South African Firm Moving to Oxnard

A diversified South African firm, Helder Technology Inc., has established a unit in Oxnard’s Channel Islands Business Center and expects to move its headquarters there by year’s end.

Helder, now based in Pretoria, is involved in computers, chemicals and agriculture.

Chris Du Preez, vice president for agriculture, said the company is seeking a second Ventura County location to augment its present Oxnard facility. His division markets a system that allows farmers to use water formerly considered substandard.

Other Helder operations produce paint remover, a skin lotion and equipment used in setting up computer networks. The company will continue to maintain a European office in Paris after moving to Oxnard, Du Preez noted.

“We first learned about Ventura County when our president met some Oxnard city officials at a conference in Atlanta some time ago,” he said. “We visited here and liked it immediately. The climate and agricultural activity are ideal for my division, especially.”