BREA : Loan Entices Manufacturer to City

Krystal Koach Inc., an Anaheim-based manufacturer of limousines and hearses, will relocate to Brea, thanks to a $309,000 loan from the city.

The City Council, which also acts as the Redevelopment Agency, voted unanimously to approve the loan, which will be used to offset fees that new businesses must pay for roads and other improvements.

“We look at this as very positive because we’re getting a good manufacturing company,” Mayor Bev Perry said. “The loan is similar to ones we have worked out with other companies in the past.”

Under terms of the deal, the company must stay in Brea for 10 years and maintain a payroll of at least 175 people. If the firm does that, the loan will be forgiven.

Krystal Koach, the world’s largest maker of limousines, wants to consolidate several separate divisions under one roof and expand into the production of luxury shuttle buses, officials said. The company now has 212 employees.

According to city reports, the company has agreed to purchase an 8 1/2-acre parcel of vacant land at 2701 E. Imperial Highway and build a 115,000-square-foot building that will include manufacturing, office and showroom space.

The city, in turn, will collect $40,000 to $50,000 a year in taxes from the company.