Go-Ped to scoot across border

Before the Razor, there was the Go- Ped.

Now the maker of motorized scooters is moving to Nevada.

Patmont Motor Werks will soon add Nevada to the end of its name when it relocates its manufacturing operations to a new 70,000-square-foot facility on 5.5 acres in Minden's Meridian Office Park.

The 18-year-old company is moving to escape what founder Steve Patmont said is a hostile business environment in California.

"We eat our young here," said Patmont, chairman, CEO and president of the Livermore, Calif., company.

"Nevada is one of the friendliest states to businesses my size."

That size has grown considerably since Patmont launched the company out of his garage in 1985.

"I worked as an engineer in Silicon Valley and worked evenings and weekends on the Go-Ped, which is still our best seller," said Patmont.

Since then, the company has added 16 other models to its line, including the human-powered Grow-Ped for children and the Super X-Ped built for extreme competition.

It manufactures 50,000 scooters a year in plants in Livermore and Ireland that are sold through a 1,000 dealers worldwide.

"We have a $3 million payroll, most of which is leaving California," said Patmont.

Its corporate departments such as accounting, as well as Patmont's two sons, Gabe, who is vice president of business development, and Tim, assistant vice president of marketing, will remain in California.

The remaining 50 to 60 employees, primarily manufacturing workers, will be offered jobs in Nevada.

At the end of this month, the company is planning a field trip to Minden to show them the area, the schools and housing.

The company can't afford to offer relocation benefits, said Patmont, but will give employees who move an extra month's salary.

He expects the majority to opt to move from California, where few can afford to buy a home, to Nevada, where their salaries go a lot further.

The remaining positions will be filled here in time to train the workers for the company's busy season at the end of the year, said Patmont.

Shaw Construction is building the plant, which Patmont plans to occupy by September.

The company owns most of the nine buildings it occupies in Livermore and is selling them to help finance the move.

Consolidating its manufacturing operations, which are spread out now, into one building is one of the benefits to moving here, said Patmont.

Another is what Patmont perceives as the pro-business attitude in Nevada.

Patmont said he didn't want to leave California until his attorney suggested it.

The company has had run-ins with two California regulators.

One is the state's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which fined the company for using a 60-year old machine that is no longer in compliance with OSHA rules.

"It helped us win World War II and our freedom," said Patmont.

"We think we're a model employer with a beautiful safety record."

According to the OSHA web site, Patmont Motor Werks was cited for a total of 23 violations totaling $22,950 in fines that have since been reduced to $8,350.

The other agency is the California Air Resources Board, which classifies the motors used on the company's scooters as weed whackers that exceed emissions requirements.

"They're the same engines that can be used on under 50cc motorcycles and on model airplanes, and both those are exempt," said Patmont.

"The bureaucrats are out of control here, and the taxes are so high," said Patmont.

He said he pays 18 percent taxes now and they're expected to jump as high as 25 percent as the state battles its multi-billion dollar budget deficit.

"Nevada doesn't have that kind of mentality, that the bureaucrats run the show," said Patmont.

On the other hand, the company has a much better relationship with the federal government, he said.

"The feds love us," said Patmont.

"They gave us the U.S.

Small Business Exporter of the Year Award."