Download the 2011 SFV’s LARGEST MANUFACTURING COMPANIES list (pdf) Some of the San Fernando Valley region’s largest manufacturing companies brought more jobs last year to the area where aviation and aerospace manufacturing have a stronghold. The region’s top manufacturing employer was Northrop Grumman Corp. with 4,300 employees at its Woodland Hills, Palmdale and Van Nuys facilities in 2010. That shows higher local employment for the company than in 2009, when there were 4,114 local employees. One contributing factor has been increased employment levels at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Palmdale. “We have been adding people over the last three or four years in Palmdale,” said Jim Hart, spokesman for the Palmdale unit. He added that the increases can be linked to the growing F-35 aircraft program. “It’s an aircraft program that’s moving into higher rates of production now and that’s a big part of what we’ve been doing in Palmdale,” he said. Chatsworth-based Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne came in second with 1,950 local employees last year, compared to 2,200 employees the previous year. The change reflects layoffs and retirements that occurred at the company within the past year as government spending on aerospace has been scaled back. Other top local manufacturing employers included Boeing, Micro Solutions Enterprises and Anthony International. In 2010, Boeing increased its local employee count by 174 employees, Micro Solutions Enterprises increased by 26 and Anthony International increased by 11. While San Fernando Valley region’s largest manufacturing companies employ hundreds to thousands of people locally, most of the area’s top 45 manufacturing companies are much smaller in size. Forty-seven-percent of the companies had 100 employees or less last year, while 24 percent having between 100 and 250 employees. About a third of the area’s largest manufacturing companies service the aviation and aerospace markets. Those include industry giants such as Northrop Grumman Corp. and Boeing, along with smaller companies that make aircraft components, such as Crane Aerospace & Electronics, Forrest Machining and Aero Engineering. Diversification Some of companies that service industry also work in other markets in order to maintain a competitive balance. Burbank-based Centerpoint Manufacturing makes aircraft landing gear hinge pins along with oil drilling bits, medical drilling components and automotive components. “One of the things we think has made us successful is we’ve now gone and expanded our horizons with getting more customers,” said John Rotunno, president of the family business that was founded in 1966. Other manufacturing companies on the top-45 list include those that make electronic devices, alternative power sources, industrial products, equipment for the entertainment industry, and other general retail products. A couple of the companies make beauty supplies, including Star Nail in Valencia, and Sexy Hair Concepts and Neutraderm, both located in Chatsworth. Makers of scientific products include IRIS International, which makes medical diagnostics and sample processing products, and Photo Research Inc., which makes instruments that measure light and color. The top companies had the highest concentrations in Chatsworth, Simi Valley and Valencia. Those communities were home to 18 percent, 13 percent and 11 percent of the companies, respectively. Download the 2011 SFV’s LARGEST MANUFACTURING COMPANIES list (pdf)
Some Manufacturing Employers Gain Workers in Region
