Brea’s Witt Heat Transfer Products Group, one of the country’s largest makers of commercial refrigeration products, has moved its headquarters to Alabama.
The consolidation has been in the works for months. The deal was finalized when outgoing Alabama Gov. Bob Riley held a recent event welcoming the economic boost the move brings to Scottsboro, Ala., in the northeastern part of the state.
The company, which goes by HTPG, already operates a plant and warehouse in Scottsboro, where it employs 320 workers.
The company plans to add 120 new jobs there, according to Riley.
It’s unclear what will happen to HTPG’s smaller staff in Brea. The company is expected to leave an administrative office here.
HTPG Chief Executive John May told reporters in Alabama that the state is an ideal geographic location for the company.
“A lot of the population is in the Midwest and the East Coast, and we’re centrally located to serve those markets,” he said.
May did not return calls and e-mails seeking comment for this story.
HTPG makes refrigeration components and equipment for the food service and retail sectors as well as industrial users, hospitals and labs.
The products are sold in the U.S. and Canada to other companies that include them in their products or directly to some customers.
Products include condensing units, evaporators, air cooled condensers, surface and case coils, custom air handling units, unit coolers, compressor racks for food service and refrigeration systems.
The products often are found in supermarkets, other stores and restaurants.
HTPG products also are used to refrigerate pharmaceuticals for drug companies, blood supplies at hospitals and blood banks and in morgues. Industrial products include equipment to cool printing presses, warehouses and other commercial and industrial settings.
The products, sold under the brands Russell, Witt, Kramer and ColdZone, are shipped to customers from Alabama or to regional warehouses in Chicago and Dallas.
New York private equity firm Monomoy Capital Partners LP, which acquired HTPG in September, lists the company’s annual sales at $100 million.
