Haas Automation Plans to Leave L.A.

Haas Automation Inc., a Chatsworth maker of machine tool parts, said it plans to move out of Los Angeles County by late next year.

The company said it needs room to expand and is considering sites in several states, including some in the Midwest, Southwest and Southeast. Sites in Ventura County and elsewhere in California are also being considered.

Haas sales have soared nearly sevenfold over the last six years. Sales were $46 million in 1993, compared with $7 million in 1988, said Peter Zierhut, sales and marketing manager. Sales this year are expected to approach $100 million. The company’s work force has grown to 211 employees from 46 in 1988, said Dennis Dupuis, general manager.

Almost all the land is being used at the 155,000-square-foot plant Haas leases in Chatsworth. The company needs another 100,000 square feet of space to increase production and ease a two-month backlog of orders, Dupuis said. The company is also frustrated with California state tax laws and worker’s compensation laws, and with Los Angeles city building fees and codes, he said.

Dupuis said all employees will be given the option to move with the firm. Many are highly skilled engineers and machinists. Haas pays its workers an average wage of about $14 per hour.

Dupuis said the company has looked at some sites in Los Angeles, but saw none suitable. Meanwhile, its offices are inundated by letters and phone calls offering free land from states such as Kansas and Texas, which covet the skilled engineering jobs Haas provides.

Haas makes high-tech metal cutting equipment for manufacturers. The company, which sells its products internationally, has managed to win back business from Japanese firms it competes against. It is also benefiting from a resurgence of domestic manufacturing and increased demand in this country for high-tech equipment to reduce labor costs, Dupuis said.