14 www.sdbj.com JUNE 14, 2021

SPECIAL REPORT: SOUTH COUNTY

South County Jobs Fueled by Blue Economy and Logistics ’s Southern Region Builds Momentum Off of Coastal Location and Proximity to U.S.- Border

„ By NATALLIE ROCHA

Location is everything when it comes of the border, said Ryan Molinaro, vice facility in Otay Mesa means complemen- in psychology that are driving Amazon to understanding what is fueling jobs president of operations for Pasha Au- tary businesses will come to the area as trucks right now,” Wells said. and long-term growth for the South tomotive Services at the National City well, said Mier y Teran. While the local workforce is posi- County. The region is comprised of San Marine Terminal. Additionally, infrastructure invest- tioned to benefit from the growth in Diego County’s most southern cities “The consum- ments in the southern region show manufacturing facilities in the short such as Imperial Beach, National City, er market is high, promising growth for future business term, Wells added that he is working Chula Vista, San Ysidro and Otay Mesa. and South Coun- opportunities. to bolster San Ysidro’s small business- Its coastal proximity to the San Di- ty has a great la- “Recent infrastructure investments es through e-commerce, which can lead ego Bay lends itself to the growing blue bor pool for the in the existing Otay Mesa of en- to long-term growth. economy — which capitalizes on ocean logistics indus- try, the development of a new state of resources and technology — while try which offers the art port of entry in East Otay Mesa, Blue Economy its terrestrial of entry along the family support- the construction of additional highway In addition to the region’s border U.S.-Mexico border provide crucial ac- ing wages,” Mo- ramps and upgrades to the major south- economy, South County’s contribu- cess for local businesses and their workers. linaro said. “Our bound truck route is also promising as it tions to the blue economy — water-de- James O’Callaghan, president and customers rely on Ryan Molinaro will bring more efficiency to area busi- pendent business ventures — are a sig- CEO of the South County Economic De- the transportation Vice President of nesses and make the region more com- nificant part of its future job growth. velopment Council — an organization industry – mari- Operations petitive,” Mier y Teran said. Both O’Callaghan and Mier y Teran said that promotes the education and eco- time, railroad and Pasha Automotive Throughout the pandemic long wait that the ports never slowed operations nomic prosperity in the South San Diego trucking.” Services times crossing the border have been a during the pandemic. County Region — Pasha Automotive Services has more challenge for workers and while some This trend rings true for Marine said that next to than 300 employees who provide a broad improvements have been made recent- Group Boat Works, a family-owned, real estate devel- range of automobile processing services ly, the border still is not functioning at full-service boat construction and su- opment booming, to many automobile manufacturers sup- pre-pandemic levels. For some compa- peryacht refit facility occupying over 15 the manufactur- plying vehicles to the U.S. market. nies approximately 80% of their work- acres of land and water in Chula Vista ing and logistics Alejandra Mier y Teran, executive di- force or more reside in Tijuana, Mier y and National City. sectors are poised rector of the Otay Mesa Chamber of Teran said. The company to generate jobs Commerce said that for Otay Mesa in “Moving employees across the border has approximate- in South County. particular, there is opportunity for busi- is still a struggle for those that aren’t ly 185 employ- “With our prox- nesses to take advantage of the indus- necessarily residents,” O’Callaghan said. ees and are in the imity to trade trial accommo- “So, we’re trying as a region — it’s kind process of hiring James O’Callaghan routes and other President & CEO dating land and of hamstrung bringing some of those about 15 more ports not being South County EDC its proximity to jobs back because it takes them longer ranging from able to keep up the border. to get across the border right now.” skilled trades in- with demand, there has been a steady Supply chain The San Ysidro Port of Entry is the cluding mechan- rise in business including with boat re- disruptions largest land border crossing between ics, HVAC, ship- pairs and service,” O’Callaghan said. have happened San Diego and fitters and pipe- Todd Roberts “Many in supporting industries contin- throughout the Tijuana, and the fitters to admin- President ue to look for people in the trades in- pandemic, from fourth-busiest istrative positions Marine Group Boat cluding welders and craftsmen.” the manufactur- land border cross- including QA spe- Works ing of automo- Alejandra Mier y Teran ing in the world. cialists, accounting Logistics and Supply Chains biles to Personal Executive Director Jason Wells, ex- personnel and project managers. Otay Mesa Chamber Over the past decade, jobs in the man- Protective Equip- of Commerce ecutive director Todd Roberts, president of Marine ufacturing and logistics sectors were on ment. Mier y Ter- of the San Ysidro Group Boat Works, said the maritime a steady incline prior to the pandemic. an said that when companies shift their Chamber of Com- industry is not easily impacted by pan- While they are inching back to pre-pan- supply chains from Asia to Tijuana, it merce said since demic factors. In fact, he said his com- demic employment levels, according to in turn creates a significant number of March 2020, the Jason Wells pany averages $65 million a year in rev- the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the jobs in Otay Mesa for logistics support region has lost Executive Director enue with the highest year being 2020 San Ysidro Chamber manufacturing as well as transportation services for these manufacturers. 1,900 of about of Commerce when revenues came in at $72.9 million. and warehousing sectors each gained ap- “Let’s just say for a biomedical compa- 6,000 jobs. “Boatyards and shipyards are what’s proximately 23,000 jobs in May. ny in San Diego, instead of looking to He said the border restrictions for called “critical infrastructure” or com- Local logistics companies like Pasha set up their manufacturing facilities in non-essential travelers have impact- monly known as essential businesses,” Automotive Services which has served China, they may want a facility in Tijua- ed his area’s businesses a majority of Roberts said. “At any point in time, ship- San Diego since 1990, experienced the na that way they can go back and forth which are retail and the decline in busi- yards and their supply chains need to impacts of the coronavirus pandemic to the manufacturing center the same ness during the pandemic caused many be able to respond to the needs of the on its business as automakers initially day and that will create service jobs in to shrink their staff. Department of Defense and Homeland halted production at factories in the U.S. Otay Mesa for example, rather than if Now, even as the San Diego region Security at a moment’s notice.” and overseas, and most U.S. auto deal- they go to Asia,” Mier y Teran said. moves toward re-opening, he said the His company is among the six long- erships were temporarily closed. young people who would typically work standing shipyards on the San Diego wa- However, as the logistics sector in Border Location these retail jobs have moved on to other, terfront that works with suppliers, builds, South County is positioned for future The sector for warehousing and logistics often higher wage jobs such as driving repairs and maintains commercial ves- growth, the company’s strategic loca- facilities is booming and as they say in for Amazon or working in hospitality sels and U.S. Navy vessels. tion in the South Bay enables them to real estate, location is everything. The outside of San Ysidro. “Meanwhile, the maintenance and re- partner with auto manufacturers south news that Amazon invested in a new “I know some that have college degrees pair of vessels such as war ships, patrol JUNE 14, 2021 www.sdbj.com 15

