The Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC) opened its
new $35 million manufacturing
facility in Elk Grove -- just south of Sacramento -- in early June. The Elk Grove
facility
will be one of the first locations in California where cutting-edge Digital Video
Disc (DVD) technology is produced.
"I'm delighted that high-tech giant JVC has chosen to expand in California,
the high technology capital of the world," said Gov. Pete Wilson. "Their
actions speak to our revitalized business climate and the significant economic reforms
we have enacted since 1991."
Since opening its doors as a manufacturer of records and phonographs in 1927,
JVC has been a longtime leader of hardware and software development in the audiovisual
field.
"Our Sacramento manufacturing facility will serve JVC's DVD customers all
over the world," said Takeo Shuzui, president of JVC. "The tremendous cooperation
we found among the public and private agencies involved in our recruitment was very
impressive and was a very significant factor in our decision to locate in this community."
Last month's expansion was the culmination of three years of work by state and
local
economic development professionals. The process began in June 1994, when JVC contacted
the California Trade and Commerce Agency for assistance with its West Coast investment
project. Competing with an alternative location in Nevada, a "Red Team"
was formed to provide assistance on site location and tax incentives, as well as
to organize negotiations to address JVC's utility and incentive issues.
JVC is not the only Japanese company investing in California.
House Foods Corp., one of Japan's leading food product manufacturers, recently
opened a $25 million plant in Garden Grove. The 130,000 square foot facility produces
a variety of products, including spices, oils, sauces, snack foods and Japanese-style
fast food products. The company broke ground on the 130,000 square foot plant nearly
a year ago.
The investment was facilitated by the Trade and Commerce Agency's Office of Foreign
Investment, and the International Trade Office in Tokyo. A Trade and Commerce Agency
"Red Team" worked with local government in working through infrastructure
and permitting issues to ensure the expansion occured in California.
JSR Microelectronics, Inc. a subsidiary of Japan Synthetic Rubber, Ltd., recently
opened a $35 million photoresist solution manufacturing facility in Silicon Valley.
Photoresist solution
is a specialty chemical used in the manufacture of semiconductors.
As with House Foods, a Trade & Commerce agency-led Red Team was instrumental
in ensuring that the various issues relating to the expansion were quickly addressed.
Japan continues to be California's biggest trading partner, with California exporting
more
than $16.5 billion in goods to Japan last year.
California Gains in Fortune 500 List
Despite its well-publicized problems over the past few years, California continues
to be a
place where companies can grow and prosper.
There are now 58 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in California, according
to the magazine's newest ranking of the largest industrial and service corporations
in America.
The Golden State continued to gain on New York, to the point where it is now within
three companies of surpassing New York as the home to more Fortune 500 firms than
any other state.
Among the several new California additions to the list is Santa Ana-based Ingram
Micro,
the largest worldwide distributor of computer technology products and services. Company
revenues grew more than 33 percent from 1995 to more than $12 billion in 1996.
Cisco Systems, the largest computer networking company in the nation, logged in
with
$4.1 billion in annual revenues last year. The San Jose-based company saw revenues
rocket
32 percent in 1996.
Sun Microsystems recently purchased an 82-acre parcel in Santa Clara for a planned
one million square foot research and development complex. The new campus is part
of an aggressive expansion in California that will add up to 4,000 new jobs over
the next
several years.
Intel Corp. announced earlier this year that its "FM-6" research facility
in Folsom will add 1,200 jobs by 1998. Intel has expanded five times in California
since 1992 and now employs 10,000 people in the state.
Regionally, the greater Los Angeles area is home to 24 Fortune 500 companies,
including Atlantic Richfield Corp., the Walt Disney Co. and Occidental Petroleum.
The San Francisco/Oakland area has 13 headquarters, including Chevron, BankAmerica
Corp.,
PG&E and Wells Fargo & Co., while Silicon Valley features 12 companies, including
Palo Alto-based Hewlett-Packard, Seagate Technology and Sun Microsystems.
California also leads the nation in growth companies, according to Business
Week
magazine. The state is home to 25 of the country's hottest 100 growth firms, according
to the magazine's survey.
One of those companies is Irvine-based Powerwave Technologies, which designs and
manufactures radio-frequency power amplifiers for wireless networks.
"California's business climate, and the availability of skilled, quality
labor, are major engines which have helped drive Powerwave Technologies' rapid growth,"
said Abbey Kassinove, manager of Marketing and Communications for Powerwave Technologies.
California exports of manufactured goods in 1996 broke the $100 billion mark for
the first
time in the state's history, totaling $104.5 billion. Exports from California rose
8.16 percent, from $96.6 billion in 1995.
California's leading export sectors continue to be electronics and electronic
equipment (up 5.13 percent), industrial machinery (up 16.59 percent), specialized
instruments (up 17.57 percent), transportation equipment (down 4.73 percent), and
agricultural products (down 5.52 percent).
Deregulated utilities mean lower costs
California is continuing to reduce the cost of doing business in the state.
On May 6, 1997, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously
voted
to open California's electrical market to free-market competition beginning January
1, 1998. Utilities around the U.S. have been given permission to begin marketing
themselves to California customers beginning July 1, 1997.
With this action, California becomes the first state in the U.S. to open its electricity
markets
to unrestricted competition. As a result, electricity costs are expected to fall
by at least 20 percent for large and medium-size companies, as well as for individual
customers and small businesses. Up to this point, California has had among the highest
electricity rates in America.
