It’s all about the numbers…
TechniQuip is located in the middle of a 38,000 square foot building at the end of cul-de-sac in a small valley nearly equidistant from San Francisco and Silicon Valley in Northern California’s Bay Area less than 50 miles from the coast. The trains of Union Pacific roll past the rear warehouse door twice a day just like we imagine they have been doing for 100 years. It can be a little hot (average high of 89 F in Summer) so why live here and, more to the point, why put a factory here? Lets look at the numbers…
First lets get the ugly numbers out of the way – the ones governors of other states love to publicize – tax rates… 12.3% is our marginal state income tax rate bracket – one of the highest in the country. Add 9%, which is the local sales tax rate. Ugly, so why here?
Energy. Of all kinds. How about 558,000 and 38% – that’s the number of college students in the Bay Area and the percent of residents with undergraduate degrees. Or 1 and 22 – that how Forbes ranked Stanford and Berkeley in their ranking of top universities. We’re pretty sure that all the energy and drive and passion of these universities stir up are part of the reason that 47 of the wealthiest Americans call the Bay Area home.
Success. Sure there are recognizable Silicon Valley companies here enjoying tremendous success: Facebook, Apple, Twitter, Cisco, Tesla. But in the bay there are so many small companies like us started by people who work hard and have made their own success. Immigrants, from literally every place in the world come here to make a mark – big or small. Bringing with them a skill and a passion for making something, anything, happen.
The creativity is palpable – you can quite literally have anything designed or made in the Bay Area – its truly amazing how many small companies exist providing just the right product or service for their customers. For starters 4 miles from the factory to a great web marketing company (www.creatability.com).
Nature. How about 12 and 3,864? That’s one of the local favorites and is the distance to the peak and the peak elevation of Mt. Diablo – one of the most popular local spots for a great bike ride. The Ohlone native American peoples of this region lived here for more than 10,000 and we are sure they enjoyed the fact from the peak it is said that you can seem more total land area than from any other peak in the country. 205 is an exceptionally good number- the distance from the factory to the Fire Sign Cafe on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe – best breakfast on one of America’s true jewels – cold, deep, but always beautiful. If you decide you’d rather lay on the sand watching the waves crash its just about a 60 minute drive to Stinson Beach and enroute you are there you can take in the amazing sequoias at Muir Woods. Or if you want, head South and in 90 minutes you’re in Carmel on the edge of Big Sur.
1? Lawrence Livermore National Labs, one of the nation’s largest national laboratories focused on advanced physics and homeland security technologies, is situated less than 10 miles from the TechniQuip factory.
Five Super Bowl wins for the 49ers. Seven World Series Championships for the SF Giants.
Impressive but our favorite is Mustang Soccer – over 5,000 kids participate in this club in a city of only 45,000.
Sure there’s the occasional 6.9 (earthquake) and those ugly tax rates. But if it was so bad it would be hard to explain the 2 which is Pleasanton’s rank as the second highest household income in the country after New Canaan, CT.
