More than 1,250 people work at the factory, making liquid-crystal displays for thermostats and household appliances. Granite Bay Technologies' main subsidiary is International Display Works, which spent the past year buying the factory out of judicial foreclosure from the Singapore-based company that owned it.
Judicial foreclosure is roughly equal to bankruptcy.
The factory has its own power generators because in southern China, as in California this year, the electrical grid can't be counted on to provide continuous energy to manufacturers. Granite Bay Technologies employs 15 people in Rocklin and has sales offices in Hong Kong and Singapore. The San Jose company, often called BFI, is a specialist in factoring and accounts receivable financing. Granite Bay Technologies is also looking for financing in Asia to increase production, said Blair Mullin, company president. The Chinese plant can make printed circuit boards and turn out a variety of assemblies for electronics.