Oxnard Firm’s Expansion to Add 300 Jobs

An Oxnard maker of plastic plumbing is close to finishing a construction project that will double the size of its operation--and create about 300 much-needed manufacturing jobs, according to city officials.

Waterway Plastics Inc., a producer of valves and other parts used in swimming pools and spas, is building an 82,000-square-foot warehouse next to its plant on East Sturgis Road.

Company officials declined to discuss the expansion, other than to confirm that it will take place.

But Steven Kinney of the Economic Development Corp., a former city department that was privatized to lure businesses to Oxnard, said the move will double the size of the facility and create about 300 new jobs.

The plant, which now employs about 300 people, will grow from 90,000 to 180,000 square feet, he said.

“They are intending to virtually double their employment when they double their size,” Kinney said. “That means 300 jobs.”

Most of the manufacturing jobs will involve assembly, shipping and packing of the plastic plumbing, which is sold to spa distributors throughout the country, Kinney said. He said the plant should be ready to open in the next month or two.

“It’s ready to open, just about,” Kinney said. “Things are being moved in. It’s virtually a completed project.”

Mayor Manuel Lopez said Waterway Plastics’ expansion plans should be a boon to the city, which has worked aggressively to lure industry to the growing Oxnard Plain.

“I think that’s what we’re looking for,” Lopez said. “We need people to come here and provide jobs for the community. A lot of the people that live here have to go elsewhere to work. This will not only help reduce traffic in the area, it will improve our economy.”

Councilman Andres Herrera said light-manufacturing companies such as Waterway Plastics are what the city needs because they provide residents with decent jobs that put a little spending money in their pockets.

“We’re looking for light-manufacturing jobs that pay beyond the minimum wage,” Herrera said. “These jobs provide people with discretionary income that they can spend in our city, and that benefits everyone.”

Oxnard officials have been working with Waterway Plastics’ management on the expansion plans since last year, Kinney said.

After building their original plant, company leaders complained of what they considered to be a Byzantine planning process in Oxnard, and Kinney said he had to convince them that the city’s planning bureaucracy had been trimmed.

“They didn’t want the same frustrations again, so we helped them understand that the city’s philosophy had changed,” Kinney said. “I believed they trusted us. And it worked--they didn’t have any delays and everything is moving on schedule.”