Impco Relocates Manufacturing Unit to Irvine

Impco Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of natural-fuel conversion systems for gasoline engines, has relocated a manufacturing unit and its research department to Irvine.

The move adds 100 jobs to Orange County’s economy, and Impco officials said they expect the new Irvine facility to add about 40 more workers, mainly engineers, during the next 18 months.

Impco, a 39-year-old firm, designs and makes systems that allow automobiles, trucks, forklifts and other vehicles powered by internal combustion engines to switch from gasoline to cleaner fuels such as propane and natural gas.

The company, which supplies engine and vehicle manufacturers as well as corporate fleets, recently signed a deal with General Motors Corp. to jointly develop a natural-gas conversion program for the Chinese government.

The company said its research and development department and its equipment manufacturing operation had outgrown Impco’s headquarters facility in Cerritos.

Irvine was selected “because it is an important technology center and will help us attract engineers,” said Cathryn Johnston, senior manager for project administration.

Impco also wanted to keep its research unit in Southern California, she said. “The area is in the forefront of clean-air technology, she added.

The company is leasing an 80,000-square-foot building in an Irvine commercial and light-industrial complex near Main Street and Jamboree Road.