The latest pact will give Montreal-based Dorel Industries Inc. more than one-third of the space inside Aliso Viejo-based Shea Properties' 1.7-mil-sf Shea Center Ontario business park. The complex stands next to Interstate 10, not far from fast-growing Ontario International Airport.

Dorel's presence will also provide a shot in the arm to the Inland Empire's all-important manufacturing sector, which accounts for more jobs in the two-county area than any other industry. Several large companies that were planning to relocate or expand in the region have recently put their plans on hold, waiting for the state's energy crisis to be resolved and the national economic outlook to become clearer.

Dorel has more than 3,800 workers at plants and offices in nine countries. A spokesperson says its new Ontario facility will likely employ "at least a few hundred."