Made in the Victor Valley, CA
Learn how companies manufacturing goods as diverse as home furnishings, beverages, pet food, precision rubber products and parts for the aircraft, aerospace and motorsports industries are finding success in the Victor Valley.
Companies manufacturing goods as diverse as home furnishings, beverages, pet food, detergents, precision plastics and metals, and advanced components for leading industries are finding success in the Victor Valley.
The region’s favorable regulatory environment, affordable land and labor, a skilled workforce and convenient access to markets make it a leading location for manufacturers of all sizes. Some of the nation’s best known brands are made in the Victor Valley. Dr Pepper Snapple Group produces more than 40 million cases of soft drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and energy drinks for its brands at the Southern California Logistics Centre (SCLC) in Victorville. Plastikpak, which supplies plastic bottles to Dr Pepper, also operates out of SCLC, along with United Furniture Industries, a maker of sofas, recliners, sectionals and other furniture for the Simmons Upholstery brand.
“Victorville is one of the most cost-effective places to do business in California,” says Sophie L. Smith, head of the economic development division for the City of Victorville.
Manufacturers benefit from spacious industrial sites, low-cost utilities and a pro-growth attitude in the area, Smith says, as well as Victorville’s 5,000-acre Global Access development, which encompasses SCLC and the Southern California Logistics Airport (SCLA) located at the former George Air Force Base. The site provides manufacturers with access to an industrial and logistics facility with global reach. SCLA has runways with lengths of 15,050 feet and 9,138 feet, and can accommodate the world’s largest aircraft.
Victor Valley Takes the Lead With Pro-Business Climate
“Approximately 2,000 manufacturing jobs have been created at SCLC since its development into a 2,500-square-foot industrial site,” says Anita Tuckerman, VP of asset services and corporate relations for Stirling Development, which was selected to redevelop the property.
Along with providing manufacturers with cost-effective space to grow their operations, the Victor Valley is known for its technically trained workforce and strong workforce development programs.
“Through San Bernardino County and other education programs, this area offers customized and subsidized training programs to ensure that local employees have the specialized skill sets needed,” says Tuckerman, who serves on the San Bernardino County Workforce Development Board.
These advantages provide a major draw for top corporations like Church & Dwight, which makes and distributes XTRA laundry detergent and Arm & Hammer clumping cat litter from the rail-served Foxborough Industrial Park, and the Nutro Company, which produces all-natural pet food there for its Nutro brand.
Beyond the Brand Names
Manufacturing expertise runs deep in the Victor Valley, which has long been known as a top center for concrete production and also supports an ever growing base of advanced industries. One company that has enjoyed decades of success in the region is Product Systems Engineering, which fabricates and produces precision plastic and metal components in Victorville for a variety of industrial customers, including semiconductor makers.
“We have a state-of-the-art CNC machine shop and have always enjoyed doing business in the Victor Valley,” says Derek Beck, general manager at Product Systems Engineering. “Our company has been here 50-plus years providing engineering, machining, fabrication and assembly expertise to customers here and in Northern California, and out of state.”
Manufacturers of all sizes thrive in the region, including homegrown firms like Reid Products Inc., which manufactures fasteners, pins and other products in Apple Valley for the aircraft, aerospace and motorsports industries, and Telexca, which supplies composite-based aircraft components to commercial and military aircraft makers.
Victor Valley Technology Conserves Energy, Water
The Victor Valley is also home to innovators like Exquadrum, a leading maker of defense technologies, and Jayco Industries LLC, developer of the Letter Locker – a patented locking mailbox for homes and businesses that Jayco manufactures in Apple Valley. Kazz Molds, Inc. in Hesperia has been producing hardware and custom plastics products for more than 20 years for customers like Xerox, Rubbermaid and Telecom. In Adelanto, Scott Turbon Mixer makes stainless steel mixers and mixing systems for food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and chemical industries worldwide. The company is a leading producer of mixers for salad dressings and sauces. The Victor Valley’s affordability was a key draw for founder Bill Scott, who relocated the business to the area from Los Angeles more than 20 years ago.
“This is a place where a skilled worker can make a good living and own a nice home,” Scott says.
Operating in the Victor Valley has put firms like DeVoll’s Rubber Products on a trajectory of fast growth. The manufacturer, which produces rubber extrusions and gaskets used in door seals, electrical enclosures and ovens, as well as tubing for agricultural, pharmaceutical and automotive industries, has flourished since moving to Adelanto in 2008.
“Shipping manufactured goods locally or internationally, we can expect short shipment times and few delays,” says President John DeVoll. “In addition to this, we have found the city of Adelanto to be quite welcoming and accommodating, which seem to be traits shared by most of the communities here in the Victor Valley.”