VITAMIN COMPANY MOVING TO VALENCIA.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Daily News Staff Writer

The nation's leading manufacturer of vitamins is consolidating operations and relocating in Valencia.

Pharmavite Corp., which sells Nature Made vitamins, is moving its production and product development operations from San Fernando and its existing Valencia distribution center to a new 740,000-square-foot complex in the Valencia Corporate Center's Vista Business Park.

Six-hundred employees will work at the new site, though Pharmavite will retain 200 workers at its corporate headquarters in Mission Hills, said Paul Bolar, the company's vice president of regulatory and legal affairs.

Pharmavite will be among the 10 largest employers in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The new complex will provide nearly 40 percent more square feet.

``Valencia's a good area for our growth potential as well as the lease value that we will get,'' Bolar said. ``It's also an area where we can get the size facility we need and there's a good base for employees.

``We're excited about the move.''

Aside from Nature Made vitamins and minerals, Pharmavite produces and distributes an herbal supplement line called Nature's Resources, chewable vitamins sold under the Sunny Made label, and Nutra-E hair and skin products, Bolar said.

Pharmavite has a 10-year lease on a four-building complex built by Investment Development Services Inc. The vitamin company will move in phases starting now and continuing through next year, Bolar said.

``This move is important to the company because it provides growth opportunities for the 21st century, consolidates our operations and provides greater retention of our employees,'' company President Ted Higuchil said in a statement.

The Newhall Land and Farming Company originally sold the land to IDS, which is developing the Vista Business Park.

``We're just delighted that a company the size of Pharmavite is bringing so many employees to the Santa Clarita Valley,'' Newhall Land spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer said.

Last year, Newhall Land sold a record 111 acres of industrial-zoned land for development. The development company's two major industrial parks boast a low 3.5 percent vacancy rate.