An Italy-based transformer manufacturer has started construction on its first North American facility.
WESTRAFO chose Trotwood for its newest location based on the area’s skilled workforce, its industry, educational facilities, and infrastructure.
Ohio was chosen out of 20 other states for the company’s first U.S. facility.
JP Nauseef, president and CEO of JobsOhio, said Ohio ranked number one in the Global Groundwork Index and has numerous other qualities that can attract businesses like WESTRAFO.
“This project expands on one of our state's greatest and most storied economic strengths: advanced manufacturing," he said. "Over 600,000 skilled individuals place us at the number three manufacturing workforce in the country. We have the fourth largest manufacturing gross state product, and our labor productivity index continues to be number one in the Midwest every year since 2011.”
“This community, we've now been working with them pretty intimately for the past four years, and nobody deserves it more than they do."
The $15 million Trotwood transformer plant is expected to be 216,000 square feet and will create 230 new full-time jobs. Production is expected to start in 2025.
The plant will be built at GATED Global Park alongside smart tag producer, Technicote.
The principal of GATED Properties Global, Adin Penn, said the community banded together to seize the opportunity of having WESTRAFO open a facility in the area.
"That just shows the type of community that this is, that they were able to put their best foot forward," he said. "They knew that for a company of WESTRAFO's magnitude to be able to have a headquarters here, it's pretty exceptional. And they did not hold any stops out."
Penn said he is grateful to bring hundreds of jobs to the area after the devastation of the 2019 tornados.
“This community, we've now been working with them pretty intimately for the past four years, and nobody deserves it more than they do," he said. "And for us to be able to provide something like that, it's just our way of giving back for everything that they've done for us too.”
GATED Properties Global is a family-owned operation, much like WESTRAFO.
The CEO of WESTRAFO, Alberto Cracco, said his family-run company is expanding to the United States based on demand.
“There is a huge need of power in the energy sector. It's due to different things," he said. "In U.S. in particular, renovation of the existing grid, there are a lot of projects for batteries, battery storage. There are a lot of projects that are in the pipeline for hydrogen business, a lot of projects for solar, wind and for data centers.”
Cracco said he gave the city a very short deadline of 10 days to draft up a proposal package for the Trotwood site, which GATED Properties met.
"This type of construction, Ferguson and GATED Properties did a fantastic job because I gave them a very challenging deadline to respect," he said. "And they accepted the challenge and they are moving in a fast way to get our property finished very soon."
Montgomery County Commissioner Deborah Leiberman said the county already issued a building permit for the new plant.