boats, fire boats, police boats, etc., are not things you can put off, especially for safety purposes should the vessels be called for service,” Roberts said.

Economic Impact According to the Port of San Diego’s “Working Waterfront Stats,” the shipyards generate approximately $1.25 billion in shipbuilding and repair payroll and are made up of about 14,000 shipbuilding and repair workers. San Diego-based General Dynamics NASSCO has approximately 3,535 local employees and recently started construc- tion of the future USNS Robert F. Ken- nedy (T-AO 208), the fourth of six vessels for the U.S. Navy’s John Lewis-class fleet oiler program. At BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair, they have approximately 1,100 full-time employees and since the mid-1970s have been a leading shipyard in modernizing both U.S. Navy surface warfare ships and commercial vessels. Spending in the defense sector accounts for about 20% of San Diego’s gross re- Photo Courtesy of General Dynamics NASSCO gional product (GRP), according to re- In January, General Dynamics NASSCO launched the future USNS John Lewis (T-AO 205), the first of six vessels in the John Lewis-class fleet oiler program designed to support the U.S. Navy. search by the San Diego Regional Eco- nomic Development Corporation. The world’s ocean economy has an es- timated value of $1.5 trillion per year, ac- cording to The Commonwealth Blue Char- ter. The emerging “blue economy” is built on the idea that the economic opportuni- ties of the ocean come with stewardship that protect these natural resources. “Over the long term you should see a lot more growth around the port and blue tech jobs as well,” O’Callaghan said. “And the blue tech industry is growing in all kinds of ways from unmanned [vessels] and people having to build and control those, to actual things being done on the water itself whether that be boat manu- facturing or renovations.” Right alongside these port businesses who need skilled trade workers, Pasha Au- tomotive Services plans to tap into the community’s workforce. “There is a large demand for truck driv- ers and trade work,” Molinaro said. “We plan to reach out to local community col- leges and high schools to ensure South County residents are aware of job oppor- tunities in our industry.” While the job trends in these indus- tries ebb and flow with seasonal projects, O’Callaghan said there will be a continued Photo Courtesy of Marine Group Boat Works need for skilled workers going forward. n Marine Group Boat Works plans on hiring about 15 more skilled trade workers in positions such as mechanics and shipfitters.

