ITT Corp. Split Results in Jobs for Valencia Facility

The break up of ITT Corp. into separate companies will result in the relocation of machining and assembly jobs to Valencia from a factory in Mexico. ITT Aerospace Controls, a Valencia division of the electronics components manufacturer, is hiring about 35 new employees to support its industrial switch business. A job fair the company held earlier this month attracted more than 400 people. While relocating jobs is good for the Santa Clarita Valley, it is not indicative of a pattern seen by manufacturing industry experts, particularly in California where there has been a heavy loss of manufacturing jobs in the past decade. ITT Aerospace employs about 440 people at the Valencia facility, drawing its employees from the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys. For the transferred positions, the company was looking for people with experience in a manufacturing setting, said Ann Fernandes, the head of human resources. “Assembly requires certain skills, such as reading blueprints, soldering and putting together small parts,” Fernandes said. “On the machines that does require extensive experience in CNC machining.” ITT Aerospace Controls makes pressure and temperature switches used on processing equipment for the chemical, petroleum and energy markets, and valves, actuators, and switches for the aerospace industry. The company has been in Valencia since 1994. The type of manufacturing done by ITT Aerospace has been a bright spot for the Santa Clarita Valley, said Josh Mann, manager of business retention and marketing for the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corp. Across the board, manufacturers supplying aerospace and defense work have been receiving more work that has led to some hiring, Mann said. In recent months, Santa Clarita Valley companies, including Cicoil Corp., a high-flex cable manufacturer, and Woodward HRT, maker of motion control systems, received a contract to supply parts for a U.S. Navy and Air Force missile program. Lamsco West Inc. won a contract to make parts for a Boeing Co. tanker. “I am hoping it is indicative of great things to happen as we emerge out of the downturn,” Mann said. ITT restructuring creates local jobs A corporate restructuring was the reason for transferring the jobs to the U.S. ITT Corp. spun off its water-related businesses and defense and information segment into separate companies earlier this year. The control systems division, which includes ITT Aerospace Controls, remains under the parent ITT Corp. Xylem, the new water company, took over the Chihuahua, Mexico, facility that the company had been using to make its parts, said Alan Gilden, director of operations in Valencia. That resulted in the transfer of the assembly and machining jobs. At 200,000 square feet, the Valencia location can absorb the new work. “We are using all available space,” Gilden said. “We are making sure we are optimizing from a lean perspective to free up production space.” The equipment used in Mexico will be brought to Valencia plant for refurbishment, Gilden added. Company officials did not know what to expect from the job fair on Oct. 8, but were pleased by the 450 people who attended. About 50 of the applicants were qualified for the open manufacturing positions and now are going through the interview and selection process, Fernandes said. “Most of the hourly positions will be filled by the individuals who came through the job fair,” Fernandes said. The company is also looking to fill more highly-skilled engineering, sales and product management positions, she added. While the hiring is good for the Santa Clarita Valley and the workers getting the job, it is not a pattern seen in the industry, said Gino DiCaro, spokesman for the California Manufacturing & Technology Association. California continues to lose out to other states and countries when it comes to manufacturing jobs even with advantages such as climate and an educated workforce that can fill research and development positions, DiCaro said. The trade group tracks new and expanded manufacturing companies and found that California is worst in the nation per capita, DiCaro said. Over the past four years there have been four new or expanded manufacturers in the state per one million people. The national average is 40 new or expanded manufacturers per one million people, DiCaro said. “That tells the story,” DiCaro added. ”New investment in California has a long way to go to replace those jobs lost over the last decade.”