business tax of about half a percent on not only our Los Angeles gross sales, but also on gross sales in all of our branch cities,” Dewey said. “Thus, we pay double. Pasadena has no gross-sales business tax.”