LANCASTER – Aerospace fastener manufacturer Morton Manufacturing has selected Lancaster for its corporate headquarters, a move that is predicted to bring 300 jobs to the area.
“We hope that this change in location not only means growth for our company but growth for what we can call now our city,” said Morton Manufacturing CEO Yolanda Morton, at a press conference Thursday to announce the move.
“This is the beginning of something that is going to be explosive in the next four years,” said Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris.
Launched in 1967, Morton Manufacturing is the leading supplier of nickel-alloy bolts for gas-turbine aircraft engines. The firm, whose client list includes Rolls Royce, Pratt Whitney and General Electric, began seeking a new location last year when orders started to outstrip the production capacity of their current facility in Santa Clarita.
“We’re in a 45,000-square-foot building now with no room to move,” said Chief Operating Officer Dale Ray. “It will be a great pleasure to move out here.”
Approximately 40 percent of Morton’s existing workforce already lives in the Antelope Valley, making Lancaster an ideal site. The company’s 200 employees will relocate to the new Lancaster facility, and then Morton Manufacturing will add 100 new positions for local workers after the move.
“These new jobs will make great strides in stimulating our local economy,” said City Manager Mark Bozigian in a news release. “Because manufacturing jobs induce service jobs at an estimated 3 to 1 ratio, Morton Manufacturing’s move will not only bring 300 manufacturing jobs to Lancaster, but also support a significant number of additional jobs in the service sector. This will result in a total local economic impact of up to 1,200 jobs.”
Morton Manufacturing will build an 80,000-square-foot facility on a 10.06-acre parcel in the Lancaster Business Park near East Avenue K-15 and Business Center Parkway. The site is currently part of a 21-acre parcel, which will be subdivided by the city to create the new Morton site, as well as four additional sites.
The city will install the necessary infrastructure for the Morton site, as well as four additional parcels that will remain once the existing 21-acre site has been subdivided to accommodate Morton’s needs.
“What we’re proud of is the fact that we’re going to get four additional lots that will be available to other businesses that come to the area,” said Lancaster Economic Development Director Vern Lawson.
The relocation agreement negotiated with Morton Manufacturing must be approved by the City Council. The council will consider the agreement at its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 26.
“What we’re attempting to do is to build a city that’s going to make our children incredibly proud of us because we would have accomplished something no else has done,” said Parris. “We’re starting to see it with the solar, we’re starting to see it with Lancaster Boulevard, we’re starting to see it with this. We are in the process of creating something that is going to be truly magnificent.”
Updated 6/26/12: The City Council on June 26 unanimously (with Mayor R. Rex Parris absent) approved a development agreement to create a site for Morton Manufacturing’s new corporate headquarters. The City’s participation in the Agreement is the installation of the infrastructure to service the Morton site and to fully improve four additional lots to be sold for job creation. The engineer’s estimate for the necessary improvements is $1,950,000. Funding for this has been included in the proposed FY 2012-2013 Capital Improvement Program.
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Alex M. says
I love manufacturing firms like this. If we had a thousand other firms just like this we would be doing okay. I still think the industry needs some major renovation.
William says
Rant on, Ace. Rant on. At least we know where your hands are when you’re typing.
ryenisha jackson says
becarefull who you hire……
Pharaoh Mitchell says
What the hell is wrong with people never mind the lawsuit we have against the city of Lancaster. This is a good thing — 300 jobs that will go in our community. Can any of you say that you bought 300 jobs here in AV? This is a good thing and maybe if we all put out egos aside including me! We can focus on making the AV the great place it is and the greatest place on earth that it will become. There is nothing that we can do about to past we can only look forward to building a place where we all matter and have an investment in our community. So far as I’m concerned great job REX!
Stinger says
Agreed, Pharaoh. We all know that I am a huge detractor of Parris and his good ol’ boys, but even I have to admit that this looks like a good thing and give them kudos for this one.
(Mark your calendars for this next statement)…
Wait for it…
Stinger says: “Good Job, Parris and the City of Lancaster!”
ed says
Welcome Yolanda Morton, Bill Lynch, James Vail III, Shawn Martin, Pepito Dealday and J.R. Morton. The people of the Antelope Valley greet you with open arms and our hope that you prosper beyond your and our dreams.
Sam says
Great news! Home more businesses will move up he
david G says
i wonder how much frank visco is going to make from this.
Stinger says
Finally! Lancaster’s good old boys do something that actually sounds like a good idea! Oh, sure, they spun it beyond what benefits will actually accrue (i.e.: if 40% of their workforce of 200 is already here and they will be adding 100 jobs once opened, the benefit is not 300 new jobs), and I am a bit concerned about a heavy industrial manufacturing plant in the middle of Lancaster (i.e.: air and water pollution concerns).
All in all, though, I am pleased to see that they are finally concentrating on core level jobs that bring in money to the AV instead of just spreading around the money that is already here.
