Volvo Import Site Purchased

A unit of a Swedish shipping concern has purchased a 27-acre site in south Oxnard to build a 47,000-square-foot plant for processing Volvo automobiles imported through the nearby Port of Hueneme.

Pacific Vehicle Processors Inc., owned by a subsidiary of Stockholm’s Wallenius Lines, is expected to provide 45 jobs when the plant opens in September. The workers will inspect and install accessories on new vehicles before they are trucked to dealers throughout the West.

If approved by Oxnard planning officials, the plant will be built at Hueneme Road and Edison Drive, near the BMW Vehicle Preparation Center, which processes up to 25,000 German-made BMWs annually.

The move marks another step in the Hueneme port’s campaign to enlarge its role as an import center for cars and heavy machinery. The port now handles 750,000 tons of cargo annually.

Oxnard City Planner Matthew Winegar said the Planning Commission will consider the application to build the plant Thursday. If approved, construction is expected to start in June.

The plant would be operational by September, but some construction would continue until November, Winegar said.