December 6 – Rubbercraft, a division of Sanders Industries now calls Long Beach its home. The firm’s headquarters is a recently completed, built-to-suit facility of nearly 128,000 square feet at 3701 Conant Ave. within Douglas Park. The high tech company designs, develops and manufactures precision-engineered custom elastomeric parts, components and systems primarily related to the aerospace and defense industry. Rubbercraft, founded in 1902, relocated to Douglas Park from Gardena, seeking room to expand. The company has nearly 200 employees and continues to grow. Douglas Park is a 260-acre master-planned, mixed-use development bounded by Lakewood Boulevard and Carson Street, adjacent to the Long Beach Airport. Pictured is Rubbercraft’s senior management team, left to right: Alan Hiken, vice president of engineering & technology; Alan Manara, vice president of sales; Gary Steinberg, vice president of operations; Tim Boyle, vice president of finance & administration; Lloyd Wallis, president; Liz Arriola, inside sales manager; and Michael Chian, director of marketing. Also pictured, below left, is Bill Fields, an employee since 1965, who is preparing a rubber-to-metal seal component. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)