Geoff Folkes Executive Vice President Chris Henson Vice President, Business Development Nasmyth TMF Santa Clarita Nasmyth TMF is a division of Nasmyth Group, a British manufacturer of components for Boeing Co., Airbus Group SE, Lockheed Martin Corp. and other top-tier aircraft producers. The local division, which also has operations in Burbank, provides protective coatings for aviation parts. The U.S. headquarters of Nasmyth TMF is relocating to an 18,000-square-foot building in Santa Clarita later this year as part of an expansion. Geoff Folkes joined Nasmyth nine years ago and specializes in project management. Chris Henson focuses on business development. Question: Is it tough being a manufacturer in California? Folkes: It is tough being a manufacturer anywhere. California is probably one of the hardest places to do this type of work. The workers here are heavily protected and you have the minimum wage (issue). Henson: It is probably more difficult for us to start up than to just grow from where we are. You already have approvals in place and you can work under the old legislation. When you are starting from scratch, you are starting with today’s legislation and today’s legislation is so strict regarding chemicals and contamination that basically unless you have knowledge and experience you would not start this kind of business. What kind of challenges does the company face? Folkes: For us, location is probably the key. We have experience in the East Coast and West Coast. The capability and experience in this industry is very key on the West Coast. You have a good pool of labor and skill in associated industries. We do not have difficulties in staffing. All areas in the U.S. do not have that. Why are you expanding operations in the region? Folkes: A lot of our customers want us to do additional stuff. Our research shows there is a huge demand for this kind of work. It is very specialized. We have the skills, the support and investment from the Nasmyth Group to establish this type of facility. There is no other in this area that we can determine that does this. A lot of the local aerospace companies have already given us indicators of what’s available. Can you describe your operations? Folkes: These are corrosion preventative processes. We do not put plating on it or anything like that. We do the conversion of the material and then it is sealed. We also put a primer and finished coat on after that. When you walk on an aircraft and see the door with all the white hinges, that is the kind of work (we do). Within the Nasmyth Group we have another four facilities that do this type of work. We have a lot of technical support from the U.K. if we need it to set these processes up. Is this the same kind of work you do in Burbank? Folkes: We do a little bit of it in Burbank but we need an expansion. Because of the expansion plans that Nasmyth has in their growth expectations, we might use Burbank as another facility or we may not. That is still to be determined. Why did you choose the Santa Clarita Valley? Folkes: There are a number of aerospace companies around here. Most of them are already our customers. We will put in a brand-new processing line, finishing booths, gas ovens, dry rooms, masking rooms, laboratories and offices. It is a very substantial task ahead of us to get all of this in here. The target date for phase one is December 2017 and then phase two in early 2018. Why is Santa Clarita good for manufacturing? Folkes: This valley seems to have developed an aerospace industry so there is a lot around here that gives us what we need. Henson: It’s the pool of expertise and the potential customers required for this kind of business. As far as people here, it is probably one of the more economical places to live. L.A. itself is fairly expensive. People are chasing dollars more there. I think the quality of life here will suit people better. Does the increase in the minimum wage affect your company? Folkes: The people we employ are highly skilled, they are specialists. So the minimum wage does not really affect us. These skilled people will already be above that range. – Mark R. Madler