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Babcock checks world, picks Arizona site A California electronics company has picked the Coolidge area for a produc tion facility that will employ 125 per sons. Babcock Electronics Corp. of Costa Mesa, Calif., has leased the old Levi Straus facility in Coolidge. Industrial relays and electronics such assemblies will be manufactured in Coolidge. Babcock Electronics Corp. is a subsi diary of the New York-based operating firm, Esterline Corp., listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Stephen N. Donahoe, Babcock’s presi dent, said the Coolidge area was select ed for the plant as the result of a study of locations in this country and abroad. “We decided not to pursue some rath er attractive foreign propositions,” he said in announcing the plant. “Instead, we chose to locate this plant in this country and relatively close to our main California facility, “Our new Arizona plant will recruit virtually all of its work force from the Coolidge area, including many from the Pima Indian Tribe living on the Gila River Indian Reservation.” Donahoe said that Babcock had been helped in the venture by Sen. Paul Fan nin, R. Ariz., and Ed Whelan of Phoe nix, regional industrial development di rector for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. William Boydston, Babcock’s director of manufacturing, said that the initial work force would be 40. Present plans, he said, call for a steady increase in personnel to 125. An intensive work-training program has been approved and will be started later this month. The Coolidge plant will be managed by Leonard Ash, chief relay design engi neer at Babcock’s Costa Mesa facility. He has directed operations of relay firms here and in Europe. Babcock, founded in 1948, joined Es terline as a subdivision in its measure ment sciences group in 1968. Its chief activities are design and production of control products and electronic products. In the control field, the products in clude high-reliability and general pur pose relays for aerospace and industrial applications. Its electronic products in clude specialized remote aircraft control systems and electronic scoring systems for missile and personnel training pro grams. Esterline has 22 separate divisions and Subsidiaries. In addition to the measure ment sciences group, Esterline has med ical and automation groups. From a sales total of $8 million in 1967, Esterline has grown to $92 million sales last year.
Newspaper Details
Phoenix Arizona Republic
Phoenix, Arizona, US
Sun, Mar 21, 1971
Page 107
Full Page
Clipped by
Fujio Y.
