Technicolor Move Will Save More Than 500 Jobs
More than 500 Ventura County jobs will be saved because of a decision to move a Technicolor Videocassette Inc. plant from Newbury Park to Camarillo instead of combining it with another facility in Michigan.
Virtually all of the 530 people who work for Technicolor in Newbury Park would have been laid off if the company’s parent, Technicolor Inc., had decided to consolidate the operation with a plant in Livonia, Mich., said David R. Elliott, senior vice president and chief administrative officer of Technicolor Inc.
“It was a close call,” Elliott said. “California and Michigan both have similar regulations regarding business.” Camarillo won out, he said, because city and Ventura County officials promised to expedite permits and inspections, and because of the city’s nearness to movie studios and the parent company’s headquarters in Burbank.
Elliott said the current Newbury Park location on Anchor Court is inefficient because work there must be done in eight buildings spread over several locations.
When fully utilized, Technicolor Videocassette’s new facility, a 484,000-square-foot building about to be vacated by wheelchair manufacturer Everest & Jennings Inc., will be the world’s largest videocassette duplicating plant, Elliott said.
He said Technicolor’s video group, which also will move its headquarters to the Camarillo facility on Mission Oaks Boulevard, is already the world’s largest video duplicator when its California and Michigan productions are combined. The seven-mile move should be complete by year’s end, Elliott added.
Elliott would not disclose Technicolor Videocassette’s revenues, but he predicted that rising sales will allow the payroll in Camarillo to grow to 750 within two years.
He also declined to say how much Technicolor is paying for the Camarillo structure, but he said the price is less than the $18-million asking price. The seller, Everest & Jennings, is moving to St. Louis, laying off about 500 workers.
Escrow is expected to close July 31 or later, Elliott said.
