A maker of baseball and other caps is moving a division here to be part of the county’s surf and skate hub.
Buffalo, N.Y.-based New Era Cap Co. is opening a 5,000-square-foot office in Irvine this month, according to Wayne Best, the company’s action sports business unit director.
New Era’s been hiring workers for the local unit since the summer.
The company is moving its action sports division to Orange County from New York. It has 15 workers here with plans to add more, Best said.
“Eighty percent of our clients are within an hour and a half drive from our new location, making it easier and more convenient for them to do business with us,” Best said.
New Era already counts several OC surf and skate brands as clients, including Irvine-based Billabong USA, Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. and its Vista-based DC Shoes Inc., Costa Mesa-based Volcom Inc. and Cypress-based Vans Inc.
The privately held company, which makes more than 30 million caps per year under different brands, makes “on-field” hats for every Major League Baseball team, including the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and their minor league affiliates.
For more on this story, see the Jan. 1 edition of the Business Journal.
