So far this year, Italian investments in the US have been numerous and have been all over the map. The US States which have reported a string of recent Italian investments include Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois and Texas.
Tennessee:
In the first four months of this year, 2016, four noted Italian investments have taken place in “The Volunteer State” by the Italian companies Martinelli Ettore, Beretta, Del Conca and Sacmi.
Martinelli Ettore had its grand opening in April of its new facility which had started operations in January. Operations will initially focus on Martinelli Group’s core business - that is moulds for ceramic presses - but may expand in the future to other business segments where the company operates through the brands Emar-Imer and Emar Impianti: among these, the production and regeneration of grids, plates and other accessories for the press loading technologies.
Italian gun maker Beretta opened its new manufacturing and research facility in suburban Nashville and announced that it will begin making the U.S. Armed Forces M9 handgun at the plant this summer. Tennessee provided $10 million as part of the incentive package for the $45 million facility, which will make the handgun for the U.S. military.
Tennessee is home to the largest ceramic manufacturing district in the US.and investments by Italian companies, Del Conca and Sacmi in the region have made sense.
And two years after opening its U.S. production facilities here, Del Conca USA, a subsidiary of Del Conca Group based in Italy, has put in motion plans to double its capacity of porcelain tile production from 32 to 65 million square feet per annum.The expansion, with work expected to begin during the second half of 2016, and production to start in early 2017, involves a further investment of $30 million both for construction and the purchase of new Italian technology.
To date, the U.S. plant, located in Loudon County (Tennessee), covers 320,000 square feet, but during the course of 2016 it will be expanded to cover 430,000 square feet. This increase of production will also involve the hiring of additional local personnel. About 40 new employees, all Americans, will be hired for the new production lines, in addition to the 85 currently employed.
Another player in the ceramic market, Sacmi, has as well opened its own subsidiary here. The company’s branch, opened since February and located in the town of Brentwood, houses the company’s spare parts warehouse and assistance service for local customers. Construction of the offices and the new facility’s service areas were recently completed.
Virginia:
Last March (2016), Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that Italy’s ELDOR Corporation, an international group leader in the automotive business, will invest about $75 million to establish its first U.S. production plant in Botetourt County. The project will create approximately 350 new jobs. The company’s key manufactured products include ignition systems, engine control units, braking systems actuators, and power/electronics management systems for hybrid and electric vehicles. The Governor met with the company founder at their headquarters in Italy during his June 2015 European Marketing Mission, following an initial meeting at the 2015 SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, D.C.
Illinois:
An Italian manufacturer that supplies the automotive industry announced this past January (2016) that it is investing $6.4 million in a 44,000-square-foot production facility in southeast Rockford, Illinois and is hiring 37 full-time workers.
It's the first U.S.-based operation for Taurus 80, a maker of high precision zinc die-cast parts. The company employs 268 people at its operations in Torino, Italy, and Tunisia. The Rockford company, Taurus Die Casting LLC, is ramping up production at East Rock Industrial Park, where more than $500,000 in remodeling work is underway.
Roberto Marselli, president and CEO of the Rockford affiliate, came to town last summer while the company was scouting sites to establish a U.S. presence.
The search came down to Rockford and Holland, Michigan. Holland is pretty, but Illinois was easier to deal with, Rockford is closer to Chicago and, most of all, there's a highly skilled workforce here, he said. “Our customers, our suppliers are in the U.S., mostly in the Midwest. That's where the growth is,” he said. “So this is where we needed to be. The labor force here is key.”
Texas:
After years of going by the code name “Project Sizzle,” the veil was recently lifted on a major industrial investment in Brownsville, Texas. Earlier this month (May 2016) Texas’ Assistant Secretary of Commerce Arun Kumar was among the officials to announce the imminent arrival of SATA USA, part of Italian firm SATA Group, a top supplier of machined parts to Caterpillars, John Deere and many of the world’s auto manufacturer
The company plans to build a foundry-machining operation that will anchor a 350-acre heavy manufacturing corridor on F.M. 511. Brownsville will be the SATA Group’s first presence in the United States. SATA USA will invest about $400 million in the project, which officials say will create a number of jobs during the construction phase and 300 jobs long term.
