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The Long Beach Business Journal presents a special section on the Westside Industrial Area in its August 13 issue.
Citation preview
Focus On The WestsideIndustrial Area
1_LBBJ_Aug13_SectionB_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 8/11/13 7:25 PM Page 1
� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER
Staff Writer
Long Beach is a city known for its
neighborhoods, each with a sig-
nature personality, from
Cambodia Town to Retro Row. In this
quilt-like network of neighborhoods,
the Westside has been regarded by
some as a stepchild overlooked by the
City of Long Beach. Even so, the rich
history of the Westside is rooted in the
origins of the International City, and its
industries have supported the local
economy for more than 100 years.
When the Port of Long Beach was
founded in 1911, it didn’t take long for
businesses to crop up alongside it. The
oil rush of greater Long Beach, immor-
talized in Upton Sinclair’s novel, Oil!,
also contributed to the influx of indus-
try to the area. Some of the original
businesses are still there today –
Phillips Steel, for example, was
founded in 1915 and is still fully oper-
ational under the Phillips family.
In the throes of World War II, the
United States Navy purchased 100
acres of land on Terminal Island and
founded a naval shipyard for the
upkeep and repair of its war-worn fleet.
Pat Cullen, owner of Westside business
Dion & Sons, Inc., grew up on Caspian
Avenue, just north of Pacific Coast
Highway (PCH) and recalled the pres-
ence of the Navy as having defined the
area for decades.
Nancy McCrabb’s father founded
Cowelco Steel Contractors in the
Westside in 1947, shortly after World
War II’s end. Apart from the metal
work, machinery and oil-related busi-
nesses generated by the port, much of
what she remembers from that time
are barefooted children running
through the dirt roads to and from
their homes and “shanties” nestled
among naval housing.
By the 1970s, the Westside remained
largely unchanged in appearance.
Although the area running from
Anaheim Street to PCH was full to the
brim with industry, it was lacking the
basic infrastructure needs that were at
that point complete in most other parts
of the city – features like street lights,
pavement, sidewalks and gutters.
The dusty roads McCrabb and
Cullen remembered from childhood
were still dusty. Septic tanks could be
found throughout the alleyways, Cullen
recalled, because of a lack of sewer
service. Tony Rivera, chair of the
Westside Project Area Council (for-
merly the Project Area Committee),
expressed a sentiment felt among the
Westside business community at that
time: “It was like a little piece of land
forgotten to everybody.”
In July 1975, the Westside
Redevelopment Area and its community
advisory committee, the Westside
Project Area Committee (PAC) were
formed to utilize state Redevelopment
Agency funds to improve the area. The
THE WESTSIDE INDUSTRIAL AREA2 Long Beach Business Journal August 13-26, 2013
MAGNOLIA
INDUSTRIAL
GROUP
MAGNOLIA
INDUSTRIAL
GROUPWESTSIDE PROJECT AREA
WEST PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY
WEST ANAHEIM STREET
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WESTSIDE PROJECT AREA
Special ThanksA special thank you to the followingcompanies whose advertisementsmade this section possible:
A.D.S. PaperThe Berns CompanyCity Foods WholesaleColdwell Banker Commercial BlairWestmac/Jack Warshauer
Crosby & Overton, Inc Hi-Standard ManufacturingINCO CommercialLee & AssociatesLiNKS Sign Language & Interpreting Services
Long Beach Rescue MissionPhillips Steel CompanySav-On-SignsSnugtopSpot Lighting SuppliesTell SteelPhotographsAll photographs by the Business Journal’sThomas McConville.
CoverThe water tower at the Snug Top facilitiesstands out as a landmark for the city’sWestside industrial area.
A Westside Story: Community Involvement Shapes The Westside Industrial Area And Business Community
1_LBBJ_Aug13_SectionB_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 8/11/13 7:25 PM Page 2
PAC was made up of community mem-
bers eager to see the use of these funds
to ensure the well-being of the Westside.
According to Jane Kelleher, vice
chair of the Westside Project Area
Council, the Long Beach
Redevelopment Agency (RDA)
decided to take the Westside through
eminent domain and redevelop the
land, thereby forcing out existing busi-
nesses. About a month after the RDA
was founded, Westside businesses sued
over the issue.
“Westsiders believed the city
intended to raze the Westside through
the use of eminent domain,” Kelleher
told the Business Journal. Cullen said
the plan was to use the land for large
developments.