Ahexotl says
Good to see this happening! Now hopefully the stupid liberals in Sacramento wont drive this business out of California too! This state cannot afford to keep sending liberals and Democrats to the state legislature They are going to kill this state and kill our job market.
William says
Do you remember when Meg Whitman said how great California was 30+ years ago when she first came here?
Jerry Brown responded by saying “Yes. I was governor then”. He’s now trying to clean up the mess Arnold left while Obama is trying to clean up the mess Bush left. Of course, that’s beyond your ability to reason and understand.
Ahexotl says
Arnold didnt leave a mess! He was trying senselessly to reign the moronic liberals in the State legislature in! The only reason Jerry is having some success is because they share a political party but the moron Far Left liberals in his party are still chomping at the bit to raise taxes and punish businesses even more. Face it William your party has run California into the ground with all of the stupid senseless anti-business legislation. You Democrats OWN Californias budget woes!
William says
You are such a silly person. Did you read this article on a new business going in in Lancaster? Then, you talk about California’s anti-business climate. Hey, Macy’s and The Yard House opened up in Palmdale in the midst of the Bush Depression. They aren’t some little mom and pop businesses.
Just how do you keep up with Romney’s constantly changing postions? Do you have a matching ‘Etch-a-Sketch’ that you have to shake every time he shakes his so you know where he stands today? Are they synched or do you have to change yours manually? I’d love to know.
William says
Oh, I forget. Romney told Gov. Rick Scott of Florida to cool it on saying that the Florida economy is doing good cause Romney is going around the country blaming Obama for making it worse. That’s you guy, a filthy, rotten politician.
Remember the rising gas prices a couple of months ago you guys were blaming on Obama and predicting that they will get up to $8/gallon? What happened? Oh, I guess Obama fixed that and now I just saw $3.75/gallon in Palmdale. Oops.
What other nonsense are you guys going to make up next week?
Please reply as I want to hear it.
Ahexotl says
And how much longer are you and Obama going to blame Bush???? You have had 4 damn years to do something and all you have managed to do is smuggle guns across the border to Mexico and then turn around and lie about it and use your “executive privelege” to keep from being investigated. ROMNEY 2012 baby!
david G says
romney wow!! wake up or pull your head out of your ass, they are funded by the same people what makes you think anything will change. grow a brain and do some real research into the people you consider for president.
Ahexotl says
Lol! I sooooo needed advice from David Grajeda on who to pick for president. It doesnt surprise me that your a died in the wool Obama supporter. L-O-freaking-L!!!!!!! hahahhaha!!!!!!!!
William says
Well, Bush left a big, fat mess. How long do you think it was going to take Obama to turn it around after the Dow fell in roughly half, 700,000 jobs a month were being lost, the housing and auto industires collapsed, the banks needed bailing out and Bush left a 2 unpaid wars that were off-budget? 6 months? 12 months? You idiots are still blaming Carter, for crying out loud.
Don’t forget the day of his inauguration, the republicans had a meeting to plan on his defeat for re-election and they’ve been sabotaging everything he’s done since then.
Do you remember about a year or so ago, when the House republicans put a budget bill to a vote that they really didn’t want passed? They were playing games to get Democrats on the record with their votes. Well, the House Democrats voted ‘present’ and so Boehner had to keep the voting open a couple more minutes so republicans could scramble to change their ‘Yes’ votes to ‘No’ votes. That’s how filthy, rotten they are.
Bush will be blamed for many, many more years like Herbert Hoover still is for the Great Depression. But, you cons have short memories cause Romney would make another big, fat mess of things and then lie about it.
Hmm says
WAA WAA WAA, lets all blame Bush almost 4 years later. Freakin idiots need to pull their heads out relise Obama isn’t the answer either!
William says
WAA WAA WAA. Why, that’s what the republicans have been doing since Obama was elected. The poor babies have had a 3 1/2 year temper tantrum.
The thing is, if Obama is re-elected the republican tea partiers will become dangerous. They are already going over edge but that will have them burst into flames on the way down.
Mark my words. I’m sure they will begin impeachment hearings in January 2013 on some made up fantasy of theirs. What will it be, the birth certificate, executive privilege, a bad golf swing? You know them tea party republicans. They is insane.
William says
Once again, you need to keep up with the news and I don’t mean Fox News. The gun running began during the Bush years around 2007. Eric Holder stopped it when told about it from an ATF guy. Now, Darryl Issa refuses to have the ATF guy testify cause they are on a witch-hunt with Holder and Obama.
I’m hoping that the documents that Holder is withholding actually incriminate the Bush White House. Obama is clever and might be setting a trap for the dumb republicans. It’s like he’s playing tug-of-war with Issa and he just might let go of his end of the rope and Issa will fall on his ass.
Remember how Obama screwed Donald Trump the same weekend he got bin Laden while not breaking a sweat at the Correspondent’s Dinner?
He just screwed Romney and Rubio with his immigration speech Friday.
He’s driven the tea party republicans stark raving mad. They don’t know which end is up.
BTW Are you also a ‘birther’? They are the real nutjobs in your party.