WECO moves headquarters, 75 jobs to Davis after 40 years in Woodland
WECO, a manufacturing firm that makes sorting and moisture-detecting equipment for agricultural use, will relocate its headquarters to Davis after more than four decades in Woodland.
The company‘s local roots, agricultural focus and high-tech systems make it a strong fit for Davis and align with the city’s economic development goals, said city Economic Development Manager Katie Yancey.
WECO, founded as Woodside Electronics Corp. in 1982, will occupy an about 60,000 square foot portion of 3808 Faraday Ave., a 107,000 square foot advanced manufacturing facility developed by Sacramento-based real estate firm Buzz Oates.
The company intends to spend about $2 million on tenant improvements. The company will bring 75 jobs to Davis, a combination of new jobs and jobs relocated from the Woodland facility. The company’s relocation is expected to generate $50,000 to $60,000 in new city revenue, Yancey said.
The building on Faraday Avenue is part of Davis’ burgeoning industrial corridor, where several advanced manufacturing firms already operate and where the city hopes to attract more, Yancey said.
The Davis City Council unanimously approved an economic development plan earlier this month. The plan identifies several target industries that Davis is well suited to attract, including tech and agricultural businesses. As an ag tech company, Woodside Electronics “fits into more than just one of our targeted industries,” Yancey said.
Buzz Oates is still looking for a tenant for the rest of the facility, about 47,000 square feet. The firm also owns a large vacant parcel behind the facility that the city hopes to help lease, Yancey said.
WECO plans to complete enough retrofitting to move its harvesting equipment into the facility by mid-September. The city is taking steps to support that timeline.
One of the barriers to economic development the city identified was that processes such as zoning and permitting are more complicated in Davis than in neighboring cities. The new economic development plan directs the city to find ways to simplify and streamline permitting and to help companies navigate the system. City officials say this relocation provides an opportunity to begin implementing those changes.
“We’re doing some very initial phases of permit streamlining for them,” Yancey said.
The city’s economic development plan describes attracting companies like WECO. Bringing in more businesses is critical for the city, which faces years of projected budget shortfalls.
“We’re really trying to advance our presence in the business attraction and business retention space, and that’s really indicative of what’s in the strategic plan that our council unanimously approved,” Yancey said. “So we’re trying to take that direction from the council very seriously and implement it so that we can be a place that’s open for business.”
The company — founded by engineer Wayne Earl, who helped to develop one of the first optical sorters used on tomato harvesters — moved to Woodland in the 1980s to be closer to agricultural equipment manufacturers, according to the firm. WECO was acquired in 2020 by Duravant, a global food processing equipment company.