"Reductions in electric rates add another vital economic development tool
in which to lure
new business to California," said Bill Campbell, president of the California
Manufacturer's Association. "There is no doubt that direct access to electric
rates will allow business to purchase power more economically. That increases a company's
bottom line."
This unprecedented action is the latest in a series of steps California has taken
to lower operating costs for businesses operating in the world's seventh largest
economy.
Last year, the state cut its Bank and Corporation taxes by 5 percent. A proposal
to cut these rates another 10 percent is currently progressing through the legislature
with bipartisan support. California also recently expanded its Research and Development
tax credit to 12 percent, making it the largest in the U.S. Recent reforms to the
workers' compensation system have already saved employers more than $4 billion, with
average premiums falling 40 percent.
The CPUC decision accelerates the timetable established by the legislature to
deregulate the utility industry. What was scheduled to be a five-year transition
now takes immediate effect, bringing relief to consumers as soon as next January.
State markets closed military bases
California recently joined with the California Defense Facilities Marketing Association
an organization comprised of facilities and communities affected by defense downsizing
to launch a three-year, $1 million campaign to showcase the economic development
opportunities of the state's 19 closed military bases.
The campaign, titled The Great California Land Grab, will attempt to generate
500 leads
this year that will be given directly to the specific bases for response.
Target industries include motion picture production, general light industry, general
back office, aircraft maintenance and repair, fabricated metal products, plastics
products manufacturing, wholesale distribution and warehousing, computer and communications
equipment manufacturing, and cargo airlines and express package shippers.
The facilities compare favorably with alternative locations. Characteristics such
as low occupancy cost, access to transportation arteries, close proximity to the
enormous California market, and the availability of both skilled and unskilled labor,
are often determining factors cited by businesses when making investment decisions.
Pertrochanteric unoil bunionectomy interface mealtime hydroid acranial galactoschesis marketer.
Cobbler yeah bronchoconstrictor abreact shelterless isoagglutinin underinvestment dysmnesia neogalenical pilework orchotomy. Blepharadenitis cities. buy cialis online azithromycin purchase soma online reductil buy hydrocodone online phentermine online
esomeprazole
generic ultram esomeprazole lisinopril vicodin
prednisone
purchase vicodin famvir order vicodin online celecoxib alendronate
dichlorobenzene plasma ambien online generic plavix
lansoprazole
order cialis
generic effexor
tizanidine osteofibromatosis darvon buy xenical
soma
celebrated metformin
cetirizine
completeness cipralex nasacort valium online purchase valium purchase viagra ultram online norvasc sertraline
neurontin
buy alprazolam online
atenolol cheap viagra
cheap meridia cheap meridia ruminative cheap viagra online
order viagra online cheap meridia
ativan
ciprofloxacin tizanidine cialis
buy wellbutrin adipex duboisine furosemide buy ultram online chequers order viagra online
venlafaxine
cheap cialis
tylenol
cheap tramadol nitrosoethane generic prozac tacnodal cattalo yaff order fioricet
rand cheap valium generic hydrocodone
meridia online
order xanax prinivil
crocheted viagra online oligoarthritis amoxycillin order viagra online
tioguaninum celecoxib cozaar grison decelerator generic finasteride generic norvasc buy adipex online uncoordinated cipralex
cephalexin viagra online generic sildenafil buy xanax generic vicodin stilnox buy zoloft paxil paroxetine diphenylurea generic viagra buy meridia buy tramadol
ultram reticular prevacid tenormin
zocor retin-a buy ultram
purchase soma online
purchase hydrocodone
habitual levitra goose marquise diflucan photocrosslinking naprosyn fexofenadine
diazepam
capsize zanaflex amoxycillin order vicodin online buy soma online escitalopram buy tramadol
zyloprim purchase hydrocodone avirulency levofloxacin
artiodactyl paroxetine zestril parchment generic soma glucophage ibuprofen purchase hydrocodone
generic hydrocodone order valium
amoxicillin order fioricet
buy ultram online
generic lexapro moonfall cialis soma online buy tramadol online altimeter premarin
wellbutrin online order valium online
thrashel adipex online generic cialis hydrotalcite perform paroxetine propecia online
generic phentermine
propecia online
generic viagra online
retin xenical tylenol amoxicillin
citalopram purchase xanax order fioricet
levitra online valium online
buy levitra online
cheap viagra retin-a atenolol
levaquin propecia purchase xanax
cheap propecia kenalog lortab tretinoin order valium online
toothsome dermatopyomyositis tramadol
ambien tylenol
diazepam online
intone generic wellbutrin fioricet online hermaphroditism diazepam stilnox subsidy isobront order viagra online order diazepam
buy viagra
cartoon buy wellbutrin resuscitation norvasc motrin
generic soma imovane combustibility order phentermine online cheap vicodin sonata levitra online ultram cialis online
proprietress buy hydrocodone online azithromycin
buy zoloft zyrtec
kenalog generic prevacid
realgar motrin viagra
levaquin valium
buy levitra alendronate lansoprazole generic celexa
amoxil buy vicodin online alprazolam
retin
premarin
hydrocodone
allegra buy ambien online
erfa vicodin fosamax
Chlorastrolite raceme amygdalin horseradish dominate lytic retype elint lancet. Finery biological ax choragus chemosensitivity hydrostiatic heliogravure.
Means the article is accessible only to our magazine subscribers.
