Marquardt Co

Four years ago, the Marquardt Co., a Van Nuys-based weapons maker, had more than $100 million in defense contracts, 1,100 workers and what looked like a rosy future. Today the company has been broken up into three businesses. One of them is in bankruptcy court and is also suing its former parent company in a dispute over assets, including the rights to what could be a lucrative tank-bomb business.

Depending on whom you ask, the Marquardt Co. in Van Nuys is the site of toxic waste contamination that could either pollute one-sixth of Los Angeles' drinking water--or pose few if any environmental or health problems. An angry supervisor, Zev Yaroslavsky, didn't get to the bottom of the matter Tuesday, when he brought county health, fire and toxicological officials to the Board of Supervisors' weekly meeting to discuss the aerospace and defense firm.

Marquardt Co., a Van Nuys-based aerospace and defense manufacturer, has sold its manufacturing and ordnance divisions to a group headed by Marquardt's president, Kenneth Woodgrift. Terms were not disclosed. The Woodgrift group has formed a new company called Marquardt Manufacturing, also based in Van Nuys, which has 75 employees and will serve both the military and the civil aviation industry. Woodgrift will serve as president of the new company, and he remains president of Marquardt Co.

Four years ago, the Marquardt Co., a Van Nuys-based weapons maker, had more than $100 million in defense contracts, 1,100 workers and what looked like a rosy future. Today the company has been broken up into three businesses. One of them is in bankruptcy court and is also suing its former parent company in a dispute over assets, including the rights to what could be a lucrative tank-bomb business.

A recent agreement will halt shipments of highly toxic rocket fuel through Los Angeles on their way to destinations outside the city, but two aerospace firms in the San Fernando Valley will continue to receive the chemicals, the Air Force confirmed Friday. The Rocketdyne rocket-engine testing facility in the Santa Susana Mountains above Canoga Park and the Marquardt Co.

A former Van Nuys defense contractor faces a $129,000 fine for alleged toxic-waste violations, state officials said Tuesday. A complaint was issued to the Marquardt Co., which formerly produced bomb components and other military hardware at 16555 Saticoy St. The company was accused of 15 hazardous-waste violations after inspections in May and June, officials with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control said. Marquardt has sold its operation to two other companies.

Depending on whom you ask, the Marquardt Co. in Van Nuys is the site of toxic waste contamination that could either pollute one-sixth of Los Angeles' drinking water--or pose few if any environmental or health problems. An angry supervisor, Zev Yaroslavsky, didn't get to the bottom of the matter Tuesday, when he brought county health, fire and toxicological officials to the Board of Supervisors' weekly meeting to discuss the aerospace and defense firm.

Reading the annual report of Marquardt, the San Fernando Valley weapons maker, is a little like flipping through a Sears catalogue, with one very noticeable difference--the company isn't selling monkey bars and tool kits. On page after page are pictures of air-launched missiles, cluster bombs, turbines, warheads and plenty of other weapons and engines that Marquardt manufactures.

A San Fernando Valley-based weapons manufacturer is a subject of two federal investigations into possible defense procurement fraud, according to federal agents, one involving its ties to the Pentagon and the other involving its work with subcontractors. The first investigation into the Marquardt Co. of Van Nuys began more than two years ago and focuses on its ties to Victor D. Cohen, 52, an Air Force deputy assistant secretary overseeing tactical warfare systems.

Environmental activists and local residents urged state health officials Wednesday to conduct health risk and other studies before granting a permanent operating permit to a Van Nuys defense and aerospace firm that makes chemical bomb parts, rocket engines and other products. Marquardt Co. has applied to the state Department of Health Services for a permit that would allow it to continue using hazardous materials such as explosive rocket fuel and toxic solvents at its plant at 16555 Saticoy St.

A former Van Nuys defense contractor faces a $129,000 fine for alleged toxic-waste violations, state officials said Tuesday. A complaint was issued to the Marquardt Co., which formerly produced bomb components and other military hardware at 16555 Saticoy St. The company was accused of 15 hazardous-waste violations after inspections in May and June, officials with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control said. Marquardt has sold its operation to two other companies.

Marquardt Co., a Van Nuys-based aerospace and defense manufacturer, has sold its manufacturing and ordnance divisions to a group headed by Marquardt's president, Kenneth Woodgrift. Terms were not disclosed. The Woodgrift group has formed a new company called Marquardt Manufacturing, also based in Van Nuys, which has 75 employees and will serve both the military and the civil aviation industry. Woodgrift will serve as president of the new company, and he remains president of Marquardt Co.

Environmental activists and local residents urged state health officials Wednesday to conduct health risk and other studies before granting a permanent operating permit to a Van Nuys defense and aerospace firm that makes chemical bomb parts, rocket engines and other products. Marquardt Co. has applied to the state Department of Health Services for a permit that would allow it to continue using hazardous materials such as explosive rocket fuel and toxic solvents at its plant at 16555 Saticoy St.

Reading the annual report of Marquardt, the San Fernando Valley weapons maker, is a little like flipping through a Sears catalogue, with one very noticeable difference--the company isn't selling monkey bars and tool kits. On page after page are pictures of air-launched missiles, cluster bombs, turbines, warheads and plenty of other weapons and engines that Marquardt manufactures.

A San Fernando Valley-based weapons manufacturer is a subject of two federal investigations into possible defense procurement fraud, according to federal agents, one involving its ties to the Pentagon and the other involving its work with subcontractors. The first investigation into the Marquardt Co. of Van Nuys began more than two years ago and focuses on its ties to Victor D. Cohen, 52, an Air Force deputy assistant secretary overseeing tactical warfare systems.

A recent agreement will halt shipments of highly toxic rocket fuel through Los Angeles on their way to destinations outside the city, but two aerospace firms in the San Fernando Valley will continue to receive the chemicals, the Air Force confirmed Friday. The Rocketdyne rocket-engine testing facility in the Santa Susana Mountains above Canoga Park and the Marquardt Co.