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Ettore Products Company For Immediate Release ETTORE PRODUCTS COMPANY STARTS CONSTRUCTION OF NEW HEADQUARTERS IN ALAMEDA ALAMEDA, Calif., August 26, 2005 -- Ettore Products Company may not be a household word, but its products are well known to anyone who has ever cleaned a window. Ettore's line-up of over 400 cleaning tools includes the window squeegee, the rubber-bladed device that makes window cleaning an easy task. Ettore is, in fact, the creator of the modern squeegee, which has revolutionized the professional cleaning industry and has made Ettore the U.S. market leader in sales to commercial and residential customers. Demand for squeegees and other window cleaning products is so strong that over the years the family-owned company has accommodated growth by adding space on a piece-meal basis to meet its needs. "We're currently spread out over three buildings, and it's hard to maintain a high level of efficiency in this kind of work environment," says Ettore's Chief Financial Officer Lew Davis. "It was obvious that we had to consolidate our operations, so we started looking for a new site. We were concerned about whether we'd be able to stay in the Bay Area." As it turned out, the company found an ideal location minutes away from its present Oakland-based headquarters site. The property is located at The Waterfront at Harbor Bay in Alameda, a 75-acre business park facing San Francisco Bay. Joe Ernst of SRM Associates - developers and marketers of The Waterfront - explains, "Because of the diversity of sites we're able to offer, we could tailor a facility where they could bring everything together." Work has just begun on a new, 90,000 square-foot building for Ettore. The structure has been designed to include administration, manufacturing, packaging and distribution, all under one roof. It is expected that the new facility will be ready for occupancy in February of 2006. "We place high value on our employees," says Ettore CEO Michael Smahlik. "Many have been with us for a long time, and this site offers them a lot of benefits." He says that most -- and maybe all -- of their 80 employees will stay with the company after the move. "There will be basically no impact on anyone's commute. The Waterfront has great access. We'll have plenty of parking. And we'll be right next to the Bay rather than in a typical industrial park." Ernst adds, "Location has become a more important criterion in site selection. Alameda is perfectly situated for a company such as Ettore. Its central Bay Area location is ideal for doing business, and attracting and keeping employees." The company is named for Ettore Steccone, an immigrant from Italy who ran a janitorial business with his wife and invented the modern day squeegee in Oakland in 1936. The business thrived on the basis of a unique product design, reliable quality and good value. It remains family owned, with Dianne Smahlik, Steccone's daughter, serving as chairman and her husband Michael Smahlik serving as CEO. "We're finding that companies like Ettore -- those with diverse needs that are looking for a quality location -- are showing increased interest in leasing or building space in our project," reports Ernst. "And they've looked carefully at the alternatives. In the past year, we've added 100,000 square feet of space. Ettore brings an additional 90,000 square feet and we have another 200,000 square feet in the pipeline." ABOUT THE WATERFRONT AT HARBOR BAY The Waterfront offers 75 acres of fully entitled land for new construction and 380,000 rentable square feet of existing high quality and fully furnished office, R&D and light manufacturing and warehouse space on some of the last undeveloped waterfront land on the San Francisco Bay, complete with sweeping views of San Francisco. Pacific Coast Capital Partners (PCCP) and SRM Associates (SRM) joined forces in 2003 to market and develop The Waterfront at Harbor Bay. The Waterfront at Harbor Bay is part of the master-planned community of Harbor Bay Isle within Alameda, which includes more than 3,000 homes, a full-service fitness and tennis facility, the Harbor Bay Landing shopping center and high-speed ferry service to San Francisco. For information about owning or leasing at The Waterfront at Harbor Bay, contact Joe Ernst of SRM Associates at (510) 864-5309, or via email at info@TheWaterfrontHB.com. Or go to www.TheWaterfrontHB.com. # # # For media information, contact: Irv Hamilton or Dianne Newton-Shaw AVISO, Inc. (510) 496-2352 dnshaw@e-agency.com Click Here for a Printer Friendly Version |
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