Glendale Aerospace Firm to Relocate to Fullerton

A growing Glendale aerospace parts maker is moving its factory and headquarters to Fullerton this month.

Adams Rite Aerospace Inc. will relocate 260 employees to the leased 100,000-square-foot facility on North Palm Street. A company spokeswoman said the firm is encouraging workers to move with it, but some jobs are expected to open up in coming months through attrition.

About 30% of the company’s employees already live in Orange County, President Chuck Collins said. “We’ve been talking about this move for several years,” he said.

Adams Rite has about 170 manufacturing employees and a large engineering and development department that it intends to expand, Collins said.

The 102-year-old company, with 1997 sales of $35 million, makes brake system components, door hardware and locking mechanisms for military and civilian aircraft. Adams entered the aerospace industry in 1946 after half a century as a commercial hardware manufacturer.

Collins said Adams Rite--formerly Adams Rite Sabre International Inc.--is benefiting from a recent boom in aerospace manufacturing and has outgrown its 55-year-old Glendale headquarters.