TECHNOLOGY : EECO Switch Unit Moving to Enterprise Zone in Santa Ana

EECO’s Switch Division, under new ownership, plans to move to a new headquarters in Santa Ana’s enterprise zone in October, the company said. The company also said the assets of EECO’s Switch Division and its Electronic Keypad Division have been purchased by a holding company, Transico Inc., for an undisclosed price.

Transico, formed for the acquisition, is led by President Don Lewis, EECO’s general manager.

Rob Bryant, spokesman for the firm, said the Switch Division’s 35 employees will move to a two-story, 27,000-square-foot headquarters at 1800 E. Wilshire Ave.

The company’s relocation to the zone will allow it to benefit from incentives such as sales and usage credits as well as subsidies for job training programs, Bryant said. Enterprise zones like Santa Ana’s are designed to attract businesses by offering incentives such as lower utility bills.

Lewis said Transico has invested $500,000 in capital in the two subsidiaries.

The Switch Division makes rotary coded switches used in a wide variety of electronics equipment from computers to telecommunications.

EECO’s keypad unit, which makes keypads for medical, industrial controls and telecommunications equipment, will remain in Phoenix, Ariz. The keypad unit has 48 employees.

The new site for the Switch Division is about a mile from the company’s 1601 Chestnut St. address in Santa Ana, where the unit has been based since 1978.