Galen Kusic, Editor

(This article was originally published in the Nov. 24 print edition of the Herald)

The name SUBA has become synonymous with the City of Benicia. After 53 years of doing business at the Port of Benicia, the countertop manufacturer has officially closed its doors.

Jack Bell, owner of SUBA Manufacturing, Inc., bought the building at the Port of Benicia 53 years ago after being forced to move from Hayward when BART used imminent domain to build over the top of his former building. At the time, the land and buildings in Benicia were going dirt cheap and Bell jumped at the opportunity, moving his business and auctioning most of the old equipment.

“I used to say, you could have bought Benicia for a dollar,” said Bell. “When the Army moved out and the Arsenal moved, they (City) were in really bad shape and hurting for money.”

Bell was instrumental in helping jump-start economic development at the Benicia Industrial Park, belonging to the Benicia Industrial Park Association and Benicia Rotary, which he served as president in 1968. After these groups worked hard to attract more business to the area, including Humble (now Valero) shortly after SUBA moved in, the Port of Benicia is now a major shipping destination, especially for many auto manufacturers.

The Industrial Park Association, made up of a large team of Bay Area investors, started by putting up money for the City to buy the park from the government, on the contingency that the park would be filled with businesses. By selling the land, the City got a small percentage back in return. The Industrial Park Association has now been reduced to a committee on the Benicia Chamber of Commerce, but was once a major decision maker in the future of Benicia.

Following this civic engagement that led to the City prospering, the Benicia Chamber of Commerce gained steam and became the force that it is today. Lion’s Club and Kiwanis were also contributors to the movement to put Benicia on the map as an industrial powerhouse, but SUBA was one of the original businesses that started it all.

Over half a decade later, and SUBA closed its doors at the end of Sept. In its heyday, SUBA employed over 30 people, making countertops for Sears and Montgomery Wards. SUBA shipped countertop orders all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, Guam, Hawaii, South Korea and China. Many of the orders were contracts through the U.S. military.

“We were going hot and heavy in the old days,” Bell reminisces. “In our time, we were big.”

Up until recent times, SUBA had business up and down the West Coast, fulfilling contracts with Home Depot and 15 Lowe’s locations, manufacturing and assembling countertops before delivering them to corporate stores. When the demand continued to increase at Home Depot, Bell chose not to pursue a nationwide contract.

While SUBA had made its living selling to the small guy, Home Depot eventually started to make their own countertops, making it difficult for SUBA to keep up as people became more interested in do-it-yourself projects.

“We couldn’t compete anymore with Lowe’s or Home Depot,” he said. “We’ve been at it here so long, sometimes you have to stop and appreciate it.”

Another contributing factor to the decline of laminate countertops was the increased demand for marble and granite. While laminate countertops were huge at one time, the change to marble and granite contributed to less demand.

While SUBA is cleaning out the rest of the facility and the land will eventually be sold, the company’s contributions to Benicia and the surrounding region cannot be overlooked.

“He (Bell) has been a good and fair boss,” said employee Eric Gorby. “He always contributed back to the community and treated his employees well.”

Bell has been very involved in the Rotary, as the club has made a huge impact by providing fundraising efforts for local schools, charities and events. He also hired employees from halfway houses and drug rehabilitation programs to give them a second shot at a positive life.

“We’ve given a lot to the community, and all the service clubs have done a lot for the community,” said Bell. “It’s been an interesting voyage. Being in small business all these years has mostly been fun, but it’s nowhere near as fun today as it used to be.”