After a trip to Northern Italy, Delaware County officials are happy to announce new investment and business opportunities coming to the community. Commissioner President Shannon Henry and Commissioner Vice President James King announced the success of their latest economic development efforts. Henry and King spent the week visiting with 25 firms with interest in establishing operations in the United States. In addition, the duo made a case for doing business in east-central Indiana to CEOs representing firms in various advanced technology industries. The new and soon-to-be developing investments add to the number of Italian firms growing in Delaware County.
The first firm signing a memorandum of understanding to locate their investment in Delaware County was Gamma Meccanica – a well-established family firm that manufacturers machinery that recycles plastics. Currently housed in a facility of over 200,000 square feet in Bibbiano, Italy, and employing over 200 people, the company is a leader in designing, engineering and manufacturing large plastic recycling equipment. Recognizing the increased volume of plastics going to waste in North America, the company plans to initially invest in a facility to house machinery that will be used as demonstration and prototyping for purposes of securing future orders.
The company is currently producing and shipping plastic recycling and other heavy machine equipment all over the world including the American market. Until now the company has had no facility or operational presence in the United States. “We were fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit Delaware County earlier this year,” Company CEO Andrea Burini said in 2023. “The work and support that County Economic Development Director Brad Bookout put into helping us made the difference in our decision. We are delighted to now set our roots to be a part of the Muncie-Delaware County community, and we look forward to working with more residents and local companies as we advance our plans.”
The second firm, Trebi Srl, is a robotics firm that currently has an established sales office in Delaware County (the result of a previous economic development trip), and now intends to advance that operation to a warehouse location. The firm committed to ensuring that Delaware County remains their North American headquarters, and they further intend to ship their advanced cutting and deburring robotic machinery to the community for distribution throughout the Americas.
“Delaware County is a terrific location for our U.S. operations,” said Trebi’s Chief Engineer Piercarlo Bonomi. “Being centrally located in the Midwest, there is an incredible customer potential for us in all of the surrounding states, cities and towns. Our growth potential is incredible. We were happy to have welcomed the Delaware County commissioners to our facility during this important time in our company’s growth. We are intent to grow, invest and expand in Delaware County, Indiana.” Currently located in Brescia, Italy, Trebi is recognized throughout Europe as a leader in the manufacturing of robotic equipment that performs work that is otherwise considered dangerous, dirty and low-skilled.
The third company committing to develop operations in Delaware County is Vi-Technik Srl. Based in the northeastern city of San Vito al Tagliamento, Italy, Vi-Technik serves as a supplier to major automotive OEMs, TIER 1 and other Fortune 100 companies.
Recognized as an industry leader, Vi-Technik products can be found in many vehicle brands worldwide. Among other things, Vi-Technik manufacturers advanced plastic technology for ADAS systems on autonomous driving camera apparatus for various vehicles, both currently in mass production and those scheduled for future production.
The company signed a memorandum of understanding to establish their operations in Delaware County. Vi-Technik will start by leasing a 15,000-square-foot facility in the Muncie Industria Centre, bring in excess of $1.8 million in new technically advanced robotic equipment, and, over time, hire up to 40 skilled technician associates.
A special thank-you for the international relationship development of Vi-Technik goes to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and the help of Italian manager Sabrina Riccardi on this important project. “Having the opportunity to foster the development of this strategic partnership for new investment in the state of Indiana, and now having the company sign a commitment to proceed, has been a real honor,” Riccardi said. “I look forward to seeing the future success of this world-class company in Indiana.”
“We looked at many locations in the Midwest before choosing to visit Indiana at the encouragement of Sabrina Riccardi,” said Vi-Technik President and CEO Fabrizio Vito. “Once in Indiana, the reception and relationship we developed with Brad Bookout in Delaware County to help us advance our plans was second to none. In addition, we are happy to be in an area with a strong presence of other Italian firms.” Vi-Technik plans to begin equipping their facility early spring of 2024, with production goals targeted for summer.
“We are very happy with the success of the trip and wish to welcome these great new firms to our business community,” said County Commissioner James King, recognizing the need to diversify our local economy. “When our community was heavily invested in two or three industries, we had all our eggs in one basket. When the auto industry went down, our whole community went down. Our new approach is diversification of business in various advanced technical sectors by promoting relationships with both existing and new companies.”
“The diversification of our local business community means that other industries can participate in the multipliers of business that come from the new investments,” said County Commissioner Shannon Henry. “These new businesses also bring a host of higher-skilled employment opportunities, giving residents a variety of industry sectors to choose from and possibly bringing new business sectors by which to advance their careers. Bringing higher-skilled technical positions to our community is important to me. We are happy to welcome the new investments from Gamma Meccanica, Trebi and Vi-Technik.”
Having a long presence of Italian firms, Delaware County continues to promote new and expanding investment of companies throughout the community. Already having four Italy-based firms operating in the county, the new commitments bring the total to seven. Those Italy based firms with established Delaware County ties include:
Muncie Power Products, (a subsidiary of Interpump Group of Reggio Emilia, Italy) with headquarters in downtown Muncie and now in full production in a 112,000-square-foot, advanced manufacturing facility on Priority Way in Park One, Delaware County.
IMA INOX Market America, based in Padua, Italy, is a stainless-steel slitting and cutting company, who in 2021 constructed a state-of-the-art, new 140,000-square-foot facility in the Muncie Industrial Centre on South Cowan Road.
Filtrec North America, based in Bergamo, Italy, is a recognized leader in advanced machinery filtration. The company now occupies an 18,000-square-foot light manufacturing and warehouse facility on County Road 400 South in Delaware County.
FT Casting (Fonderia Taroni), based in Alfonsine, Italy, has established its corporation in Indiana, and occupies a North American sales presence at the Innovation Connector on White River Boulevard in Muncie.
Accompanying the commissioners during the overseas visits were Brad and Lisa Bookout of Augusta Consulting LLC, serving as the county’s director of economic affairs, and Bill Walters, representing the East Central Indiana Regional Planning District. Previous and current investment trips from the County have resulted in tens of millions in new capital investment within the county, and the creation of hundreds of new employment opportunities.
The Delaware County commissioners wish to thank the new businesses for selecting Delaware County, Indiana. Recognizing that they have many choices, the county pledges to continue to support and assist with their investments.
