O.C. BUSINESS PLUS : ORANGE COUNTY BRIEFLY : Rockwell Finishes Moving Its Home Base From Costa Mesa to Milwaukee

Rockwell International Corp., the largest maker of airline navigation and communications systems, said Tuesday that it has finished moving its headquarters to Milwaukee from Costa Mesa, to be closer to its core businesses.

There will be 140 Rockwell corporate employees based in Milwaukee.

Rockwell has two primary businesses: Rockwell Automation, based in Milwaukee, and Rockwell Collins, based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The former, which is the company’s largest unit, is the biggest factory-controls supplier in North America. The latter makes autopilot systems and controls.

Rockwell no longer has any businesses with headquarters in California, following the spinoff of its Newport Beach-based semiconductor systems business into Conexant Systems Inc. in December, company spokesman Terry Francisco said. The company isn’t planning any additional spinoffs, he added.

About 40 employees continue to work in the Costa Mesa office, which will close at the end of the year. About 140 worked there until recently, and between 50 and 60 have elected to transfer to Milwaukee, company spokesman Scott Nelson said.

About 100 employees in Seal Beach will continue to provide payroll, benefits and information technology support. The Rockwell Science Center in Thousand Oaks and the Rockwell Collins Passenger Systems in Pomona are unaffected.