The Salsbury Motors Pomona Plant

The Salsbury Motors Pomona Plant

Northrop envisioned a BIG demand for Salsbury scooters, the 6HP motors, the variable speed transmissions, and the industrial trucks. To manufacture these things in quantity, Northrop committed Salsbury Motors to building a huge manufacturing facility at 1201 East Lexington Street in Pomona California in Feb 1946, just two months after acquiring Salsbury Motor's from Richard Millar. Northrop's plans were ambitious - a $1,000,000 manufacturing facility covering 65,000 sq. ft, with 500 employees by May 1946 and a total of 1000 employees by early 1947. Foster and Salsbury Motors created a very nice poster-sized sheet containing all of the newspaper articles discussing the construction of the Pomona Plant.

The Pomona facility was built very quickly, and was operational in mid-1946. Unfortunately, a number of labor strikes occurred in 1946, which made it difficult for the plant to acquire all the supplies it needed to produce scooters, engines, industrial trucks, etc.

With the benefit of hindsight, it is blindingly obvious that Northrop overestimated the demand for the Salsbury related product lines, and way overspent on plant, equipment, and employees.

Northrop envisioned a BIG demand for Salsbury scooters, the 6HP motors, the variable speed transmissions, and the industrial trucks. To manufacture these things in quantity, Northrop committed Salsbury Motors to building a huge manufacturing facility at 1201 East Lexington Street in Pomona California in Feb 1946, just two months after acquiring Salsbury Motor's from Richard Millar. Northrop's plans were ambitious - a $1,000,000 manufacturing facility covering 65,000 sq. ft, with 500 employees by May 1946 and a total of 1000 employees by early 1947. Foster and Salsbury Motors created a very nice poster-sized sheet containing all of the newspaper articles discussing the construction of the Pomona Plant.

The Pomona facility was built very quickly, and was operational in mid-1946. Unfortunately, a number of labor strikes occurred in 1946, which made it difficult for the plant to acquire all the supplies it needed to produce scooters, engines, industrial trucks, etc.

With the benefit of hindsight, it is blindingly obvious that Northrop overestimated the demand for the Salsbury related product lines, and way overspent on plant, equipment, and employees.