Knitting Firm Buys 115,000-SF Facility

PICO RIVERA, CA-The principals of Richline Textile Co., a knitting and textile manufacturing firm, have acquired a 115,000-sf manufacturing and warehouse facility in a rare local expansion for the Los Angeles garment industry.

The Richline principals bought the property through an entity called MRO Elliott Management Co. for $5.5 million, according to Jerry Sackler of Daum Commercial Real Estate Services. Sackler represented Richline, while the seller, All Partners, was represented by Westgate Industrial Brokerage.

Sackler says the building will double the amount of space occupied by Richline, which will move from nearby Vernon. The company is scheduled to move in January to the new facility, which occupies 4.2 acres at 8321 Canford St. Approximately 100 workers will be employed at the site, which formerly served as the headquarters for L.A. Dye & Print Works.

The sale was one of the largest completed in Pico Rivera during 2002, according to Sackler, who has represented a number of textile firms in recent years. He notes that Richline is bucking a trend of the past few years in which Los Angeles-based garment industry firms have moved their manufacturing out of the country. Richline’s new headquarters is a free-standing, concrete tilt-up building that includes 11,000 sf of office space, 22-foot minimum interior clearance and ample on-site parking.