Irvine’s Printronix Inc., one of Orange County’s oldest technology companies, is set to send the last of its local manufacturing to Mexico.
Printronix, which makes industrial printers and printing supplies for manufacturers and retailers, said it’s set to cut 54 jobs and shutter its manufacturing here, according to spokeswoman Karen Jensen. It plans to keep its headquarters here.
The company is looking to sell the 46,000-square-foot factory and part or all of its office complex, which together total 187,000 square feet. If the office at 14600 Myford Road sells, the company will look to move to another spot in the county.
“There are several options, such as selling a portion of this building or the whole thing,” Jensen said.
Printronix has been slowly shedding its local manufacturing work.
In Irvine, it was doing some assembly work and making printer ink, toner and thermal ribbon paper, which allows for heat-sensitive printing instead of ink.
It’s all set to move to a factory in Nogales, a Mexican border city next to Arizona.
Printronix is set to expand its Nogales plant from 17,000 square feet to 75,000 square feet.
Its corporate headquarters, sales, marketing, finance, engineering, customer service and other administrative functions are set to stay local.
The company was scouting new office space but put its search on hold to see if it could sell the building first, Jensen said.
“Because of the move to Nogales and it consuming some resources, we have stopped looking for the moment because we don’t have a buyer,” she said.
Printronix is asking for $40 million, or roughly $215 per square foot, according to real estate CoStar Group Inc. That’s at the high end of what similar buildings are going for.
A little more than a year ago Printronix was taken private in a $108 million buyout by San Francisco private equity firm Vector Capital.
Printronix, which had been publicly traded for 28 years, was too small to stay viable and took a hit when spending on regulatory compliance ate into profits.
The company had roughly $130 million in yearly sales in 2007, the most recent data available.
The printer maker, whose products are used by automakers, banks and chain stores, no longer discloses financial data under Vector.
Despite the manufacturing cuts, the company’s management has stayed in place since the deal closed in early 2008, according to Jensen.
“All of the senior team,all of the directors and the mid-level managers,are still in place,” she said. “Organizationally, not much is different.”
Lat month, Printronix said it’s in the running to buy some assets of Chantilly, Va.-based TallyGenicom LP, which makes printer supplies and parts, as well as toner, ink and ribbons for use with other printer brands.
TallyGenicom filed for bankruptcy protection and plans to sell its U.S.-based assets to Printronix in an auction to repay creditors.
The sale is expected to be hashed out later this month.
It isn’t clear yet whether Printronix will get TallyGenicom’s manufacturing and office sites in Washington, Virginia and Texas.
If the deal goes through, the company expects some TallyGenicom employees to join Printronix, but didn’t elaborate.
During the past six months, Printronix has made an international push.
The company is going bigger in China, having recently added some 25 workers, a distribution center and a contract manufacturer there.
It beefed up its Singapore manufacturing site to better serve markets in India and other parts of Southeast Asia.
It opened up sales offices in India, Russia and Romania.
“Romania is a high growth country and we are looking to expand there,” Jensen said.
Companies in emerging countries are looking for printers with “good capabilities at a lower price point,” Jensen said.
Chief Executive Robert Kleist, who started Printronix 35 years ago, still runs the company.
At its peak, the company had some 500 workers here.
Currently, it has 220 local workers and 500 worldwide.
Kleist, who’s in his 80s, still comes to work “six days a week,” Jensen said.
“He hasn’t changed. He just keeps going,” she said.
