Vehicle Processor Likely to Add 4th Line

Pacific Vehicle Processors Inc., an Oxnard firm that processes Volvos, Jaguars and Land Rovers imported through the Port of Hueneme, expects to add a fourth auto maker to those passing through its plant.

Jim Kilpatrick, president of Pacific Vehicle, declined to identify the car, but said his company is negotiating with “a major foreign manufacturer.” If the deal goes through, it will nearly double the number of cars processed at the facility on Hueneme Road, Kilpatrick said.

Since the plant opened last September, its workers have inspected and installed accessories on 16,000 vehicles, he reported. “We’re now operating at an annual rate of 21,000 vehicles. If we add a fourth make, that should increase to 40,000 in our second year.”

Initially, Kilpatrick expected to handle 25,000 vehicles in the plant’s first year, but sluggish auto sales held the figure down, he said.

In addition to heading Pacific, Kilpatrick is also a vice president and general manager of the company’s parent, Stockholm-based Wallenius Lines.

Pacific, which has 47 employees, should get another boost if the Port of Hueneme is designated a free trade zone. Kilpatrick expects that to happen by the end of the year. “It would allow us to defer paying duties on cars while we’re working on them. That would be a big help to us financially.”

Kilpatrick is confident that Pacific, which is less than two miles from the port, would be included in the trade zone if the designation is granted.