For Immediate Release
WINE-INDUSTRY-RELATED BUSINESSES ARE CHOOSING FAIRFIELD, CA FOR ITS STRATEGIC LOCATION AND AFFORDABLE OFFICE AND INDUSTRIAL SPACE
http://www.fairfield4business.com
http://www.sauryusa.com
http://www.gratefulpalateimports.com
Fairfield, Calif., August 28, 2007 — The city of Fairfield, California’s strategic location and affordable office and industrial space are making it a city of choice for wine-industry-related businesses.
The most recent companies in the wine-industry sector to locate in Fairfield, located halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento, are Saury USA and Grateful Palate Imports. Others that have been in Fairfield for a year or more are Saint-Gobain Containers and Owens-Brockway Glass Container Inc.
“These companies are choosing to locate in Fairfield over other Bay Area cities because we offer a premium location for office and industrial development. We are pleased to welcome these growing companies,” says Curt Johnston, Fairfield’s assistant community development director.
Saury USA
Saury USA represents a French barrel manufacturer in business since 1993. It sells and markets French oak wine barrels to the wine industry and has its main office in Napa Valley’s Oakville, CA. The company signed a 5-year lease on the 25,875 square foot Fairfield facility located at 2345 South Watney Way.
The Fairfield location serves as a warehouse with future plans being considered to house an American-Oak-production facility. No timeline has been established.
“Our reasons for opening a location in Fairfield were largely economical and due to the fact that Fairfield is strategically located close to the Interstate,” says Bayard Fox, general manager of Saury USA. “The space we have in Fairfield is much more attractive economically than what we could find in Napa. In addition, the fact that the City connected us with the State’s Employment Training Panel to partially reimburse us for training our employees is important to our future plans.”
Grateful Palate Imports
Also moving into the same area in Fairfield is Grateful Palate Imports, a wine importer and distributor. The company imports Australian wines and sells them through a distributor network. It also sells online, shipping to states that allow direct shipment of wine.
Grateful Palate has signed a three-year lease on a 60,000 square foot space at 2449 South Watney Way. The site will be used for the company’s warehouse and offices. Corporate headquarters will remain in Oxnard, CA where the company has been since its founding in 1997.
The company expects to have its Fairfield offices fully operational within three months. Of the company’s 30 employees, it is expected that about one-third of them will be located in Fairfield.
“The Fairfield location provides us with accessibility to our distributors in Northern California’s wine regions. Also figuring into our choice is the fact that Fairfield offers favorably priced real estate,” says Ben DeSantis, controller of Grateful Palate Imports.
Other Wine-Related Businesses
Also in Fairfield is Saint-Gobain Containers, Inc., a major glass container manufacturer in the United States, serving the food, beverage, beer, spirits, and wine-container markets. The company has a 1,020,000 square-foot distribution center located at 2600 Stanford Court, northwest of the intersection of Peabody Road and Air Base Parkway. Saint-Gobain’s headquarters are in Muncie, Indiana.
In early 2007, Owens-Brockway Glass Container Inc., signed a 10-year lease on a 607,208-square-foot warehouse at 5195 Fermi Drive in Fairfield. The site is used as a warehouse to store wine bottles until they are delivered to winery clients in Napa and Sonoma counties. Owens-Brockway Glass Container is a wholly owned subsidiary of Owens-Illinois, Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of glass containers.
Fairfield Offers Important Business Benefits
Fairfield continues to appeal to retail and commercial entities seeking to grow their businesses for many reasons: an accessible Bay Area location, abundant space, value-priced real estate, a diverse workforce, and a unique set of regional amenities. For additional information on the city of Fairfield, visit http://www.fairfield4business.com
###
For Media Information, contact:
Miriam Schaffer
The Placemaking Group
510-496-2354, ext. 207
mschaffer@PlacemakingGroup.com
