Edelbrock closing Torrance CA facility.

Is this news to anyone?

www.dailybreeze.com/2021/01/28/auto...270-employees-closing-torrance-facility/

I hope it stops there.

I can't read the article without accepting cookies and clicking off the subscription offer.
Some companies are relocating to TX or other States that welcome business.
Why any business that can relocate stays in CA is beyond me.
But the big question is whether Edelbrock's manufacturing is going offshore to Joe Xiden's pals.
I couldn't skim the article fast enough to determine that.

Closing in Torrance and moving a portion of it to San Jacinto CA.

Here's the text:

"Edelbrock Group, a Southern California-based manufacturer and distributor of aftermarket auto parts, will soon be shuttering its Torrance headquarters which employs 270 workers.

In a recent notice sent to the state Employment Development Department, the company said employee layoffs would begin Jan. 15 and end March 31. The closure will affect 217 hourly workers and 53 salaried employees.

The Torrance facility includes executive offices as well as sales, advertising and marketing departments. The facility also has a state-of-the-art research and development department, testing facilities and manufacturing operations.

Neva Burke, Edelbrock’s vice president of human resources, didn’t give a reason for the Torrance shutdown in her letter to the EDD, although she said some of the operations will be relocated to the company’s casting foundries in San Jacinto.

She didn’t reveal how many displaced workers, if any, might be shifted to that location. Edelbrock is owned by Evanston, Ill.-based Industrial Opportunity Partners, which also declined to discuss the Torrance closure.

Edelbrock designs, manufactures, distributes and markets a wide range of aftermarket products, including intake manifolds, carburetors, camshafts, cylinder heads, exhaust systems, shock absorbers and other components designed for most domestic V8 and select V6 engines.

Edelbrock’s website lists six company locations, including the headquarters in Torrance, two casting foundries in San Jacinto, a distribution center in Olive Branch, Miss., a carburetor factory in Sanford, N.C. and the Edelbrock Race Center in Mooresville, N.C.

In February 2020, Industrial Opportunity Partners acquired COMP Performance Group, whose automotive brands include COMP Cams, TCI Automotive, FAST, ZEX and Inglese."

My bet is it will as some of their products already have Once they sold out it was only a matter of time IMO. I'm sure that both Vic's are rolling in their resting places. BTW the same Investment group bought Comp cams and a bunch of other performance companies as well. Tech support will likely be moved to the middle east or Philippines

You are likely not far off in this yet untold story, except for this elephant in the room, bean counters only see all electric on the horizon, and figure in this fractured market, now is as good as time, as any to start easing out the plug, which is an opposite pun?.

"The facility also has a state-of-the-art research and development department, testing facilities and manufacturing operations."

Don't need all that if you're going to cut back on the product line, buy junk from China, put your name on it and sell it for the same price the USA made stuff was.

Vic Jr sold it when he was still alive to another investment firm.

The Comp stuff has gone down hill for sure. used a bunch of stuff from up to a few years ago and was fine.

6 months ago friend installed TWO same part number Comp cams that went flat on the run stand.

I sold him a 20 year old MP cam and all this fine.

They are keeping the Edelbrock foundry in San Jacinto CA. That’s something very unique in that industry. And could cast parts for their other (or future) brands

Sad to see them close that site down, they had some really nice stuff there. Must have decided that SoCal was just too expensive to do business in. Shutting down the corporate headquarters is a big move. Sounds like most of the people there will lose their jobs. I suppose they'll add some people in Olive Branch which is where Comp seems to be consolidating. Maybe Comp has some dyno rooms and stuff that Edelbrock can share.

I have some suppliers in CA and when I talk to them about business they all say it is a struggle to keep going in CA. Seems like everyone is against them in the state.

Corporate HQ moved when the company got sold. All they are doing now is eliminating redundancy, as they see. You or I would probably like to see Edelbrock keep going on as it did. The owners care less about you or I.

I hope this isn't the sound of the toilet being flushed and the beginning of Edelbrock swirling.

I agree

Edelbrock sold to IOP in 2010.

Do you mean HQ moved after IOP bought Comp??

Yes. The new HQ is in Chicago where IOP's corporate HQ is as they are calling the shots. IOP probably got a new suit hired on who has to make a name for himself and axing Edelbrock's legacy staff fits his ticket just fine. Who cares that in 5 years Edelbrock will be just another memory, he'll be somewhere else. You know the recent lotto prize was pushing a billion, I always wondered what I'd do if I ever won that. Rescuing Edelbrock would be a good thing to think about.

Here's some feed back from workers there

https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Edelbrock-LLC/reviews?fcountry=US&floc=Torrance%2C+CA

Heck, I can even win on a scratch off. LOL

Funny thing is, I never bought a ticket and still had the same chance of winning, lol.

Reading those employee reviews, and noting their dates, seems to paint a picture of a company spiraling into the ground.
Obviously one has to consider that some of those reviews will have little or no merit, but still...

In the mid 1970's most everyone with a Camaro, Chevelle, or Mopar was looking to put on an Edelbrock aluminum intake manifold to get some weight off the front end of their 6 or 7 year old used car that they bought a couple of months before out of the newspaper ad for $ 899. If it was a Camaro maybe a Tarantula would do the trick.

