Tuesday, December 09, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

QCI finds perfect fit in Henderson

Quality assurance company picks Southern Nevada for westward expansion

Randy Burk, general operations manager of quality assurance company QCI, Friday at the plant that is set to open in Henderson. Photo by John Locher.

Quality Corrections & Inspections, a Pennsylvania-based company that does quality assurance work, is opening a 40,000-square-foot production plant in Henderson to serve its West Coast clients.

QCI, whose plant is in Black Mountain Business Park, expects its first products shipment next week and will employ 50 to 75 people within the next six months, said Randy Burk, general operations manager.

The company is spending about $500,000 to remodel and outfit the building, including putting in $40,000 worth of dry cleaning equipment, additional restrooms, a boiler room and an employee break room.

A Henderson building inspector signed off on the final permits Friday.

Burk said many of the company's clients requested a West Coast presence.

"We've been in business for 18 years and we needed something on the West Coast because the bulk (of the merchandise) comes in from L.A. and Long Beach, (Calif.)," he said. "It just doesn't make sense to ship it back East. Transportation costs will kill you."

QCI's general merchandise clients include Levi's, Nike and Reebok. They cover a range of products such as footwear, apparel, housewares, home furnishings and toys.

Founded in 1986 by Burk's father, QCI provides third-party quality control inspections, contract assembly operations, packaging and repackaging, sorting, labeling, returns processing, ticketing, tagging and reboxing.

"Wal-Mart might get 50,000 shirts and the tag is wrong. It's supposed to say 80 percent nylon and 20 percent cotton, or it might not have the country of origin on it," Burk said of the type of corrections QCI makes.

Bob Cooper, economic development manager for Henderson, said QCI's selection of Henderson is important to Southern Nevada's efforts to diversify its economy by attracting new industries.

While the nation's economic recovery has been slow in new job growth, Nevada's economy added 10,700 jobs in September, the second straight monthly increase of more than 10,000, the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reports.

Burk said he could see his company supplying labor for diverse casino and convention business needs. He said he liked Southern Nevada because of its access to major ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and Seattle.

"We looked at Ontario, (Calif.) That's where I wanted to be," he said. "But the real estate and cost of doing business and workers' compensation. This is close to California without being there."

He also looked in North Las Vegas, but chose Henderson because it had the industrial space available and was close to the home he purchased.

He said the city was welcoming and easy to work with.