[Anonymous]

http://www.ocbj.com/industry_article_pay.asp?aID=4721554.1153483.1751594.41429403.3033701.939&aID2=134729
Printer Maker Moves Production to Mexico
Irvine’s
Printronix Inc., one of Orange County’s oldest technology companies, is
set to send the last of its local manufacturing to Mexico.Printronix,
which makes industrial printers and printing supplies for manufacturers
and retailers, said it’s set to cut 54 jobs and shutter its
manufacturing here, according to spokeswoman Karen Jensen. It plans to
keep its headquarters here.The company is looking to sell the
46,000-square-foot factory and part or all of its office complex, which
together total 187,000 square feet. If the office at 14600 Myford Road
sells, the company will look to move to another spot in the
county.“There are several options, such as selling a portion of this
building or the whole thing,” Jensen said.

Printronix has been
slowly shedding its local manufacturing work.In Irvine, it was doing
some assembly work and making printer ink, toner and thermal ribbon
paper, which allows for heat-sensitive printing instead of ink.It’s all
set to move to a factory in Nogales, a Mexican border city next to
Arizona.Printronix is set to expand its Nogales plant from 17,000
square feet to 75,000 square feet.Its corporate headquarters, sales,
marketing, finance, engineering, customer service and other
administrative functions are set to stay local.

The company was
scouting new office space but put its search on hold to see if it could
sell the building first, Jensen said.“Because of the move to Nogales
and it consuming some resources, we have stopped looking for the moment
because we don’t have a buyer,” she said.Printronix is asking for $40
million, or roughly $215 per square foot, according to real estate
CoStar Group Inc. That’s at the high end of what similar buildings are
going for.A little more than a year ago Printronix was taken private in
a $108 million buyout by San Francisco private equity firm Vector
Capital.

[Author]

March 2, 2009 at 11:41 AM