Originally published March 2020 at https://www.ci.oceanside.ca.us.
More than 50 years ago, General Atomics helped pave the way for innovation in the San Diego region when it developed the first spiral wound membrane filter, which could be used for desalination. Since then, cutting-edge technology has been developed in innovation hubs around the county, including Oceanside!
Craig Bartels — vice president of technology for Hydranautics , a company within the Nitto Denko Group — said Oceanside has attracted a wide range of companies because of its convenient location near other biotech companies and educational institutions such as UC San Diego , Scripps Research Institute and MiraCosta College’s Biomanufacturing Bachelor’s Degree Program . These biotech companies have made a lasting impact in communities throughout the world, such as Hydranautics, which has developed life-changing solutions for water.
Nitto Denko employees celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary. Courtesy photo
Bartels values the local infrastructure, stating that the City of Oceanside has many buildings and areas that are specifically zoned for biotech manufacturing, as well as local services that support this industry. He also believes that the talent pool in the region is deep, noting that many of Hydranautics’ 400-plus employees are local. Bartels said, “Some are from local colleges and universities, and others come from other local biotech companies. This is a big benefit to all the local companies. For one thing, it can result in the improved training through cooperative exchanges amongst workers.”
The same points are true for another Oceanside company, Solecta Membranes , which moved its production facility to the city in 2019. Company leaders said they found success in creating process separation solutions for a range of clients in bio-manufacturing, dairy, food and beverage thanks to the talent pool found in the region.
Solecta Membranes employees and family members outside their Oceanside office. Courtesy photo
“With world-renowned schools like UCSD and research institutes like Scripps, this area has a tremendous talent pool from some of the best bio and biotech programs and institutes,” Ravi Oswal, Solecta’s COO, said. “Oceanside is an excellent location, close for our employees, with easy access to major arterial routes, and is ideally situated between San Diego and Los Angeles. It also has very favorable economic conditions.”
As a result of the hub found in Oceanside, Hydranautics has evolved to become a leader in the biotech manufacturing industry, developing ingenious products to produce low-cost, safe drinking water.
Filters created by Hydranautics are loaded into a desalination system. Courtesy photo
“We will continue to introduce new products, which expand the application of membrane technology, to provide safe, low-cost water for both industrial and drinking water use,” Bartels said. “We continue to develop novel products for specialized uses in the medical, food and petroleum business, and plan to further modernize our manufacturing through the use of more automation to increase safety of our workers, as well as increase productivity and quality. There is not a segment of society that does not benefit from our products.”
Although Solecta Membranes is a fairly new company, leaders said they are proud of their ability to quickly develop solutions that deliver proven value based on what is most important to their clients and the contributions their team have made thus far in the region and beyond.
“We have great plans for Solecta and see substantial growth across our existing and new market segments,” said said Jim Ford, the company’s Chief Commercial Officer. “We pride ourselves on our efforts to solve some of the world’s most challenging separation problems. We plan to maintain our center of gravity in Oceanside and use it as a springboard for growth in international markets as we continue to expand globally.”
The growth will continue despite the challenges that have risen related to the COVID-19 disease that has impacted the global economy.
“We take our responsibility to support our clients seriously while putting our employees’ safety as our top priority,” Oswal said. “We’ve adapted our work processes and hygiene practices to ensure that we meet, and preferably exceed, all guidance related to social distancing and industrial hygiene in our operations. We are learning from this experience and have already incorporated new best practices. We take pride in helping our clients and communities work through this crisis.”
Bartels said Hydranautics has also changed its practices by following guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control to ensure workers are working in safe conditions. As a member of the “essential industry,” the company continues to work at full-speed.
“As a result of good teamwork at our site, and clear planning, we have been able to keep our manufacturing at full production rates,” Bartels said. “We have had a few challenges with some raw materials, but have managed to navigate our way through these difficulties. Our employees are the biggest reason that we have been able to maintain steady output. We congratulate our workers for their dedication and support to provide our high quality filtration products at this time.”
From high tech manufacturing to biotech and more, Oceanside is creating an innovation economy that is providing jobs and an overall better quality of life for residents.