GUARDIAN LEAVING SIMI FOR TIJUANA; COMPANY MOVING PLANT WOOED TO CITY IN 1992.

Byline: Douglas Clark Daily News Staff Writer

After being enticed to Simi Valley in 1992 with a $175,000 incentive package, Guardian Products Inc. has found a sweeter deal and is moving its medical care products operation to Tijuana by June.

Corporate officials say the low cost of labor in Mexico is the primary reason for closing the 121,000-square-foot plant in the Tapo Canyon Business Park, where 180 workers manufacture canes, walkers and bathing safety products. Mexican laborers are now earning about $1.15 an hour, compared with $7 per hour paid to Guardian employees in Simi Valley, officials said.

``It really is an opportunity for us to compete against a lot of our competition that is already operating in the Far East and Mexico,'' Guardian President John Frymark said. ``The marketplace, in general, is much more price conscious.''

Guardian's decision to move to Mexico surprised officials from the city and state, which formed a ``red team'' in the early 1990s to help retain businesses that were considering leaving California.

``This one came up on nobody's radar screen, which indicates to us that they were keeping their decisions close to the vest,'' said Mike Marando, a spokesman for the California Trade and Commerce Agency. ``We certainly would have welcomed the chance to meet with them.''

Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton, said the city doesn't like to lose good corporate neighbors like Guardian, which was named the 1997 Company of the Year by the local Chamber of Commerce. But he added that the city may be able to benefit from the move.

``We have a shortage of (industrial) spaces this size,'' he said, ``so the move could be a blessing in disguise if we can get a company in there with even higher-end jobs. That's a building that can house 500 employees.'' Don Penman, assistant city manager of economic development, said he was confident that a new tenant easily will be found for the Guardian facility.

``There's so much demand for space. I get calls weekly from companies looking for a space like this,'' he said.

Marcia P. Vaughan, director of communications for Sunrise Medical Inc., of Carlsbad, Guardian's parent company, said officials had planned to gradually move operations to Tijuana after opening a facility there in February.

But the decision was made to accelerate the move because the Mexican work force has proved capable and ``much cheaper'' than in the United States, and construction of a permanent 100,000-square-foot facility is ahead of schedule.

``It's gone so well. We have higher productivity than was anticipated, and there's definitely a cost savings,'' she said.

Guardian relocated to Simi Valley from Arleta in 1992, when local officials promised the company $175,000 in tax breaks. Then-President Robert B. Senn said the incentive was the ``determining factor'' in the decision to move.

While Guardian was one of several businesses wooed to the city by tax incentives, its arrival was important because it was the first business to locate in a new business park, which now includes Micom and Standard Abrasives, Stratton said.

While acknowledging corporations have a right to make ``internal decisions,'' Marando said many companies that were ``as good as gone'' decided to stay in California after meeting the Trade and Commerce Agency.

For example, though Taco Bell was poised in 1994 to relocate its Irvine headquarters, it decided to stay and has since expanded.

The same is true of Harrison Sports, which has created 100 new jobs since expanding its Pacoima operation last year.

Protection One also added jobs following an expansion in Chatsworth in January, he said.