A company that supplies wood products to Lowe's is consolidating its operations in Yuba County, adding about 10 employees to its warehouse.

ECMD Inc. is closing its warehouse in Rancho Cucamonga in the wake of being chosen as a primary distributor of stair parts and both finished and unfinished millwork to Lowe's stores across four states.

Yuba County Economic Development Coordinator John Fleming said ECMD, which has its warehouse near the Yuba County Airport, cited some surprising reasons for its consolidation.

"We seemed to have better connectivity and a better labor force here," Fleming said, adding the connectivity issue hasn't come up much in the past. "We may be sitting on something we didn't know about."

Fleming said ECMD officials specifically liked the accessibility from Yuba County to Idaho and Utah, in addition to stores it serves in California and New Mexico.

The connectivity attribute is likely to become a part of the county's marketing strategy to attract other businesses and economic development, Fleming said.

He added Yuba County is on a list of five localities, and the only one in the Sacramento region, competing for a manufacturing facility by a Fortune 500 company, which is expected to make a final decision by the end of the year.

If Yuba County is chosen, the plant would be on Rancho Road near Highway 65, Fleming said. Officials with the unnamed company liked that location because it was unencroached by existing home or retail development, but could be developed quickly.

"It's like the stars lined up correctly for us," Fleming said. "This company is looking for something that has most, if not all the infrastructure, ready to go."

The primary distribution designation expanded ECMD from serving 65 to 192 Lowe's stores as of Wednesday. The privately held company has seven outlets on the West Coast and in the southeast and southwest U.S., according to a Yuba County press release.

ECMD Regional Vice President Don Mays said Yuba County's job-friendly atmosphere and affordability were key factors in the consolidation, which will put a total of 22 employees at the company's local warehouse.

"To lease a facility in the Los Angeles market is very expensive," Mays said. "The freight rates are cheap enough here to offset the cost in terms of distance."