Hadley to Move From L.A.

Concern for the safety of its employees has prompted a company based in inner-city Los Angeles to decide to move to Ventura County, marking one of the first such relocations in the wake of the recent Los Angeles riots.

The Robert M. Hadley Co., a 63-year-old concern that produces transformers and other items for the aerospace industry, has offered its 120 employees in South-Central Los Angeles a chance to transfer from the firm’s main plant to a branch facility in Ventura, said John R. Hadley, treasurer and director of quality control, who heads the branch operation.

“We’ve been contemplating the shift for some time, but the riots were the crowning blow that led to the decision,” he said. The date of the move will be announced by the end of the year, said Hadley, whose father, Arthur H. Hadley, is the company president and whose grandfather founded the company in 1929.

Except for some broken windows, the Los Angeles plant at Hoover and 51st streets escaped damage during the disturbances.

“But a strip mall and a market only a block away were burned to the ground,” John Hadley said. “Even though we think we have good rapport with the people who live in the area, we’ve been concerned about security for some time.”

He said all current employees will be offered positions at the Ventura facility on Transport Street. Twenty-five people now do subassembly work in the 48,000-square-foot building, part of which the Hadley firm leases to another concern.

Hadley said two busloads of employees and family members attended a recent open house at the Ventura branch.

“We haven’t polled them yet to see who will make the move, but several have already indicated they want to do so. If some decide to stay in L.A., we’ll replace them with Ventura County residents.”

Hadley said the privately held company’s sales total about $5 million annually. It does subcontracting work for Litton Industries, Hughes Aircraft Co., Lockheed Corp. and other aerospace firms.