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Article: Some apparel makers find a niche and defy the offshoring trend.
- Article from:
- Orange County Register (Santa Ana, CA)
- Article date:
- September 5, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 The Orange County Register. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Sep. 5--Orange County is the global epicenter of the surf and skateboard industry. Quiksilver, Billabong USA, Hurley, Volcom and Op are all headquartered here, and are thriving.
While the industry's growth has strengthened the Orange County apparel manufacturing sector, most of the new jobs are in the executive suites, not on the factory floor. Even so, a large number of niche garment makers have chosen to stay and are managing to survive despite low-cost foreign competition.
In May 2004, Orange County employed 6,470 sewing-machine operators, the third-highest number in the country after Los Angeles (35,640) and New York (13,740), according to U.S. data. ...