Rocketdyne Getting Wooed By Alabama But No Moving Plans

By CARLOS MARTINEZ

San Fernando Valley Business Journal

L.A. City Councilman Dennis P. Zine has formed an advisory committee to keep Boeing Co.’s Rocketdyne division in the San Fernando Valley as the aerospace company receives overtures from Alabama officials to move to their state.

Although Rocketdyne is an immediate concern, Zine said the group would also look at the general issue of companies being recruited by other states where it’s often cheaper to do business.

“We want L.A. to be a business friendly city and I’m trying to put words into action,” said Zine, who said he plans to ask county supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and Michael Antonovich to join the group.

Dan Beck, a spokesman for Rocketdyne, said several communities in Alabama have expressed an interest in the company’s operations, though he added that Rocketdyne, which has been in Canoga Park since the 1940s, has no plans to move. “But we’ll listen to people if they have a proposal that can work for us,” he said.

Rocketdyne is known for developing the Saturn V rocket engines that powered the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Apollo program and for developing the Space Shuttle’s main engines. Today, the company manufactures engines for its Delta IV unmanned rockets, and it employs 3,000 people at two Canoga Park facilities.

The group formed by Zine aims to cut city hall red tape and improve the business environment.