SANTA PAULA : Camper Shell Firm’s Relocation Takes 13 Jobs to Nevada
A camper shell manufacturer that left Santa Paula took 13 local jobs when it moved to Nevada, a city official said Friday.
“Anytime any company leaves is bad news,” City Administrator Arnold Dowdy said of the departure on March 2 of Brahma of California.
“It’s no great secret that it’s getting harder and harder to do business in California,” said Dowdy, who said the city is creating a how-to booklet to help businesses succeed in Santa Paula.
Brahma of California, which had revenues of $4.5 million annually from its Santa Paula business, left because stringent environmental regulations and the high cost of living limited the company’s potential to expand, said customer sales representative Diane Covey. The company wanted to produce 63 to 65 camper shells a day, but had a permit from the County Air Pollution Control District to produce only 40 a day.
“It was extremely difficult to make a profit at that bottom line,” said Covey, who said the 11-year-old company moved to Santa Paula from Huntington Beach in 1987 to escape strict air-quality regulations there.
The manufacturer moved to Sparks, Nev., because that state’s less restrictive standards have enabled it to consolidate offices, Covey said.
The Arlington, Texas-based manufacturer generates $20 million a year from all its operations, and maintains offices in North Carolina, Oregon, Colorado, Illinois and Sweden, Covey said.
Covey also praised the state’s low cost of living. For example, employees earn $7 an hour in Sparks compared to $9.15 an hour in Santa Paula, she said. The company has 11 employees, and plans to hire six more.
