A boating-accessories maker has moved its North American headquarters to Raleigh from California, underscoring a marine industry shift to North Carolina.

Maxwell Marine, which makes gear to anchor vessels, opened the facility in North Raleigh off of Glenwood Avenue to be closer to customers. It closed its office in Santa Ana, Calif., in December.

Maxwell Marine employs 11, mostly in sales and distribution, though some assembly is done in Santa Ana. The company manufactures products in New Zealand, where Maxwell Marine is based.

"We thought about Virginia, Tennessee ... but we really felt like North Carolina had all the checks in the box," said Chris Lang, president of the North American division. "In addition, an awful lot of potential customers are moving into the area."

In recent years, the state has become a destination for boat makers such as Chris Craft looking to expand or lower costs. Florida, especially, has suffered as North Carolina has drawn companies -- and jobs -- away.

Florida officials are stepping up retention efforts. But Mike Bradley, who helps lead efforts to get boat businesses to North Carolina, is still finding interest.

Bradley was attending the Miami International Boat Show on Monday. He already had met with about 20 companies from Florida, Europe and Australia.

"We're more on the radar," Bradley said during a phone interview, noting that a couple of trade magazines had recently reported on the industry's growth in North Carolina. "I'm getting spikes that I didn't even plan."

The recruiting business, though, is in a bit of transition right now.

The slumping economy has taken a toll on boat builders as consumers put off purchases. Some companies that expected to expand or move their operations have put plans on hold. Others, with an abundance of inventory, are moving plans up, because they can move now without worrying about disruption to their customers.

North Carolina has offered tax breaks and other incentives to draw some companies. Maxwell Marine didn't seek any, Lang said.

The company has been operating for 30 years and gets about half of its sales in the U.S. In the early days, most of its customers were on the West Coast. Now they're more concentrated on the East Coast and Midwest. That prompted its move.

"It was crazy that it took me five hours on a plane to get to my first customer," Lang said.