Ultimately, the Westside won the bat-
tle in 1981. “It was the California
Supreme Court that ruled that the city
was wrong,” Cullen said. The court also
ruled that the Westside PAC, which had
been defunded by this time, must
“remain intact through the entire life of
the project area,” Kelleher explained.
The RDA Westside Project Area was
bounded by the Terminal Island
Freeway, the 710 Freeway, PCH and
Anaheim Street – the industrial hub of
the city. A Westside tax increment, a
method of funding that uses tax gains
to subsidize private or public projects,
was also established to help fund area
improvements.
Cullen and Kelleher said that rela-
tions remained contentious through the
’80s and ’90s when the city and RDA
“borrowed against” the Westside’s tax
increment funds to spend in other areas
of the city.
THE WESTSIDE INDUSTRIAL AREAAugust 13-26, 2013 Long Beach Business Journal 3
Daryl Phillips, president of Phillips Steel Co., is a third generation operator of his family business, which was founded in 1915. Phillips poses in front of thePhillips Steel Co. location at 1368 W. Anaheim St. For more information, call 562/435-7571 or email [email protected].
(Please continue to next page)
1_LBBJ_Aug13_SectionB_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 8/11/13 7:25 PM Page 3
According to Kelleher, Westside tax
increment funds were spent on Long
Beach Convention Center improve-
ments and used to fund the Los Altos
Market Center on Bellflower
Boulevard. “We started our own law-
suit against the city for not spending
the money here,” Cullen explained.
Again, the Westside won.
According to Kelleher, however, to
this date about 99 percent of the tax
increment funds taken from the
Westside have yet to be repaid.
Despite these legal roadblocks, the
Westside PAC successfully advocated
for paved streets, sidewalks, gutters
and street lighting. According to
Cullen, much of these infrastructure
needs were not in place when he took
over Dion & Sons in 1986. By 1989,
they were mostly complete.
Rivera, who has been involved in the
PAC for 10 years, said the visible trans-
formation of the area was readily
apparent. Gone were the dusty roads
and seaside shanties of the ’40s. While
many businesses now say the area still
has many infrastructure needs, the
Westside PAC is frequently referenced
for its contributions to modernizing the
area and providing basic needs.
Much to the dismay of nearly every
company the Business Journal reached
out to, the Westside PAC was defunded
with the dissolution of the state rede-
velopment program. It now functions
as non-profit Westside Project Area
Council rather than a committee, and
relies upon donations to continue its
efforts. Although it is perhaps less
THE WESTSIDE INDUSTRIAL AREA4 Long Beach Business Journal August 13-26, 2013
Current boardmembers of the Westside Project Area Council (PAC) visit a mural in the Westside industrial area on the corner of Cowles Street and CaspianAvenue. The Westside PAC was founded in 1975 as a community advisory committee to the Westside redevelopment area and now operates as a nonprofitorganization. Pictured from left are: Paul Collins, Westside PAC treasurer and owner of architecture company PAC Design; Jane Kelleher, vice chair ofWestside PAC and president of Sav-On Signs; and Tony Rivera, chair of the Westside PAC and owner of Easy Roll Off Services.
1_LBBJ_Aug13_SectionB_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 8/11/13 7:25 PM Page 4
active than it once was, its efforts are
apparent all across the Westside,
including in the Snugtop water tower it
helped put in place, which now serves
as a landmark for the area.
Magnolia Industrial GroupThe Westside industrial area (refer to
accompanying map) extends east of the
Long Beach Freeway to an area now
referred to as the Magnolia Industrial
Group (MIG), which is a Property and
Business Improvement District (PBID).
The PBID is the area bounded by the
710 Freeway to the west, San Francisco
Avenue to the east, PCH to the north
and Anaheim Street to the south. (A
PBID is formed through consent of
more than 50 percent of the area’s prop-
erty owners to submit to a fee based
upon the size of their property. That fee
is used to fund PBID activities.)
Although the business activity is sim-
ilar, the MIG is separate from the
Westside Project Area Council. The two
areas combined represent about 700
businesses and thousands of direct jobs.
By the late 1990s, crime was a major
concern within the MIG, according to
Bill Townsend, president of the group
and a principal and boardmember with
INCO Company. Among the issues
were prostitution, theft, littering and
graffiti. Part of the concern of MIG
businesses was that the police were
stretched thin and unable to provide the
security the area needed.
