Raypak to Relocate Its Headquarters and Plant to Oxnard

Raypak Inc. of Westlake Village, which makes spa and pool heaters, is one of those businesses whose performance mirrors the strength of the economy. As the region prospers, there comes an increased demand for pools and spas and the heaters that go with them.

The local economy has been healthy lately, and so has business--so good that Raypak executives are planning to relocate to a new, larger facility to accommodate an increased workload.

Currently occupying a 150,000-square-foot building, the company has broken ground on a 242,000-square-foot manufacturing, warehouse and office facility in Oxnard’s Northfield Business Park.

Raypak plans to begin moving its 400 employees to its new world headquarters next August.

“We’ve just grown out of the space here in Westlake Village,” said Tony Ots, president of Raypak, which also manufacturers boilers. “Half of our business is making pools and spa heaters, and that industry has grown with the booming economy. The other half of our business has grown along with it.”

Represented by the CB Richard Ellis real estate group, Raypak began its search for a new site last May. The company opted for a build-to-suit facility because vacant buildings of the size needed were nonexistent.

“There are really no places that meet our qualifications,” Ots said. “We’re looking for a pretty big place, and we’re looking for specific shapes to accommodate our manufacturing process.”

Ots said the 11-acre Oxnard location was enticing for reasons other than size.

“We tried to stay close enough [to Westlake Village] to retain most of our employees and most of the available lots of industrial land were in Ventura County,” he said.

“One of the key things about Oxnard is the climate, it’s so much cooler for a manufacturing operation. And the Oxnard area seems to have a very good labor base,” Ots said. “Being close to the 101 was an important consideration for shipping. A lot of the big trucking companies that pick up our products in Westlake come out of Oxnard.”

The Northfield Business Park, part of Oxnard’s Pacific Commerce Center, is owned by Centex Development of Dallas and the Zephyr Development Co., its Westlake Village partner. The Raypak building will be located at Eastman Avenue and Lombard Street.

Nick Gregg, first vice president of CB Richard Ellis’ San Fernando Valley office, said the Northfield Business Park was selected from about a dozen build-to-suit locations.

“They looked at sites within a 30-mile radius of where they are now, and through a process of competitive bidding they selected this site,” he said.

Gregg said the cost per square foot to build the new facility will be $4 to $6, compared with a cost of $20 per square foot had Raypak expanded its Westlake Village location. Along with the cost savings, he said, building from scratch allows Raypak to create an ideal facility.

“This is becoming more and more something that companies are looking at, because they can’t find what they’re looking for. In this case, there just wasn’t a 240,000-square-foot building for Raypak,” Gregg said.

“There are really some inherent benefits to build-to-suit,” he said. “Companies can really design it from the inside out for specifically their needs. The trade-off is it can take 12 to 15 months before it’s ready.”