Photo Courtesy of Pasha Automotive Services Pasha Automotive Services’ strategic location in the South Bay enables the company to partner with auto manufacturers south of the border in Mexico. 16 SOUTH COUNTY'S LARGESTwww.sdbj.com EMPLOYERS JUNE 14, 2021  Ranked by number of local THE LIST SOUTHRanked COUNTY’S by number ofLARGEST local employees EMPLOYERS as of May 1, 2021 employees as of May 1, 2021

Number of local Rank Organization # of South Percent of local employees Address County employees working in Full-time Parent org. (last Website employees: South County: Part-time: Headquarters Top local year) Phone 2021 2021 2021 Organization description Year est. locally executive

Serves as the only major General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard on the West Coast, General Dynamics 2798 E. Harbor Drive, 3,110 88% 3,525 designing, constructing and Corp. 1 San Diego 92113 10 repairing ships for the U.S. Reston, VA Dave Carver www.nassco.com Navy and commercial 1944 619-544-3400 customers

Sharp HealthCare 8695 Spectrum Center Blvd., 12,972 Health care, hospitals, medical Sharp HealthCare 2,668 14% groups, health services, health San Diego Christopher 2 San Diego 92123 6,500 Howard www.sharp.com plan 1955 858-499-4000

Southwestern Community College 900 Otay Lakes Road, 660 Chula Vista Mark 3 Chula Vista 91910 1,333 100% 673 Community College 1961 Sanchez www.swccd.edu 619-421-6700

City of Chula Vista 276 Fourth Ave., 1,049 Police, fire, recreation, library, City of Chula Vista 1,256 100% Chula Vista Mary Casillas 4 Chula Vista 91910 207 streets, sewer Salas www.chulavistaca.gov 1911 619-691-5296

BAE Systems 2205 East Belt, Foot of Sampson Street, 1,150 Falls Church, VA David 5 San Diego 92113 1,150 100% 0 Ship repair company 1999 Thomas, Jr. www.baesystems.com 619-238-1000

Paradise Valley Hospital Prime Healthcare 2400 E. Fourth St., 851 100% 733 291-bed acute care hospital Services Neerav 6 National City 91950 118 with emergency room Ontario Jadeja www.paradisevalleyhospital.net 1904 619-470-4321

Kaiser Permanente San Diego Kaiser Foundation 9455 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.,(1) Nonprofit health maintenance Health Plan & 4,884 Hospitals Jane Finley 7 San Diego 92123 625 7% 4,040 hospital, outpatient medical, www.kp.org/sandiego urgent care, medical offices Oakland 858-266-5000 1967

Provides high-quality janitorial NMS Management, Inc. services for various Federal, 155 W. 35th Street, Suite A, 120 State, and municipal agencies, National City David 8 National City 91950 380 100% 260 also accommodates a complete 1985 Guaderrama www.nms-management.com spectrum of commercial 619-425-0440 properties

Dixieline Lumber 2740 Tidelands Ave., Hardware and building 285(2) Redmond, Wash. John 9 National City 91950 285 100% products, retailer and supplier 1913 Mayhew www.dixieline.com 0 of lumber 619-224-4120

City of National City Police, fire, finance, library, 1243 National City Boulevard, (2) community services, National City Brad National City 91950 275 100% 275 10 0 engineering/public works, 1868 Raulston www.nationalcityca.gov human resources 619-336-4411

Ball Automotive Group Offers new and used , 1935 National City Blvd., (2) and Kia cars, trucks, and National City National City 91950 250 100% 250 Jennifer Ball 11 0 SUVs to our customers near 1969 www.ballauto.com San Diego 619-477-1517

Dedicated to being the Motivational Systems foremost full-service supplier of 2200 Cleveland Ave., 245(2) National City 12 245 100% interior and exterior 1975 Robert Young National City 91950 0 environmental graphics in its 619-474-8246 marketplace

SeaWorld San Diego and Aquatica Waterparks SeaWorld Parks & 500 SeaWorld Drive, 205 9% 290 Marine park & aquatic park Entertainment 13 San Diego 92109 1,990 Orlando, Fla. John Dunlap www.seaworldsandiego.com 1964 619-226-3901

Source: The South County EDC & the companies Because industries use different standards for what is considered an employee, editor. Some companies have declined to participate or did not return a survey by press time. It is not the intent of this list to endorse the participants employee totals may include contract, per diem and other classifications. or to imply a company's size or numerical rank indicates its quality. To the best of our knowledge, this information is accurate as of press time. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and thoroughness of (1) Main office address not located within South County zone, however numbers only reflect employees working within South County. the list, omissions and typographical errors sometimes occur. Please send corrections or additions to the Research Department at the San Diego (2) San Diego Business Journal estimate based off South County EDC numbers. Business Journal. Eric Alderete, [email protected]. This list may not be reprinted in whole or in part without prior written permission from the