Western Digital Plant Closing Especially Painful for Haggerty

Signups are at 56 and counting for the insurgent New Majority Committee, the executive-led effort to bring social moderation to the local GOP’s central committee, and the group says it anticipates announcing a number of nouveau riche high-tech recruits soon To accusations that “rich white guys” want to run the local GOP, Managing Editor RB quips, “So, this is news?” Last week’s announcement by Western Digital Corp. that it was closing its plant in Rochester, Minn. was a double blow for chairman Chuck Haggerty. First, it was a repudiation of his 1996 attempt to boost WD’s profit margins by getting the company into “enterprise” hard drives, those made for servers and other business computers; it was a high-end segment of the drive market when the Rochester plant opened in late 1994, but now it’s just another commodity. Moreover, the elimination of 420 jobs in Rochester was a personal blow: Haggerty hails from Rochester, as does his vivacious wife and childhood sweetheart, Carleen, and they have kept close ties to their hometown and done much for it. The presence of the plant, as well as a 60-person customer support center that is unaffected by the shutdown, helped cushion the blow in Rochester a few years back during layoffs there at IBM’s huge operation, which Haggerty ran before joining WD. Haggerty had good arguments for putting a plant in Rochester, including the city’s low (compared to California) costs, its Midwest work ethic and its trained workforce (employers include not only IBM but the Mayo Clinic, whose foundation is buying the WD site, and rival drive makers are nearby). Still, few doubt that it was Haggerty’s personal connection that was the key element in bringing the jobs of a California high-tech company to Minnesota. Indeed, Haggerty and new Western Digital CEO Matt Massengill, who previously ran the plant, spent two days in Rochester last week, meeting with employees. Trying times bring out the class in some guys The Rendezvous Ballroom Reunion, featuring Dick Dale and other originators of the surf sound, was too big for the Hard Rock Caf & #233; at Fashion Island last year. So there’s a larger venue for Dale and the gang when they return for an encore March 26,the Galaxy Concert Theater in Santa Ana. Tickets start at $30, with the proceeds benefiting the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum. Call (714) 960-3483 Walter Cruttenden says: “We are seeing more and more Internet deals being spawned right here in OC. And with more VC and angel money readily available, the entrepreneurial climate has never been better. I also think you will see the public company gap closing between OC and Silicon Valley as OC companies come to market in increasing numbers over the next few years. Indeed, OC will show well in the new year with the debut of Buy.com. Momentum is on our side! Hope to launch a few more dot.com companies myself this year!”