Flanked by city leaders, executives with C&D Zodiac Aerospace—one of the largest private employers in Santa Maria—announced April 12 the company is expanding into a new 82,000-square-foot building.
Tony Guy, C&D Zodiac Aerospace’s vice president and general manager, said the addition of a facility on Skyway Drive comes as a result of the airplane interior manufacturer responding to growth in the airline industry, creating the need to dedicate more space to product development.
“We’re going through a period where we’re going to mature for the next few months,” Guy said. “We’re going to move into this new building, we’re going to set up additional operations, and then we’ll grow again.”
Headquartered in Huntington Beach, C&D Zodiac opened its Santa Maria operation in 1990. The company was purchased by global corporation Zodiac Aerospace in 2005 and recently began building a line of premium “business-class” seat shells, which it installs on jets flown into Santa Maria Airport. As a result, C&D Zodiac has rapidly expanded over the past 18 months, growing from 485 employees to about 1,150, including about 150 local engineers.
According to Guy, the company will move its product development team into the new building, vacated by cosmetic dental manufacturer DenMat. Guy said C&D Zodiac Aerospace spent about a month negotiating the lease with building owner and DenMat founder Dr. Robert Ibsen. He said the company plans to stabilize production there for the next six to nine months, with a goal of a further doubling in size.
“We’re seeing what airlines are doing, we’re paying attention, and we’re positioning ourselves for the growth,” Guy explained. “We’re not going to wait until we get all the orders.”
C&D Zodiac Aerospace currently occupies four buildings in the Fair Sky Park commercial development, and its main operations will remain on Airpark Drive. Company executives said they expect to create more local jobs with the expansion, including entry-level positions—an encouraging sign for city leaders.
“This is a very large and successful business,” Santa Maria Mayor Larry Lavagnino said. “They could literally do their business anywhere in the world if they really wanted to, so we’re very appreciative of [them] being here.”
Dave Cross, president of the Santa Maria Economic Development Commission, said through the “multiplier effect,” the company adds 2 1/2 times each dollar it produces into the economy, including purchasing sheet metal from local suppliers.
“That is phenomenal for Santa Maria,” Cross told the Sun. “C&D is a terrific company, but again they’re still growing. As great as this is, we’re going to see some further growth down the road.”
Cross said the expansion is another indicator that manufacturing and industrial sectors are strengthening locally. The EDC and Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce have encouraged the company’s growth, he explained, by working to ease permitting processes.
“They’re getting more and more of their corporate work, so we need to nurture that, and help them in any way we can to improve that in our community and hopefully hire a lot more people,” Cross said. “It’s nothing but good for Santa Maria.”
This article appears in Apr 19-26, 2012.