“There was a recycling center in the
center of the MIG, and people were liter-
ally stealing metal off buildings and tak-
ing it to the recycling center,” Townsend
told the Business Journal. “It was terri-
ble.” In 1996, after many of the property
owners decided they needed to take con-
trol of the crime situation before it got
out of hand, Townsend helped form the
PBID. The intention was for property
owners to pay to provide private security
to help reduce crime.
Michael Zupanovich, president of
Harbor Diesel and Equipment (d.b.a.
HD Industries) and treasurer of the
PBID, said having private security is
“the No. 1 thing” that has helped
improve the MIG area.
“The proof is that it’s working,”
Townsend said. “The crime rate is low.”
After MIG was formed, the Long
Beach Police Department’s West
Division opened on Santa Fe Avenue,
contributing to the decrease in crime.
The PBID has been reestablished a
few times over the past decade and a
half. Last month, it was reestablished
for another 10-year period with 77.36
percent of property owners in favor. The
majority approval, according to
Townsend, is more proof that local busi-
ness owners feel the PBID is working.
The industries and businesses making
up Westside Long Beach have, as Cullen
said, fought “tooth and nail” to ensure
the Westside’s prosperity and well-
being, so that it may continue to serve as
an economic engine for the city. �
THE WESTSIDE INDUSTRIAL AREAAugust 13-26, 2013 Long Beach Business Journal 5
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WESTSIDE INDUSTRIALLONG BEACH EXPERTS
Members of the Magnolia Industrial Group (MIG) Property and Business Improvement District (PBID)pose for a photo in the MIG area. From left are: Bill Townsend, president of the PBID andprincipal/boardmember of INCO Commercial; Mike Zupanovich, treasurer of the PBID and presidentof HD Industries; and Mike’s father, Jim Zupanovich, boardmember of the PBID and CEO of HDIndustries. MIG was formed in 1997 to provide private security to businesses within its borders.
1_LBBJ_Aug13_SectionB_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 8/11/13 7:25 PM Page 5
� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER
Staff Writer
Since the Port of Long Beach was
founded in 1911, industries
including metal fabrication,
manufacturing and oil have dominated
the Westside industrial area. Many
Westside companies are family owned
and date back more than 50 years.
Proximity to the port and two major
freeways makes the area an ideal loca-
tion for businesses in these industries.
Jane Kelleher, vice chair of the
Westside Project Area Council (PAC),
said the Westside industrial area is a
“huge” asset to the city for its tax rev-
enues and high-paying jobs. Tony
Rivera, chair of the Westside PAC,
said much of the same and estimated
that Westside workers earn as much as
$40 an hour.
Almost any company located within
the Westside industrial area and the
property and business improvement
district, Magnolia Industrial Group
(MIG), can discuss how the recession
hit Westside businesses hard. Those that
have made it through, many of which
are owned and operated by second- or
third-generation family members,
attribute their survival and successes to
diversification and perseverance.
Steel And Metal WorkMany Westside companies in the
metalworking industry have had to
diversify their services and service
areas to sustain and build their busi-
nesses through the decades.
Phillips Steel Co. is one of the oldest
metalwork companies in the Westside
and the city. It was founded in 1915 by
Paul Phillips, grandfather of current
third-generation owner, Daryl Phillips.
According to Phillips, the business
operates quite differently than it did in
the days of his grandfather.
“In effect, we were the first recycling
center in the City of Long Beach,
although it wasn’t called recycling
then. It was scrap metal, in those days,”
Phillips explained. Over the years, the
Phillips family noticed their cus-
tomers’ needs changing.
“We had people coming in selling us
their scrap metals, asking where they
THE WESTSIDE INDUSTRIAL AREA6 Long Beach Business Journal August 13-26, 2013
Historic AndFamily OperatedBusinessesSurvive AndThrive In WestsideIndustrial Area
1_LBBJ_Aug13_SectionB_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 8/11/13 7:25 PM Page 6
can buy materials for their own manu-
facturing needs,” Phillips said. Phillips
Steel began a division to meet those
needs in 1970. The company now deals
in steel, stainless steel, aluminum and
galvanized metal, and also sells related
tools and parts.
Another way long-standing compa-
nies have survived economic ups and
downs has been by expanding physical
service areas. Tell Steel, which sold its
first piece of steel in 1959, is one such
company. “The biggest change is the
diversity of area we cover now,” Greg
Moore, president of Tell Steel, told the
Business Journal.