Not many 20 somethings looking to do that today. The market of potential intake manifold purchasers grows smaller each and every day.

In 1983 A "Torker" for a big block Mopar was $ 139 at MAS in Minneapolis. It probably still exists as wall art in someone's garage today.

Dang. in the 80s it was a given- a right of passage for a youngster to replace their stock iron 4 bbl manifold with a Performer. A factory 2bbl manifold replaced with a performer and Holly was like adding a blower. 375hp 440 Magnums ran great with a Torker.

I was not able to get a direct link, but Billy Godbold at Comp has some interesting thoughts on this.

https://www.facebook.com/billy.godbold

You will need to scroll down to see the post about the move.

This is his initial post, you will need to go to Facebook to see his other comments.

"It is absolutely amazing to me that when anyone outside of the Automotive Aftermarket industry leaves California, everyone totally understands. As you can read for yourself, when Musk & SpaceX relocate to Texas, Forbes writes that their next stop is the Moon then Mars... For almost identical reasons (allowing greater growth, a central location, and a much more business friendly political environment) one of our cornerstone companies moves its HQ and our automotive press thinks it is the end of the world... "

does having one on the shelf next to a CH4B count ?

I don't know who billy is but he should be able to pick up a performer manifold made 20 years ago, put it next to one made yesterday and visibly see the quality has tanked, same with comp. It has less to do with moving HQ, heck I would want to ditch CA also (as long as it's USA) than it does price, quality, availability, tech support, keep up with modern car parts...

Yeah Edelbrock started to decline a few years back. They slowed down the R&D pipeline and the quality of some existing parts dropped off. Their website redesign was a failure which they never bothered to fix. I used to be a fairly loyal Edelbrock customer but now I avoid the brand and I caution anyone on buying Edelbrock parts. They still have a handful of parts that are good but some of their stuff is now getting close to "garbage grade" which is what I typically reserve for chinese crap. Kind of a bummer since they had a really nice run and it wouldn't take a bunch of smarts to keep it running at a high level. Just build quality parts and come up with cool new stuff once in a while. That is all it takes. Not exactly rocket science.........

I just had a set of edelbrock magnum heads checked out and the best seats were .002 out of concentric, the worst was .007 out, and all 8 intake guides were tight, so tight you had to push the valve down with force. Exhaust guides were fine. The valves also all needed faced. The worst set of heads I have ever seen by far for new.

Another reason why I don’t believe this is ALL just a “California is miserable for business thing”....

#1) Edelbrock Corp does not own the land the main site is on.... still owned by the family

#2) Two other parcels with museum and manufacturing were sold by Edelbrock Corp (ISN) last April 2020 and Oct 2019 for.... $18.1M and 9.6M respectively. ... all public record BTW.

I’m thinking $29.7 million will buy some property and buildings in Olive Branch Mississippi for everyone to be under one roof... maybe pay off some debt too???

Interesting information....

The Truth About Why Edelbrock is Moving Its HQ

https://www.dragzine.com/news/iconic-automotive-company-edelbrock-shutters-so-cal-headquarters/

I watched a Joe Rogan vid on YouTube where a guy who owned what sounded to be a car repair/resto shop was telling stories about the City of LA, and how they treat businesses and people in general. Didn't sound like a swell place to be if you expect to do your thing and be left in peace.

So they already own the land and faculties in Olive branch. WITH room to grow.

Company now has $29.7 million to buy are put down payment to buy future companies... which they said they would be doing.

AND... they don’t have to pay rent on the main facility.

IF Edelbrock was in Arizona and had this same rent and property value... it would STILL make sense to move.

I dunno, climatewise anyway I'd take SoCal over Olive Branch. I spent time in both places, well Memphis not OB specifically.

If I had the money I'd move back to the Ocean Beach area of San Diego, I loved it there. First house my wife and I had as newlyweds (rental) was there.

Not sure how long ago that was but calif. has really tanked. especially in the last 10-15 years. A lot of born and raised there are bailing out due to the conditions

well, I left in 94 and I'd have to be really rich to move back.

"Aftermarket parts supplier Edelbrock is closing its Torrance, California, headquarters and manufacturing plant and shifting its operations to separate facilities in-state and across the country.

Edelbrock’s administrative offices will be moved to a 300,000-square-foot facility in Olive Branch, Mississippi, while most manufacturing processes will be transferred to its San Jacinto, California, plant, located about 95 miles east of Torrance.

When asked about the move, Edelbrock Group Chief Commercial Officer Chris Douglas cited the company’s merger with COMP Performance Group in early 2020 as a primary factor. “We had seven campuses between us across the country,” he explained, “so it made a lot of business sense to sit down and ask, ‘What skill sets do we have at these various locations, and where can we make our organization stronger and combine efficiency?’

From PRI

myself as well on both counts. I was in Smog Jose, what part were you in ?

San Diego for almost 10 years. Got there in late 84, moved in early 94.

So many large Businesses are escaping California due to very high taxes and liberal based policies..

Every action does have a reaction, good or bad....