Simpson Manufacturing Purchases Hacienda Facilities

By George Walsh, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Manufacturer of Structural Connectors and Venting Systems Returns to Park

Simpson Manufacturing, a leading supplier of building products for the construction market, has purchased two buildings at 5956 and 5964 W. Las Positas Boulevard. The company, which will occupy approximately 90,000 square feet of space, will use the facility as its corporate home office. It will be the workplace for 108 people in company management, accounting, marketing, engineering, training, and R&D. Simpson plans to have its engineering and R&D departments moved into one of the buildings in the complex by the end of this year and the rest of the planned occupants moved in sometime in the first quarter of 2006-2007.

Simpson Manufacturing, which started out in the structural connector business in 1956, has two main subsidiaries. The first, Simpson Strong-Tie Company, designs, engineers, and manufactures structural connectors, anchors, and other products for new construction, retrofitting, and do-it-yourself markets. Its products include wood-to-wood, wood-to-concrete, and wood-to-masonry connectors, screw fastening systems, collated screws, and pre-fabricated shearwalls. Simpson Simpson Strong-Tie's products are used to strengthen, support, and connect joints in building construction. In addition to other applications, their products include a number of seismic reinforcements and components designed to secure residential and commercial buildings to their foundations.

Simpson Strong-Tie also offers a full line of adhesives, mechanical anchors, and powder actuated tools for concrete, masonry, and steel. Simpson's other key subsidiary, Simpson Dura-Vent Company, designs and manufactures venting systems for gas, wood, oil, and pellet burning appliances.

As a company, Simpson is also focused on contributing to the community. "One of the key concepts at Simpson, is 'We Learn. We Grow. We Put Something Back,'" says David Hendricks, acquisition manager for Simpson Manufacturing. "In line with that, we not only offer educational assistance to employees for career advancement but also offer scholarship aid to their children. During the past seven years, a total of 69 new scholarships have been awarded. In addition to each year's new awards, 108 educational assistance renewals have been processed during the program's history."

Simpson's philanthropy isn't limited to its own employees. "Our commitment to continued advancement of construction education extended to a donation of $500,000 to help fund the Simpson Strong-Tie Materials Demonstration Laboratory at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo," Hendricks says. "We are also in our sixth year of providing financial assistance to students nationwide under the Simpson Strong-Tie Structural Engineering/Architecture Scholarship program to support education and encourage the design and building of safer structures in our communities."

"We're the world's leading manufacturer of structural timber connectors," he adds. "By the time we're finished with our move, we'll have been in business for 50 years. Our home office started out in San Leandro, moved to Hacienda Business Park, then moved to Dublin for a few years, and now we're back in Hacienda in a much larger space. We're very excited about our new facility. It's just a really good location that's convenient for our employees and fits our needs in terms of expansion." Including the employees that will be working in Hacienda, Simpson Manufacturing employs 2,600 people worldwide.

Photo: These two buildings at 5956 and 5964 W. Las Positas Boulevard will soon serve as the corporate home office for Simpson Manufacturing.

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