Thirty years ago, Moore said Tell Steel
was “more entrenched” in local business
because of the plethora of machine
shops and shipyards in the area, many of
which have gone by the wayside. “We
had to diversify. Now we’ve got about a
60-mile radius we hit.”
Cowelco Steel Contractors, a
women-owned and third-generation
family business, is one such company.
According to Nancy McCrabb, former
president and daughter of the com-
pany’s founder, Cowelco was down to
10 employees during the most recent
recession. “We are up to 50 now. Most
every one is full time,” she noted,
adding that about 30 percent of them
live in Long Beach.
Founded in 1947, Cowelco blos-
somed through its work building por-
tions of Disneyland in the 1960s.
Tamery McCrabb, current Cowelco
president and Nancy McCrabb’s
daughter, said she has memories of
her grandfather talking about walking
through the amusement park with
Walt Disney, himself.
The younger McCrabb explained
that, while she has experienced “a slow
rebound” from the recession, the com-
pany “is moving in the right direction.”
Moore said his business is improving
as well. “This year we’re talking about
booking orders going forward,” while in
the recession sales had been flat, he said.
Tell Steel employs 48 people full time.
Now that the recession is ebbing,
Phillips is optimistic too. “We see a lot
of opportunity on the horizon,” he said.
Machinery, Parts And PetroleumWestside companies in the machinery
and parts industries also diversified to
beat the recession and adapt to changing
times, including Cavanaugh Machine
Works (CMW). CMW was founded in
1948 and moved to Long Beach around
1997. According to CMW President
John Wells, the business originally
focused on ship repair but changed
course to keep up with the times.
“[Today] we have a really large heavy
machine shop and fabricating com-
pany, and we manufacture parts for
container cranes and container han-
dling equipment,” Wells said. He attrib-
utes the company’s “booming” busi-
ness to its diversification.
CMW currently employs 30 people,
and has been hiring more. “One of the
interesting things we did in the last year
or so was to fabricate all the support
steel to move the [Endeavour] space
shuttle,” Wells said.
THE WESTSIDE INDUSTRIAL AREAAugust 13-26, 2013 Long Beach Business Journal 7
The Berns Co., a family ownedbusiness operating in theWestside since 1956, and serv-ing the material handling,heavy equipment, forestry, min-ing and railway industries islocated at 1250 W. 17th St.Steven Berns, second genera-tion owner of The Berns Co.,poses with many of his employ-ees, including a few of his fam-ily members. Pictured, backrow, from left are: ChristinaWinn, Silvia Quezada, HelenWarren, Steven Berns, BrettBerns, Lewis Mangold, GaryKirpluk, Jaime Guia, DanSeymour and Jose Nepita.Front row from left are: SergioGuia, Jaime Jr Guerrero, KamKhuzaie, Trevor Jackson, JohnVongsaham, Dale Seymourand Frank Nunez. For moreinformation, call 562/437-0471 or visit www.thebern-scompany.com.
(Please continue to next page)
1_LBBJ_Aug13_SectionB_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 8/11/13 7:25 PM Page 7
Steven Berns, a second-generation
president of The Berns Co., has also
gotten more creative. The business,
which opened in 1955 and employs 40
people, manufactures machinery
replacement parts and specializes in
surplus material handling items.
To expand business, Berns said he
has started looking to overseas adver-
tising, specifically in Dubai.
Additionally, the company recently
began selling on eBay, which he said
has drawn interest from countries like
Portugal. Overall, he is quite “pleased”
with how business is growing.
Mike Zupanovich, president of
Harbor Diesel & Equipment, Inc. (HD
Industries), said the company, which
was founded by his father and current
CEO Jim Zupanovich in 1971, has
been “very fortunate.” HD Industries,
located within MIG, is a factory-autho-
rized sales, parts and service facility
for a number of major manufacturers.
The company has expanded the
number of brand names it works with,
which include Caterpillar and John
Deere. According to Zupanovich,
being conservative and cautious about
growth has been one of their tried-
and-true policies.
Dion & Sons, Inc., a petroleum dis-
tributor, has operated in the Westside
since 1930. According to Pat Cullen,
who has operated the business since
1986, the company has survived many
obstacles, including being forced to
move due to eminent domain in 1952.
