Edelbrock to shutter Los Angeles County HQ after 83 years | Hagerty Media

[Hagerty]

Edelbrock, manufacturer of some of the most popular performance aftermarket intake manifolds and cylinder heads for our favorite V-8 engines, is packing up its Torrance, California, headquarters over the next two months. The facility, Edelbrock's home since 1999, has 270 employees, most of whom will be laid off.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/edelbrock-to-shutter-los-angeles-county-hq-after-83-years/

[Studenorton]

The state you have to worry about is Wuhan. The sharp operators moved to the mainland a generation ago.

[MATTMERICA]

Mr. Flashman, you have missed the point. First off, what does a "right to work" state have to do with this article? Where did it mention anything about wages? In the real world there are many short term and long term tensions that any company must simultaneously balance and act upon; so very quickly - CA has a ridiculous tax rate on employee payrolls, state taxes, and other referendum induced tax items. The cost of living is astronomical. The government is in shambles (state) and if there was one state that I would pick to go bankrupt first, it is CA. Furthermore, the state has mandated no ICE vehicles in the very near future - how does that work for an ICE-based company?!? There is no race to the bottom, there is only a race to preservation and logical, fundamentally based business decisions. Now it is quite likely that IF they hire new employees in TN that they will pay less in wages, and certainly less in taxes. And the employees will pay less in taxes as well 🙂

[PhilSchw]

Matt, Olive Branch, is not in TN. It is in Mississippi. Come on Matt, My eyes would have widen in thoughts of some type of a future if it were Indianapolis, IN or even Atlanta, GA. or Nashville, TN. I suppose they were chasing after an area of low income workers, so they could slash wages. This move will definitely do that, as most of those doing the move with the company will have a rude awakening & just have to get used to living in a trailer house & running from tornadoes.

[erne75]

Oh look, a union worker that has been supporting the communist party (aka dnc) is now mad because people dont want to live under a communist regime and move out. I dont know what to tell you man...

[TimK]

Why shouldn't people have the right to work without being forced to pay an outside union. The union didn't created the job, the employer did. Yes, at one time unions were an asset to labor until they became corrupt and greedy. They often support politicians with workers' dues that workers more often than not do not support. It used to really irk me when I was forced to join the IBEW and then was told by the AFL/CIO who I should vote for as though I didn't have a right to my own beliefs. My last real job was non union and we were paid very well with good benefits and no union was able to get their hands on my retirement savings. But if you want to be a union member you have that right and nobody is criticizing you. But those who don't also have rights.

[Tinkerah]

From my perspective, I'm glad they didn't select China. It's difficult for any business to say NO to that slave labor rate so let's appreciate they pick ANY state among the United ones.

[Bucky]

Good Point. We are force driven by the consumer, competition & the OEM price pressure we're constantly under to build product in China. We created this trap ourselves by enriching them to the point where it's nearly impossible to seek an alternative and now we're seeing how they are becoming more dangerous to their Pacific neighbors.

Biden says he'll create domestic jobs but I think that's a dream. His ordering that all Government vehicles be electric will take time to rotate the current ones out and you're not actually creating jobs as the replacements will be just normal attrition not additional sales/work. So this is SPIN.

There's no ability to maneuver as consumers demand low prices and they can't afford a domestic wage product so we're stuck.

We have 2 domestic plants and a 3rd we plan to open in Missouri but we still need a lower cost center to average down our total cost so because I don't like anything about China we are developing a Mexico operation. BTW we've needed 16 direct labor employees since August and so far 0 applied.

Economics 101: A Country is strong when it produces both Goods & Services and I wonder about the US because the imbalance seems pretty evident as we're now much more Service orientated that producing Goods.

[Geok86]

Yep...my Father always said “You can’t run an economy solely on service work...you have to actually make products.” He also always said “You can’t run a country solely on politics.”

[spoom]

Too bad I can only click Like once.

[coop]

Perhaps the company can use the savings, on trying to determine what to make in the future when most vehicles are EVs.

[Bucky]

A business decision of which there will always be more. CA is expensive and not exactly central to the US market. CA will survive and I doubt they will shed tears losing this business.

[spoom]

States like California will never shed a tear over losing businesses, only the dying businesses will shed the tears. States like California know that even if a business closes you can just raise it's taxes retroactively and everything will be hunky-dory.

[erne75]

Eventually you run out of other people's money. It happens to all communist regimes...Unfortunately the whole country is now moving in that direction!

[spoom]

I was being sarcastic 😉

[OldCarMan]

With any luck CA will secede, or will get tossed out of the union! Probably when it falls into the Pacific, when the Big One hits it! 🙂

[Geok86]

Can’t happen soon enough in my opinion!

