Canyon Country · Newhall · Saugus · Valencia · Stevenson Ranch · Castaic · Agua Dulce
SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL www.scvbj.com
$2.00 · Volume 7 · Number 9
january 2016
Laemmle Mixed-Use Project Page 5
■ JSB Development. Courtesy rendering.
JSB Development Readying to Start Second MixedUse Project By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor
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fter holding onto a parcel of land for some 10 years, JSB Development plans to build a mixed-use project off of McBean Parkway, nearby where The Greens’ miniature golf and restaurant once stood. The project is planned for land just to See JSB page 19
■ Serrano Development Group. Courtesy rendering.
SCV Firms Breathe a Sigh of Breeding Success: Ktech Launches Second Company Relief as Export-Import Bank By Jana Adkins is Revived SCVBJ Editor
By Jana Adkins
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product manufacturer for digital broadcasting network and cable companies, Ktech Telecommunications, Inc. relocated to Valencia, earned a state business tax credit, and is preparing to launch a new branch of business all within the space of a few months. Founded 20 years ago, the company recently moved from Chatsworth to an 8,000 square foot space on Ave. Crocker in Valencia. The company needed more space to expand, said Founder and President Steve Kuh. Quite simply, the area offered a larger floor space for manufacturing and at better terms, he said. And that worked well for Kuh’s expansion plan.
iXT On Nov. 1, Kuh formed a separate firm with partner Gene Agron called iXT Manufacturing Solutions, LLC. Serving as an electronics contract manufacturer, it will provide engineering and circuit assembly services to other companies. A USC-trained engineer, who formerly worked with the telecommunications
SCVBJ Editor
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■ Circuit board and HDTV decoder box at Ktech in Valencia. Photo by Dan Watson.
company Motorola, Kuh first branched off on his own two decades ago because he wanted to develop microchip technology used for high-definition television (HDTV). Ktech became one of the first companies to produce equipment for that industry. Expanding into new areas, Ktech and iXT operate out of the same building, but the owners of iXT are focusing on LED-based lighting products for See KTECH, page 8
fter having been shut down for nearly five months when Congress allowed the Export-Import Bank’s charter to expire for the first time in its 81-year history, President Obama signed legislation in late November reviving the federal bank. A measure extending the charter through 2019 was included in a massive transportation bill that both the House and Senate finally passed. The bank was first established in 1934 and is now a small federal agency that makes and guarantees loans to help foreign customers buy U.S. goods. But, conservatives said the free market doesn’t need any help, a campaign led by the
■ A man walks past the Export-Import Bank of the United States, in Washington, D.C. Congressional backers of the Export-Import Bank are close to reviving it four months after conservative foes ensured that its charter expired. AP image.
billionaire Koch Brothers, tea party activists and Sen. Marco Rubio, a 2016 presidential candidate. “As a lifetime Republican, I was appalled See BANK, page 10
Movie Ranches to Qualify as Production Facilities Under State’s Film Incentive Program By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor
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he California Film Commission is preparing to include movie ranches under the definition of an “approved production facility,” said an official with the state commission. Under the current definition, studios with indoor sound stages were typically considered as approved facilities.
Santa Clarita has many movie ranches, including Melody Ranch, Blue Cloud and Disney’s Golden Oak Ranch, that have served as backdrops to feature films. But not all movie ranches in the area will meet the approved criteria, said Amy Lemisch, executive director for the California Film Commission. “A movie ranch has to be properly primarily used for film and TV commercial production,” Lemisch said. See MOVIE, page 19
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