Since taking the reigns of Dion &
Sons, Cullen has been able to form
other petroleum corporations, such as
Amber Resources, and currently oper-
ates seven locations. “We have grown
very well,” Cullen said. Rivera of the
Westside PAC estimates Dion & Sons
is one of the highest producers of tax
revenue in the city.
Manufacturing And FabricationSome of Long Beach’s largest con-
tributors to tax revenue are located in
the Westside industrial area, including
those who manufacture specialized
materials. Perhaps the most visible of
these is Snugtop, with its name embla-
zoned across the Westside skyline on
the Snugtop water tower.
Bob Kyle founded the company in
1959, creating customized hard top
shells for pickup truck beds. Snugtop is
now owned by Hartmut Schroeder, who
took over as president and CEO in 1989.
“We are quite an exporter for the
Port of Long Beach and Port of Los
Angeles,” Schroeder said. Overseas,
Schroeder said Snugtop’s biggest mar-
kets are Europe, Australia and China.
Snugtop sells directly to companies
like Toyota and Nissan. Schroeder
estimates the company currently
employs about 200 people.
Another big employer in the
Westside is Superior Electrical
Advertising, a custom electrical sign
fabricator. Stan Janocha, chief opera-
tions officer (COO), who purchased
the company in 1998 with CEO Jim
Sterk, said the company employs 118
people, 40 percent of whom are Long
Beach residents. Patti Skoglund
serves as president.
“We are probably the second
biggest business on the Westside,”
Janocha said, naming Snugtop as the
first. Superior Electrical’s clientele
includes big brands like Starbucks
and McDonald’s. Their work illumi-
nates nights at Disneyland, for which
Janocha said Superior is the “pre-
ferred supplier.”
Snugtop and Superior Electrical had
their own share of difficulties in the
recession. “It’s been a bit of a roller
coaster,” Schroeder said. “We suffered
like everybody else and we had to
reduce our employment. But for the
last two years, we’re hiring, and we’re
hiring as we speak.”
Janocha expressed a similar experi-
ence. “Before the recession, we had
175 employees,” he said. But things
are picking up again. Of the com-
pany’s recovery, Janocha said, “We
sometimes call it ‘the miracle on
Anaheim Street.’” �
THE WESTSIDE INDUSTRIAL AREA8 Long Beach Business Journal August 13-26, 2013
Hartmut Schroeder, president and CEO of Snugtop, which manufactures hard top enclosures for truckbeds, is seen at the company’s Westside headquarters at 1711 Harbor Ave. Snugtop was founded in1959. Call 562/432-5454 or visit www.snugtop.com for more information.
Greg Moore, presidentof Tell Steel, is picturedat the firm’s Westsideheadquarters at 2345W. 17th St. The com-pany, founded in 1959by Tell D. Tuffli and hisson, Don, has beenemployee owned andoperated since 2006.For more information,call 800/724-8366 orvisit www.tellsteel.com.
1_LBBJ_Aug13_SectionB_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 8/11/13 7:25 PM Page 8
� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER
Staff Writer
Unlike newer, pre-planned cities,
the industries of the Westside
sprouted out of the dust with
economic urgency over 100 years ago.
Much of the area remained unchanged
until about the 1970s, when the Long
Beach Redevelopment Agency (RDA)
and its community advisory board, the
Westside Project Area Committee
(PAC), were formed based on the needs
of the business community.
Since then, the RDA, Westside PAC
and city have worked to improve the
area’s infrastructure. In the late 1980s,
the Westside industrial area finally
received streetlights, gutters, paved
roads and sidewalks. While redevelop-
ment funds have dried up, the city and
Westside PAC continue to work for
infrastructure improvements.
THE WESTSIDE INDUSTRIAL AREAAugust 13-26, 2013 Long Beach Business Journal 9
Infrastructure Needs Persist In The Greater Westside Industrial Area Despite Developmental Progress
Mike Zupanovich,right, president of HDIndustries, a divisionof Harbor Diesel &Equipment, Inc.,poses with his servicemanager, Art Havens,at the company’s loca-tion within theMagnolia IndustrialGroup area at 537W. Anaheim St.Zupanovich’s father,Jim, founded the com-pany as in 1971 inSan Pedro and movedthe firm to Long Beachin 1974. The sales,parts and servicecompany employs 50people. For moreinformation, call562/591-2941 orvisit www.harbor-diesel.com.
