PORTAGE | One of the world’s largest manufacturers of solar
inverters will relocate its American headquarters to Portage and
promised to create 500 jobs by 2016.
The announcement by officials from Fronius USA was met by
applause from some 300 people gathered inside the
400,000-square-foot Randolph building at AmeriPlex at the Port
business park. The company has purchased the building and land from
Holladay Properties, signaling their commitment to the community it
has chosen to call its home.
“If Fronius goes somewhere, we stay there forever,” said
Wolfgang Niedrist, managing director of sales for Fronius USA.
Niedrist said the Austrian-based, family-owned company chose
Indiana for its strong educational system, solid network of
suppliers and access to logistical services.
“We searched for the right location, the right state and chose
Indiana. We decided to go close to an international airport. They
had this building available,” Niedrist said.
Thomas Herndler, head of manufacturing for Fronius USA, said the
Portage facility is the “biggest investment by the company outside
of Austria.”
Gov. Mitch Daniels, Mayor Olga Velazquez and others praised the
partnership that brought the company to the city.
“I want to thank you for the business,” Daniels said. “This is
what gets us up in the morning. They chose wisely and well when
they chose Portage.”
“This is the kind of company we have tried to rebuild the
Indiana economy to attract. The whole state will be proud of what
happens here,” said Daniels, adding the company and state and local
officials began negotiating to bring the company’s U.S.
headquarters and manufacturing facility to Portage about nine
months ago.
“This doesn’t happen in a vacuum, it doesn’t happen in a
moment’s time,” Velazquez said. “We truly are lucky you chose us.
Portage and Northwest Indiana residents are ready to demonstrate
that we are a loyal, hard-working workforce.”
The U.S. Department of Energy approved the state of Indiana to
provide Fronius USA $9.5 million in American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act funding to buy equipment for a new facility for
the components in August.
“This is huge,” said Portage Economic Development Corp. Director
Bert Cook. “Very few communities get to experience a development of
this magnitude. It is not only for Portage, but for Northwest
Indiana.”
Cook added that Fronius’ commitment will drive additional
economic development in the city and region.
Tim Healy, vice president of Holladay Properties, said it was a
team effort to bring the company to Portage and that Fronius’
commitment marks the largest investment by a single company in the
business park.
Herndler said the next step will be to design and construct the
interior of the building to meet the company’s needs. The plan
should be completed by October or November and construction would
begin shortly thereafter. The building should be completed by
September 2012 and the plant in operation by January 2013.
Fronius will not close down its Brighton, Mich. facility. It
will remain open as a sales and service center, said Niedrist. Some
25 to 30 of its employees will be transferred to the new Portage
facility.
Plans are to have 100 employees by next fall and offer a total
of 500 new jobs by 2016. Those jobs will range from assembly line
workers to high tech and administrative jobs.
Neither Niedrist nor Herndler would speak about potential
salaries.
“Our people are satisfied. At Fronius, the most valuable asset
is our employee,” Niedrist said.
“Something that impressed me was that they value longevity in
their employees, they want their employees to stay,” Velazquez
said.
Herndler said the company is also union-friendly.
“We have unions in Austria and we have a good relationship with
all of them. We are not afraid to be a union company,” Herndler
said.
When the company begins hiring, jobs will be posted on their
website. The company also will be working with Work One in the
search for employees and will hold a job fair when it begins large
hiring efforts.
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