Tennessee:
In the first four months of this year, 2016, four noted Italian investments have taken place in “The Volunteer State” by the Italian companies Martinelli Ettore, Beretta, Del Conca and Sacmi.
Martinelli Ettore had its grand opening in April of its new facility which had started operations in January. Operations will initially focus on Martinelli Group’s core business - that is moulds for ceramic presses - but may expand in the future to other business segments where the company operates through the brands Emar-Imer and Emar Impianti: among these, the production and regeneration of grids, plates and other accessories for the press loading technologies.
Italian gun maker Beretta opened its new manufacturing and research facility in suburban Nashville and announced that it will begin making the U.S. Armed Forces M9 handgun at the plant this summer. Tennessee provided $10 million as part of the incentive package for the $45 million facility, which will make the handgun for the U.S. military.
Tennessee is home to the largest ceramic manufacturing district in the US.and investments by Italian companies, Del Conca and Sacmi in the region have made sense.
And two years after opening its U.S. production facilities here, Del Conca USA, a subsidiary of Del Conca Group based in Italy, has put in motion plans to double its capacity of porcelain tile production from 32 to 65 million square feet per annum.The expansion, with work expected to begin during the second half of 2016, and production to start in early 2017, involves a further investment of $30 million both for construction and the purchase of new Italian technology.
To date, the U.S. plant, located in Loudon County (Tennessee), covers 320,000 square feet, but during the course of 2016 it will be expanded to cover 430,000 square feet. This increase of production will also involve the hiring of additional local personnel. About 40 new employees, all Americans, will be hired for the new production lines, in addition to the 85 currently employed.
Another player in the ceramic market, Sacmi, has as well opened its own subsidiary here. The company’s branch, opened since February and located in the town of Brentwood, houses the company’s spare parts warehouse and assistance service for local customers. Construction of the offices and the new facility’s service areas were recently completed.
Virginia:
Last March (2016), Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that Italy’s ELDOR Corporation, an international group leader in the automotive business, will invest about $75 million to establish its first U.S. production plant in Botetourt County. The project will create approximately 350 new jobs. The company’s key manufactured products include ignition systems, engine control units, braking systems actuators, and power/electronics management systems for hybrid and electric vehicles. The Governor met with the company founder at their headquarters in Italy during his June 2015 European Marketing Mission, following an initial meeting at the 2015 SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, D.C.
Illinois:
An Italian manufacturer that supplies the automotive industry announced this past January (2016) that it is investing $6.4 million in a 44,000-square-foot production facility in southeast Rockford, Illinois and is hiring 37 full-time workers.
It's the first U.S.-based operation for Taurus 80, a maker of high precision zinc die-cast parts. The company employs 268 people at its operations in Torino, Italy, and Tunisia. The Rockford company, Taurus Die Casting LLC, is ramping up production at East Rock Industrial Park, where more than $500,000 in remodeling work is underway.
Roberto Marselli, president and CEO of the Rockford affiliate, came to town last summer while the company was scouting sites to establish a U.S. presence.
The search came down to Rockford and Holland, Michigan. Holland is pretty, but Illinois was easier to deal with, Rockford is closer to Chicago and, most of all, there's a highly skilled workforce here, he said. “Our customers, our suppliers are in the U.S., mostly in the Midwest. That's where the growth is,” he said. “So this is where we needed to be. The labor force here is key.”
Texas:
After years of going by the code name “Project Sizzle,” the veil was recently lifted on a major industrial investment in Brownsville, Texas. Earlier this month (May 2016) Texas’ Assistant Secretary of Commerce Arun Kumar was among the officials to announce the imminent arrival of SATA USA, part of Italian firm SATA Group, a top supplier of machined parts to Caterpillars, John Deere and many of the world’s auto manufacturer
The company plans to build a foundry-machining operation that will anchor a 350-acre heavy manufacturing corridor on F.M. 511. Brownsville will be the SATA Group’s first presence in the United States. SATA USA will invest about $400 million in the project, which officials say will create a number of jobs during the construction phase and 300 jobs long term.