Moorpark Site Reunites Quake-Struck WPI/Viking

Employees of WPI/Viking, a manufacturer of connecting devices used in electrical systems, have themselves been somewhat disconnected in recent years.

Before the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the company operated its manufacturing, engineering, sales and inventory control groups out of a 100,000-square-foot building in Chatsworth.

Severe quake damage, however, forced the company to move some of its manufacturing operation to a small plating facility in Van Nuys and other key departments to another small facility 13 miles away in Chatsworth.

“Having our manufacturing in one site and our inventory in another led to a lot of inefficiencies,” said WPI/Viking General Manager Rob Busch. “It was a temporary condition that lasted almost five years.”

Although somewhat prolonged, the situation was indeed temporary.

WPI/Viking has closed both its San Fernando Valley sites and moved its 90 employees to a new 43,000-square-foot building on Endeavor Court in Moorpark. The company also operates a 30,000-square-foot facility in Nogales, Mexico.

WPI/Viking is one of eight divisions of New Jersey-based WPI Inc. With manufacturing facilities in the United States, Mexico and Taiwan, WPI supplies connector and cable-assembly products to a number of industries, including aerospace, telecommunications, transportation, computer, military and medical.

The parent company was founded in 1971 as a cable assembly and harness manufacturer for the military industry. Since then, WPI has diversified through the purchase of other firms. The company acquired Viking Electronics of Chatsworth in July 1994, just six months after the quake.

WPI/Viking, founded in the mid-1950s, includes among its customers Lockheed Martin Corp. The company, in one of its larger projects, supplies connectors for the Javelin anti-armor missiles, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Texas Instruments.

Busch said that WPI/Viking had been looking in Moorpark for more than a year, and that company officials were glad to finally locate a site.

“It was challenging moving two locations at one time, but after the dust settled, it was quite a relief,” Busch said.

“What we do best is offer a fully integrated manufacturing process,” he said. “We have engineering, sales, inventory, fully tooled machining capabilities, plastic molding, rubber molding, stamping. We can utilize our talents creating custom designs. In Moorpark, we can have our departments consolidated in one facility.”

Along with streamlining the production process, the move to Moorpark has enabled WPI/Viking to retain its workers, Busch said.

“We looked at both Simi Valley and Moorpark, and Moorpark’s location was central to where our employees reside,” he said. “Our average employee time length is 15 years--we pride ourselves in maintaining our employees.”