(Please continue to next page)
1_LBBJ_Aug13_SectionB_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 8/11/13 7:25 PM Page 9
Vice Mayor Robert Garcia,
representing the 1st District that
includes the area, said the
Anaheim Street Improvement
Project benefitting much of the
area will soon be underway.
Funded by the Port of Long
Beach (POLB), the project
includes repaving Anaheim Street
from the Los Angeles River to 9th
Street. “It will be an entirely new
street,” Garcia told the Business
Journal, adding that sidewalk and
curb improvements are included.
“Some landscaping and beautifica-
tion will happen as well,” he said.
Other city operations are also bene-
fitting the area. Stan Janocha, chief
operations officer at Superior
Electrical Advertising, said he is
pleased with the city’s graffiti
removal services. “We used to have to
repaint the front of our building all
the time, but they have stepped up
patrols,” he said.
Daryl Phillips of Phillips Steel told
the Business Journal that the city and
port are positive forces in the area.
“The Port of Long Beach and city
have been supportive,” he said.
“Mayor Bob Foster has been very
pro-business, as has our city man-
ager, Pat West.”
While Westside businesses’ most
basic infrastructure needs have been
met, industry leaders in the area
indicated that they still face obsta-
cles to growing and maintaining
their business.
Perhaps the most straightforward of
these issues is that there simply isn’t
any room to grow. Mike Zupanovich,
treasurer of the property and business
improvement district Magnolia
Industrial Group (MIG) and president
of Westside-based business HD
Industries, summed up the problem:
“We are landlocked. We could grow
the business, but we would need
more property, which would mean
relocating.”
Tony Rivera, chair of the Westside
PAC, told the Business Journal that he
has been working with several compa-
nies looking to relocate from other
cities to the Westside industrial area in
Long Beach. “Some of the people
want five or 10 acres, and we don’t
have it,” Rivera said.
Another issue impacting a portion
of the area, particularly along
Anaheim Street, is lack of access to
high speed Internet. “A number of
Internet providers have not pulled
cable to this area, leaving us with
fewer options,” Janocha explained.
Phillips noted the same issue, as did
Greg Moore of Tell Steel.
Other infrastructure issues, though
not as rampant as they once were, con-
tinue. According to Pat Cullen, presi-
dent of Dion & Sons, a project that
began in the 1980s to install storm
drains and pumps to prevent flooding
was never completed. Rivera
explained that the project had three
THE WESTSIDE INDUSTRIAL AREA10 Long Beach Business Journal August 13-26, 2013
According to Bill Townsend, president of the Magnolia Industrial Group (MIG) Property and Business Improvement District, the trailer homes pictured here area nuisance within the MIG area. People living within the trailers park them overnight in the area. “The police department is on it,” he said, adding that hebelieves Vice Mayor Robert Garcia’s 1st District office is working on resolving the problem through parking restrictions.
1_LBBJ_Aug13_SectionB_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 8/11/13 7:25 PM Page 10
phases and was paid for with redevel-
opment funds. Phase three was never
completed, he said, due to the loss of
that funding.
Crime and issues of vagrancy con-
tinue to be problematic to the greater
Westside industrial area. Despite
MIG’s private security efforts pro-
vided by Platt Security, Zupanovich
still sees issues. “The big problem we
have being next to the L.A. River is
with transients in the neighborhood,”
he said, noting that many homeless
people sleep in the brush that has
grown wild in the riverbed.
“I have been a victim in this neigh-
borhood before,” Zupanovich contin-
ued. “I have had a knife pulled on me.
We have had things stolen. It all
comes back to these transients that
were in the area.” While crime rates
have gotten better, Zupanovich said he
worries that, if the brush continues to
thicken in the riverbed, crime rates
will worsen.
From an economic standpoint, busi-
nesses cited the loss of the state enter-
prise zone (EZ) program last month as
a big blow. The EZ program enabled
businesses that hired residents within
that zone to receive tax credits.
Hartmut Schroeder, president and
CEO of Snugtop, which employs 200
people, said he regrets the loss of the
EZ. “We have taken advantage of that,
as you can imagine, by hiring local
people,” he said.
Moore also utilized the EZ program.
“We get large enterprise zone credits.
We have hired a lot of people from the
EZ,” he said. The program also made
his business eligible for tax breaks on
certain equipment purchases.