[gagray]

Olive Branch is a Memphis suburb..,

[Studenorton]

That sounds like pretty good news for the current Comp employees.

[PhilSchw]

Yes, it borders the south east corner of Memphis, but it is still in the State of Mississippi.
Those who live in TN & work in MS are under tax regulations as are those who do the same in any other State. I drive a truck for a living & have delivered loads of mail to the Bulk Mail Center in Memphis. I will tell you right now that I would not work or set up residency in Memphis, TN, nor would I work or set up residency in Olive Branch, MS. I guess I set my standards too high.

[ed]

I don't think they will miss you.

[hyperv6]

I work in the performance industry and can tell you many of the old names in the Industry either have left or in the process of leaving California. 

Wages, taxes and regulations have made it difficult to do business. 

The move of Edelbrock started a while ago with the passing of Vic and Cammie his daughter leaving the company. The company was sold to an investment firm. 

I don’t know what their plans are but I imagine they will in time move production too. They had already sold their foundry a while back. 

I had crossed paths with Vic Jr several times. He was a great guy and really loved cars. 

I recall one time walking through the office at work and getting horse collared. I turned thinking it was a co worker and it was Vic. He said I love the jacket. I was wearing my Edelbrock letterman Jacket, I had no idea he was even in town. 

Much of the industry is consolidating and merging into larger companies to survive as it is tough for a small company to make it today. In California it is damn difficult even for a large company to prosper. 

California is no longer the bed of performance anymore. Just a few of the greats are left. I just saw Isky is 99 years old. I wonder when his time comers who will buy the company and move it too. 

[Qw]

**bleep** investment companies!

[ScottC]

Qwin,
You sound like a very angry union guy. Why are you so mad at the world and companies that employ people. The unions support the politicians that are causing all of this. If that makes you angry maybe think for yourself and vote a little different, vote for your employer not your union. Don't be a sheeple.

[Rider79]

..."sheeple"?

[ScottC]

Half man half sheep.

[427sc]

Sheeple: People who mindlessly follow the group/"flock" which collectively is being led somewhere they have no say in, by a low-intelligence leader/"herder". They are led either to the slaughter house. Or, if they are lucky, to simply be "stripped" of the fruits of their existence. Either place, they are not smart/inquisitive enough to ascertain until it's too late to do anything about it anyway.
Baaahhhhh aaaahhhh aaahh ahh, get in line..... You shouldn't be thinking for yourself... We know what's better for you than you do....
SHEEPLE!

[OldCarMan]

They are NOT investors.
Like Wall St., they are nothing but quick buck flipper speculators.
Scum vultures, with no sense of business development.

[spoom]

Mostly true, but as vultures, they are generally picking apart something that's already dead.

[HowardSue]

Point well taken
We have a friend who moved his company Buck Knives out of California
Chuck told us the company savings alone for electric was one million dollars a year.
Buck Knives paid the moving expense of moving to Post Falls and helped with buying housing for the employees.
Chuck is now Deceased his son and daughter now own and control Buck Knives in Post Falls Idaho
California is not business friendly
It’s not about the wages
It’s high taxes and crazy regulations

[hyperv6]

I have found more info. The headquarters and production is moving east. The foundry’s they still have will remain west. 

With the present owners they will continue to operate and grow. 

Other moves may happen in the future. 

I would say that with the loss of the California owner this move was going to happen just for tax and cost of living cost. TN and MS has become a big mfg area and many of the performance companies are based there. 

But Edelbrock is not going away. They will still be here. 

As for investment groups they have kept about half the industry afloat. Just look at Holley and the number of companies they now own. 

Same for bed covers for trucks most are owned by one company that operates them independently. 

[Hagerty Fan]

Don't be surprised when The Collective Congressional Communist Party (cccp) asks? Oops, tell us collectors of old cars and hotrods to register each of everything we've got for fuel type. If your cars are not fueled and powered by electric current you will be asked, oops, told to retrofit to electric power. If the latter is not an option they will then send you a Buy Back letter so that they may dispose of your vehicle for you, you know, just like your guns. "Buy Back" as if they owned your property before you owned your property. Happy motoring comrades.

[GRP_Photo]

My bet is that it will work out roughly like the situation is in Norway today. We will wind up with a national registration of cars, in addition to the State licensing situation we have today. People with electric vehicles will pay no national fee while others will pay several thousand dollars a year to register their vehicles. Every parking space, public or otherwise, will have its own charging station and you will pay the charging fees with a credit card.
Of course, as time goes on, you will find it more and more difficult to get gasoline, just as the steamers found it more and more difficult to get kerosene on the road and just as owners of a 1964 Ford 289 have found it hard to get 100 octane fuel for the last 40 years. But that shouldn’t be a big issue for collector cars, since we don’t usually drive them far.

