Rockwell to Move Headquarters From O.C. to Midwest

Rockwell International Corp., once one of Southern California’s premier employers, said Monday it will move its headquarters to the Midwest by the end of this summer, ending an era when the burgeoning aerospace industry dominated the region’s economy.

Costa Mesa-based Rockwell has slimmed down in recent years as it sold or spun off nearly all of its California operations.

The 165-person executive office will be heading to either Chicago or Milwaukee, where the company has major manufacturing operations. Rockwell expects to make a decision by the end of the month.

Company observers have been expecting the news since the company announced its massive restructuring plan in June.

Rockwell’s departure closes a chapter in one of the most dramatic and high-profile corporate restructurings in the aerospace industry. The company moved from Pittsburgh to El Segundo in 1988, and later headed south to Seal Beach in 1992.

During that time, it was an aerospace and defense giant that collected 64 cents of every dollar in revenue from the U.S. government.

But under a vast overhaul launched by former chief executive Donald R. Beall, the aerospace conglomerate transformed into a commercial manufacturing outfit focused on the fast-growing electronics industry.

After the restructuring, Beall stepped down and the company relocated its headquarters to Costa Mesa. The move was designed to help executives be close to Rockwell’s semiconductor division in Newport Beach--and the linchpin of its future. But that unit was spun-off last month, causing Rockwell to once again revamp its corporate operations.

When that unit, Conexant Systems Inc., began trading on its own this month, the last piece of Rockwell’s local business ties was severed.

“It was the right move for both of our companies,” Chief Executive Don Davis said Monday. “This decision to leave is not easy. But, for Rockwell the company, it makes the most sense.”

Until Monday, the company has remained mum about its plans, and executives decline to discuss the matter. David said part of the reason was to gauge whether the company’s high-tech professionals would be willing to leave California for the Midwest.

The company is the automation leader in North America, making controls, software and systems for automating factory production. Rockwell’s avionics unit in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, concentrates on building electronic systems for airplanes and in-flight entertainment systems.

Rockwell expects to expand its core businesses, particularly in Europe and South America, through acquisitions and targeting new opportunities, Davis said.

“It’s a sad day,” said Sam Iacobellis, former president of Rockwell’s North American Aviation division, who retired in 1995. “But, as a Rockwell stockholder, I think this move was the proper decision.”