Newcomers, long-time businesses thrive in Santa Maria
By Angela Harrington and Cathy Cuthbertson
Businesses new to the area are finding out what long-time businesses already know: Santa Maria is a great place to grow any organization.
Operating on the central coast offers companies a chance to thrive in an ideal location with access to an enthusiastic workforce.
A.T. Still University of Health Sciences
New to the area is A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, a 130-year-old university that started in Kirksville, Mo. Opened by Andrew Taylor Still, it was the founding school of osteopathic medicine in the United States and has been in continuous existence since 1892.
In 1990, it expanded to open a second campus in Mesa, Ariz. The plan to open a third campus has been in the works for more than a decade and the search for the right location began then.
“We initially looked in San Diego and struggled to find something that would work for us in that area,” said Dr. Ted Wendel, Senior VP for Strategic Initiative Planning, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences. “There is a large, very successful, community health center on the Central Coast, and they encouraged us to visit, and we did, and we found a gem.”
“As a university, we offer graduate level health professionals an education. We educate osteopathic physicians, dentists, physician assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists, audiologists, speech language pathologists and athletic trainers,” Wendel said.
Santa Maria was a great choice for the university because there were not any other programs similar to it in the area.
“The mission of the university is related to the needs of underserved communities and community health centers in the United States,” Wendel explained.
The Santa Maria location welcomed 88 students into the physician assistant program that began in October 2021. It is a master’s degree program that consists of 24 months of very intensive training. In the near future a dozen medical students will attend the Santa Maria location for the final three years of their medical education.
Wendel said an important benefit to being in Santa Maria, “is we have a very strategic partner in the community health centers. That’s our mission. Having the community health center right there, they have been very supportive.”
The city government, the Chamber of Commerce, and the support of the medical facilities are all contributors to the success of the university and their students.
Wendel recognizes the diversity, opportunities, and safety of Santa Maria as attractive qualities.
“There is something in the community for almost everyone,” he said.
Arista Aviation Services
Another recent transplant, Arista Aviation Services LLC found that Santa Maria was the perfect place to land when the company decided to expand.
“We looked around the state, knowing that we wanted to be close to the center of the state,” said Rich Enderle, President and CEO. “Santa Maria was the perfect location and the community was super welcoming. The Santa Maria Airport, and other operators at the airport, were extremely helpful in bringing the business here, cooperation has been outstanding.”
“We’re situated in the center of the state in order to allow helicopter operators in the area the opportunity to travel to Santa Maria without a fuel stop,” Enderle said. “We decided to use this as a key factor in making our decision. Our hope is to accommodate new and current customers coming from the north and the south. It’s perfect.”
And having readily available facilities was another plus.
“Santa Maria had a hangar available and ready, which met all of our needs, saving us the time and cost of building,” he said. “That made the decision even easier.”
Opening a little more than a year ago in Santa Maria, Arista Aviation is a world-class business and internationally known one-stop shop for military and commercial rotorcraft refurbishment. The company provides full-spectrum maintenance for helicopters of all kinds. The Santa Maria location is the newest branch of the business, whose headquarters are based in Enterprise, Ala.
“Many customers come to us,” Enderle said, “but we’ll also go to them. Our focus is on providing responsiveness and quality maintenance to helicopters operating in California and surrounding states.
In fact, it was a relationship with both the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and Santa Barbara County Sheriff Office that initially sparked Arista’s interest in moving to California and ultimately, Santa Maria.
“We were very fortunate to be selected by Santa Barbara County to perform initial maintenance and modifications to the county’s first Fire Hawk and that work was performed in Alabama. After completing the aircraft and thinking about their needs, as well as others in the area, we started thinking about opening a branch in California, and the rest is history,” Enderle said.
“One thing that makes us love it here is the sense of community. I would encourage any business that’s thinking about coming here, to make the move. I can’t say enough about how welcoming everyone has been.”
Hardy Diagnostics
A long-standing Santa Maria business, Hardy Diagnostics, continues to find positive reasons to stay in the area.
Hardy Diagnostics headquarters in Santa Maria has seen growth every year since its inception and growth during the pandemic was remarkable according to Chris Catani, COO at Hardy Diagnostics.
At the height of the pandemic, the team at Hardy Diagnostics was working seven days a week, for nearly a year, producing tubes of viral transport media and then shipping them all over the country.
“Our niche is microbiology, and we manufacture what is called prepared culture media. We make 1,300 different products. We sell to hospitals, pharmaceutical and food laboratories, as well as to academia,” said Catani.
There are only two other companies in the country that do what Hardy Diagnostics does. With two manufacturing facilities in the U.S., and 7 distribution centers, more than two-thirds of their 420 employees are located in California. The products they make are also shipped to 35 different countries.