If the resiliency of so many family-
owned, historic businesses from the
early 1900s to date is any indication,
the Westside will continue to survive
and thrive as community groups like
MIG and Westside PAC continue
advocating for the needs of local busi-
ness. As Phillips put it: “We are a
strong community, a tightknit commu-
nity, and we support each other.” �
THE WESTSIDE INDUSTRIAL AREAAugust 13-26, 2013 Long Beach Business Journal 11
562/498-3395
***PRICE REDUCED***1461 W. 14th Street6,820 SF Building on 14,998 SF LotExcellent Signage/ Fenced Yard14’ Clear Ceiling Height/ 3 Dock High Loading DoorsNear Ports/ 710 FwySALE PRICE: $710,000By: Bill Townsend
***BRING IN YOUR BEST OFFER***1325 GaylordGreat Vacant Owner/ User Building400 SF Warehouse/ 1,440 SF Office 2 Restrooms/ Clean/ 400 AMPSPRICE REDUCED TO SELL: $695,000By: Debra Orth & Brad Miles
***LOWEST NNN’S IN TOWN***3599 B Los Coyotes Diagonal3,150 SF Retail Space AvailableBusy Local Center Anchored by JoAnn’s FabricsAmple Parking/ Signage OpportunityLease Rate: $1.30 PSF, NNN (Est. $0.30 PSF)By: Debra Orth
562/498-3395
More Westside Industrial Area
photographs on the back cover
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According to Janet McCarthy, president and CEO ofGoodwill Serving the People of Southern Los Angeles County(SOLAC), 61 percent of individuals served by GoodwillSOLAC’s job placement and training programs are based inthe Long Beach area. The nonprofit organization offersindustry-specific training at its Westside Long Beach head-quarters with programs for home healthcare, certified nurs-ing assistance and loss prevention training. “All of our cur-riculum is developed based on the needs of the businesscommunity and the requirements of the state,” she said of theprograms. In addition to its work placement services andretail shops, Goodwill SOLAC also offers interpreting serv-ices in American Sign Language and 26 spoken languagesthrough its division called LiNKS Sign Language &Interpreting Services. “The fact that we here in Long Beach,one of the most diverse cities in the nation, we have a lot oflanguages and a lot of people that need assistance.” Whenfunding is available, Goodwill also provides classes in gen-eral educational development (GED), financial literacy andwork skills training. By providing the community with accessto these services, McCarthy said, “Our ultimate goal is tomove people out of poverty.” McCarthy is pictured beside aportrait of Goodwill Industries founder, Edgar J. Helms.Goodwill SOLAC’s headquarters are located at 800 W.Pacific Coast Hwy. For more information, call 562/435-7741 or visit www.goodwillsolac.org.
Nancy McCrabb (center), former president of Cowelco Steel Contractors, is pictured with her daughters Tracy McCrabb (right)and Tamery McCrabb, current president. Nancy McCrabb’s father founded Cowelco in 1947. The Westside business is locatedat 1634 W. 14th St. For more information, call 562/432-5766 or visit www.cowelco.com.
John Wells, president of Cavanaugh Machine Works (CMW), Inc., visits the heavy machining and fabricating area at CMW. The companywas founded in 1948 in Wilmington, and moved to the Westside industrial area in 1997. CMW’s primary location is at 1540 Santa Fe Ave.,with a fabrication/welding division at 1500 W. 16th St. Call 562/437-1126 or visit www.cavmachine.com for more information.
TDI Signs fabricates signs for many retail, restaurant and hospitality businesses. Above, owner Art Rivas (right) with his son,Andrew Rivas, showing a sign for Tilly’s, a large chain retailer. The company is located 1419 Seabright Ave. For more information,visit www.tdisigns.com or call 562/436-5188.
Superior ElectricalAdvertising, a cus-tom electrical signfabricator, wasfounded more than40 years ago. Thecompany is the pre-ferred supplier forDisneyland’s electri-cal signage. At leftis CEO Jim Sterk(left) and ChiefOperations OfficerStan Janocha, asthey pose with asign for one of their most recognizable customers, Starbucks. McDonald’s is anothermajor client. Pictured above is Patti Skoglund, president of Superior ElectricalAdvertising, which employs more than 100 workers. The company is located at1700 W. Anaheim St. For more information, call 562/495-3808 or visitwww.superiorsigns.com.
More People And Businesses From The Westside Industrial Area
Superior Electrical Advertising photo
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