Iwerks Consolidates Florida Facility With Burbank Site

Iwerks Entertainment Inc., a Burbank-based maker of specialty theaters and simulation rides, said it is consolidating its Sarasota, Fla., manufacturing facilities with an existing plant at the company’s headquarters.

G. Edward Smith, chief financial officer at Iwerks, said the 40 workers employed at the company’s Florida facilities, where theater components were manufactured, will not be brought to Burbank. Instead, he said, “something less than 40” employees will be hired at the company’s Burbank site.

The Florida facility was previously home to Omni Films International, which was acquired by Iwerks in May, 1994. The combination of manufacturing facilities will result in a onetime restructuring charge of $1 million in the third quarter of 1995, but is expected to yield savings of up to $750,000 annually, Smith said.

The company said “significant additional charges” are also anticipated in the third quarter as a result of an ongoing effort to cut costs and streamline operations.