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Electronics Firm Plans to Relocate Its Plant

A 250-employee electronics manufacturing firm is set to announce today that it will move its Woodland Hills plant to Thousand Oaks, drawn by the city’s low crime rate and affordable housing.

Ronan Engineering Corp. officials entered into an escrow agreement to buy a five-acre parcel on Townsgate Road near Westlake Boulevard. The company plans to move its headquarters and open a 100,000-square-foot plant by the end of 1996, Chief Financial Officer Douglas A. Hewitson said.

Ronan manufactures high-tech industrial monitoring equipment, Hewitson said. He said the company hopes to close escrow on the deal by the end of this year.

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The land and construction of the new plant will cost the company about $6 million, Hewitson said.

“Thousand Oaks is a desirable place for our workers to live,” said Hewitson, an Oak Park resident.

He cited the city’s housing prices, labor pool and low crime rate as prime reasons for relocating.

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“We get broken into several times a year,” Hewitson said. “The crime bothers you.”

He also cited Thousand Oaks school and transportation systems as other reasons for moving to the city. Hewitson’s father, John A. Hewitson, founded Ronan in 1959 and lives in North Ranch.

He expects most current employees to remain with the company and said a new digital technology could create another 150 jobs in the next five years. In addition, the company will bring tax revenues to Thousand Oaks coffers.

Ronan is a privately held company with annual sales of about $30 million, Hewitson said.

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