September 5 , 2005 The Orange County Register - Business Monday
The 4 L's - By ANDREW GALVIN

Lifestyle. Labor. Location. Legacy. Orange County has all that, which is why manufacturing has come and stayed.

When Fred Mosey moved his family from Indiana to Fullerton in 1962, Orange County was in its manufacturing heyday. Mosey, a machinist, hitched up a U-Haul trailer and drove his wife and five kids to California with $1,500 in his pocket and no job lined up. He found work within two days of arriving. Thirteen years later, he started his own business.

In those days, Orange County was home to hundreds of little job shops that churned out parts for the aerospace industry. Some, like Moseys' Production Machinists, have adapted and stayed.

"This is where our customers are. The other reason is we live here," said Bob Mosey, Fred's son and now the president of the company. "The Southern California area is a great place to live. Everyone knows that. That's why my dad moved us out here from Indiana."

Ask other manufacturers why they're here, and you'll get variations on the same theme. Orange County retains a surprisingly large manufacturing base largely because of the four Ls:

• Lifestyle: Business owners, just like everybody else, enjoy the sunshine.
• Labor: The region offers a diverse supply of both skilled and unskilled workers.
• Location: Proximity to customers as well as freeways, ports and airports makes shipping a snap.
• Legacy: Many local manufacturers got their start in Orange County back when real estate was much cheaper. In some cases, the founders' children or grandchildren are now running these companies, and they like the lifestyle that their legacy gives them.

Fred Mosey opened Moseys' Production Machinists in Fullerton in 1975 with his wife, Nedra, and daughter Sheila as the only employees.

Today the company is in Anaheim with 50 employees. Its customers include Argo-Tech Costa Mesa, which makes aircraft-refueling parts, and Beckman Coulter, which makes scientific and laboratory equipment in Fullerton.

August 31, 2005 The Orange County Register
Moseys' acquires manufacturing facility in Oroville

Moseys’ Production Machinists, Anaheim, has purchased an Oroville manufacturing facility that makes laser parts for Spectra-Physics, a unit of Irvine-based Newport Corp., said Bob Mosey, president of Moseys’.

The acquisition adds 30 employees in Oroville to the 50 who work at Moseys’ Anaheim manufacturing shop, where it machines metal parts for customers that include Fullerton’s Beckman Coulter, Inc. Mosey said he expects that the purchase will boost his company’s annual revenue to between $10 million and $11 million from $7 million.

November 17, 2003 Orange County Business Journal
Nominations for the Fourth Annual Family Owned Business Award: Moseys’ Production Machinists, Anaheim

Robert and Sheila Mosey grew up in this machining business started by their parents in 1975. At first, the company had only one other employee, a tine industrial space in Fullerton and $40,000 in annual revenue. By 1988, when Robert and Sheila took over the business, the company had grown to include 20 employees, 10,500 square feet of shop space, and $1.5 million in annual revenue. Today, they own a 57,000 square foot facility in Anaheim, where 50 employees and 22 pieces of equipment generate more than $7 million annually.

Employees attribute the company’s continued growth to core values of its founders, Fred and Nedra, who built the business with the promise of honesty, integrity, customer satisfaction, and a safe workplace. Those values and culture have played a role in the company’s low employee turnover rate and their ability to bring trusted advisers on board in a management capacity. Employees have the opportunity for earned advancement and the knowledge that their employer is committed to their well-being.

Mosey family members contribute to the community through groups like the Anaheim Work Investment Board and the National Tooling and Machining Association.