Pet-Door Manufacturer Buys Site in Camarillo

Most business owners look for a window of opportunity. In the case of one local company, however, it may have been more like a tiny door of opportunity.

Officials of Johnson Pet-Dor Inc., facing the expiration of the company’s five-year lease at its Oxnard headquarters, has purchased a building in Camarillo from the United Services Life Insurance Co. for $1.2 million.

The pet door manufacturer, founded in 1952, is expected to relocate to the 29,030-square-foot Via Alondra location in the first quarter of 1997.

“This is significant in that there is a degree of permanence that you don’t have when leasing,” said Jim Zimring, president of Johnson Pet-Dor. “The company started in Van Nuys, then moved out to Valencia, then moved to Oxnard. Hopefully this will be our last move.”

Johnson Pet-Dor manufactures four basic styles of pet doors. Annual production and sales figures were unavailable for the privately held company, but Zimring said that since its founding, the firm has sold several million pet doors.

The purchase of the facility puts the finishing touches on a successful year for the company.

“We were up 15% this year for a number of reasons,” Zimring said, noting that orders for cat doors are increasing. “But particularly, most recently, there’s been an increase in large dogs. More people will let large dogs come in and out of the house more than they will small dogs. That’s a positive influence on our business.”