Airplane interiors manufacturer EnCore Group has plans to significantly expand its Orange County presence, despite several near-term issues facing the Huntington Beach aerospace firm and its parent company.
The company, which last year announced its sale to Boeing Co., recently inked a deal for a new industrial lease in its hometown totaling close to 116,000, real estate sources tell the Business Journal.
It brings EnCore’s area real estate presence close to 200,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space, according to sources.
It’s the first reported example of Boeing or a Boeing-backed company meaningfully expanding its Orange County operations in several years; the Chicago-based aerospace and defense giant has been contracting locally of late, and has sold off several large chunks of land in Huntington Beach it previously occupied to industrial developers.
EnCore officials could not be reached for comment on the real estate moves.
Rocket Replacement
The company is said to be taking over the former Rocket Lab headquarters space in Huntington Beach, sources tell the Business Journal. Rocket Lab, a small satellite launch company that builds rockets for private and government uses, moved its headquarters to Long Beach earlier this year.
It employed about 100 people in Surf City as of last year.
EnCore currently occupies 80,000 square feet at 5511 Skylab Road, space that’s adjacent to EnCore’s soon-to-open industrial facility at 14520 Delta Lane. Both buildings are next to Boeing’s sprawling base of operations in the city.
It employed about 700 people as of last year. EnCore also has facilities in Mexico.
The new lease for EnCore at Delta Lane is among the largest industrial leases in 2020 for OC.
Sources indicate the new lease spans five years, with the company—now known as Boeing EnCore—initially expected to move in May after tenant improvements wrapped up.
The move-in date is now is not known, with some COVID-19-related delays expected.
Boeing Sale
Boeing, the largest aerospace company in the world and by far the top aerospace employer in OC, said last July it would acquire EnCore, which was co-founded by one of OC’s wealthier businessmen, James Downey, in 2011.
The company is the successor to C&D Aerospace, which Downey started in 1972 and sold in 2005. He started EnCore with business partner Tom McFarland, who remains chief executive of the firm.
Terms of the sale to Boeing were undisclosed.
Galleys, Seats, Lavatories
The acquisition included EnCore’s three product lines: EnCore Interiors, EnCore International and Lift by EnCore.
Together, the groups offer “just about anything that passengers see on the interior of an aircraft—from galleys, lavatories, class dividers, closets, front-row monuments, flooring and enhanced passenger experience products,” the company says on its website.
Boeing said at the time of the purchase announcement that EnCore’s addition would help with supply chain issues, and “will strengthen internal capabilities and increase innovation within its cabin vertical in order to provide greater end-to-end value to airline customers.”
It has worked with EnCore since its inception, and EnCore was used for interior work for the company’s now-grounded 737 Max planes. The effect of the 737 Max issues—said to be costing Boeing nearly $20 billion to date—on EnCore’s operations has not been disclosed.
COVID-19
EnCore has “maintained minimal operations” at its facilities since stay-at-home orders were given for the state last month, and that will last at least through the end of the month, McFarland said to employees in an April 3 letter.
“Thus far, the virtual work we have done at each facility has been productive and collaborative. The results have been encouraging,” he said.
McFarland previously said employees without the ability to work remotely would be affected by potential layoffs or furloughs.
