Surf Wear Companies Catch Wave, Move Offices

The sands are shifting in the surf wear industry, with several big companies switching locations.

Rusty International moved last month into larger digs in Irvine, while Quicksilver Inc. is currently building a headquarters in Huntington Beach. Ocean Pacific Apparel Corp. is looking for a larger space, as well.

Surf wear insiders say the shuffling is a result of growth within the industry, partly because of the expanding business in girls surf wear.

“It’s basically the big-time movers and shakers in the industry,” Rusty spokeswoman Lisa Hickman said. “You can only get so big without having to move.”

Rusty, which had been in its headquarters on Gillette Avenue for about five years, didn’t have far to go. The company moved down the block and across the street.

Quiksilver, which has been headquartered in Costa Mesa for a dozen years, has been moving incrementally to accommodate its continuing growth.

Last December, the company moved its cutting rooms, distribution and raw materials warehouses from two separate locations to a 225,000-square-foot building in Huntington Beach. Now, Quiksilver is completing the construction of a 100,000-square-foot corporate headquarters on the lot in front of that building.

By May, all 600 Quiksilver employees should be reunited at the Huntington Beach site, said Greg Ziegler, executive vice president of operations. “It will be great to get everybody back into one building again,” he said. “We can hardly wait.”

Meanwhile OP continues to scout sites in hopes of moving from its Irvine location to a larger building. After six years at the current location, Chief Executive Dick Baker said, OP needs more design and office space and wants a headquarters that is more “image oriented” than the current building.