The company was formed by Jay Hardy in 1980 and found its start in Santa Barbara.
“After a few years in Santa Barbara, the facility wasn’t big enough to support our growth, and it was difficult to find labor. When we moved to Santa Maria, and bought property here, it was affordable and there was a good labor pool. The cost of living is also less, so you can retain employees,” Catani said.
After more than 30 years in Santa Maria, Hardy Diagnostics is still finding positives to being in this community. The proximity to the airport is a definite benefit for them.
“There are three FedEx airplanes that are dedicated to our products. Our product is perishable and fragile, and it needs to get to the location rather quickly because it needs to be refrigerated,” Catani said.
Now that things are stabilizing from the early COVID situation, Catani said operations are back to normal, although the raw material supply chain has been an issue.
“We are established here. We have roots. We have everything set up here, so we’re not going anywhere,” Catani said. “We have good relationships with the community. Very deep ties. We donate to local charities, so we invest back in the community.”
Reasons Catani said new companies may want to consider Santa Maria are the great weather, a good, available workforce, proximity to highway 101, FedEx and UPS hubs, the airport, and for California, the real-estate prices are reasonable.
Atlas Copco Mafi-Trench
Another long-standing business has found success for more than 40 years in the Santa Maria community
Atlas Copco Mafi-Trench began in Los Angeles in 1975 and moved to Santa Maria in 1981, after the owners realized that LA had become unlivable for the average worker.
“They wanted to offer the employees an opportunity to buy and live in a community,” General Manager James Reilly said, Reilly compared the area to more of a farm community. “This is a great place to raise your kids and family.”
The business may not have started in Santa Maria but the roots the company has grown here are strong.
Surrounded by grapes, lettuce and strawberries, and being just a quick ten-mile drive to the beach, Santa Maria has been a great location for the nearly 220 people employed by Atlas Copco Mafi-Trench to live, work and thrive.
Being near the airport has also been beneficial.
“It helps that we are near the airport, so the noise we generate when testing the machines, people think it’s the airport, and we are good with that,” Reilly jokingly said.
Having the airport close by serves the company well since, “our customers are mostly international. So just being in California where we are means that it’s kind of attractive,” he said.
Customers come to Santa Maria from all over the world. They come because they need to see the equipment during the testing process and during their stay many will visit places like Disneyland, San Francisco, and the Pacific Coast Highway. After thoroughly enjoying the fantastic weather and shopping, they return to places like China, Saudi Arabia, and Germany with brand new suitcases filled with wine and Levi jeans, Reilly said.
The machines that Atlas Copco Mafi-Trench manufactures support the petrochemical, LNG, and oil and gas industries, traditionally, but with new green businesses such as solar and hydrogen, “that would really take us off here in Santa Maria and cause us to have to expand in a really big way. How does hydrogen and solar playout in the year or two ahead? If it starts growing, then we will hire more,” Reilly said.
By employing nearly 220 people at the manufacturing facility and utilizing vendors in Santa Maria, Reilly said, “we estimate that we send probably 10 to 15 million dollars into the Santa Maria economy from people making stuff for us or with us.”
“We have an educated population here,” Reilly said. “Certainly, new businesses should take a look at Santa Maria, but it’s probably not for everyone. What attracts people is the great community, the great weather, and the opportunity to stay after college in a place that you grew to love.”
Santa Maria Manufacturers
Santa Maria is home to a variety of large manufacturing companies.
Here is a list of some of those businesses:
• Aluma-Tech (CNC Machining)
• Atlas Copco Mafi-Trench (Centrifugal Turbocompressors, Turboexpanders and Screw Compressors)
• Bottelson American (Championship Darts and Accessories)
• Gavial Engineering & Manufacturing (Electronic & Controls Equipment)
• Hans Duus Blacksmith (Ornamental Iron Lighting Fixtures)
• Hardy Diagnostics (Microbiology Devices)
• Kirby Morgan Dive Systems (Underwater Breathing Equipment)
• M3 Precision (Precision Machining & Engineering)
• Melfred Borzall (Horizontal Directional Drilling Solutions)
• Microwave Applications Group (Electronic & RF Signals Components)
• Mob Armor (Heavy-duty Mounting & Holding Solutions)
• MW Components (Flexible Couplings Solutions)
• North American Fire Hose (Fire Hose Products)
• Pond Armor (Non-Toxic Epoxy Waterproofing Solutions)
• Prince Lionheart (Infant and Child Supplies)
• Quintron Systems (Security & Communication Systems)
• Safran Cabin Interiors (Aircraft Cabin Components)
• Santa Maria BBQ Outfitters (BBQ Equipment & Accessories)
• Santa Maria Tool (Metal Fabricators)
• The Okonite Company (Insulated Electric Wire & Cables)
• Wasco (Pressure Sensors)