[BRIANMCDONALD]

Well, in all reality we should be glad they're not closing permanently or moving to Mexico or China.
At least it's still American jobs and maybe our costs won't go through the roof for their products.
Carrier Corp., one of our primary vendors moved a large portion of their manufacturing to Mexico.
Guess what? Prices for those pieces of equipment went up, not down.

[OldCarMan]

That happened to Lionel Trains. The geniuses thought they could pay even less than the poorly paid women that worked in the plant. They did, but the quality was abysmal and they tried to bring their tooling back to the US. Mexico held them for ransom because they were taking away Mexican jobs. That worked out real well!

[RetroRock]

Interesting... Years ago I did a lot of equipment installs at the Zenith plants down in Mexico. We started having quality control issues on completed circuit boards and in the end determined the Zenith plant in Chicago was feeding the Mexico plant with junk boards.
The workers in Mexico seemed really proud to have jobs in the electronics industry. The women came to work on the line everyday dressed like it was a Sunday.
Seems those that have a good work ethic can find jobs in Mexico, be proud and maintain a quality of life.

[CP66]

Stick it California!

[Thrillseeker]

Smart move. Get out of the Communist Republic of California.

[HowardSue]

Yes
We grew up in California San Diego moved out in 2017 not looking back

[avideo]

Not a huge surprise that Edelbrock will largely be leaving California by next year. Lots of major companies of all types are bailing out of California - Charles Schwab, Hewlett Packard, Oracle, Toyota and soon Tesla just to name a few. The lousy business climate, high taxes for those still working, growing homeless population, poor highways and more are just the tip of problems not being addressed in California.

[vinciinc]

Another major contributing company that Newssollini and his predecessors have driven out of arguably the most beautiful state in the union. Increased regulations and obscene taxes will continue so long as the fruits and nuts remain. All that will be left are illegal aliens, homeless and those collecting welfare.
It is a matter of time before the foundries move to Mississippi where it's still America.
Hopefully the union of the two will be able to maintain the quality that Edelbrock has been able to deliver for 80 years.

[OldCarMan]

Arguably, Mi is as pretty or more so than CA. We have 3 inland oceans that are shark and salt-free, no raging fire season, or mud slide season, or drought season, or 3rd world homeless camps. We have thousands of lakes some nice small mountains, sand dunes, and some of the best fly fishing in the country. We have no confiscatory regs and taxes, and we like ICE cars, thank you! Foundries will be outlawed in CA, as will plating shops, as all move to Mexico.

[427sc]

Living in the mitten I have to agree with you in a lot of ways.... BUT, Kalifornia IS a beautiful state too!
Great place to visit, but I could never live there or try and raise a family there... I even tried once; hated it in very short order....

[czmx]

MI is Michigan. Mississippi is MS...

[FloridaBoy]

It's not much of a loss for Memphis. Olive Branch is a suburb that happens to be on the Mississippi side of the line. It only changes the commute for those workers.

[GRP_Photo]

and the taxes. Tennessee has no income tax. Mississippi income tax is 5% if you make more than ten grand.

[joplinoz]

It's leaving TN but not really Memphis. Like Southaven, it's a Mphs suburb and although TN has no state income tax, I'm sure MS offered incentives to offset potential taxes; perhaps even a tax holiday of some type depending on number of jobs.

[Verneoz]

"Edelbrock began moving some of its operations to a new facility in Olive Branch, Mississippi, beginning early in 2020. That new location will be the future headquarters of both Edelbrock and Comp Performance Group." The dichotomy with these types of corporate & manufacturing moves from Democrat controlled states is that they will bring their world view & Democrat politics with them. They will vote for & donate to Democrats in Mississippi and eventually change that state too...for the worse. Edelbrock is a great company and innovator, but........?

[diecuts]

Vern, Politics will have little effect on Edelbrock's future, well almost none, as automotive is moving to Electric, Dems saving the planet and all, and that means Edelbrock has a shrinking market place share...essentially making parts for the antique car market....still a good market, but not a growth area by any means......decades away, but I am working on 2024 stuff, and it is pretty incredible. All those 53' semis, soon will be all electric....as I have batteries that can take one on the road for 12 hours, 1000 hp, tons of torque, and recharges in 8 hours......who needs Edelbrock then....why us hobby guys, that's who.....:} Leaving CA is smart, there are lots of friendly business states, including MI where I am located.....a 'right to work' state, and I make a point to pay my folk more than union scale, and add 'fun' to the mix.....

[erne75]

Well, communism works great until you run out of other people's money. And that is exactly what is happening to commiefornia. Everybody with two working brain cells is packing up and getting the hell out of that dunghole

[spoom]

Watch how much communist relief will be in the next fun filled so-called stimulus bill now that the left is in charge of everything.