Emilio Padoan, left, FITT’s vice president of operations, shows Gov. Mike Braun around the Anderson factory Friday afternoon.
The Herald Bulletin
Emilio Padoan, left, FITT’s vice president of operations, shows Gov. Mike Braun around the Anderson factory Friday afternoon.
ANDERSON — Since it opened in Anderson, FITT USA has continued to expand its local operations, and executives recently announced plans to install solar panels at the facility.
Gov. Mike Braun, along with Anderson Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr. and Madison County Commissioner Olivia Pratt, toured the facility last Friday.
The Italian company that owns FITT USA has invested $30 million in the Anderson facility, which was built on a former General Motors property along Raible Avenue. Sixty people are employed at the facility.
The company plans an $8.2 million expansion that would employ an additional 30 people with a starting salary of $21.71 per hour.
The company is currently designing an 8,000-square-foot expansion that will be used to store product for distribution in the spring.
“I think it’s a success story,” Braun said. “They have room to expand and the fact that Italian companies are interested in coming to Madison and Delaware counties is important. There is an effort to do that and I think it’s a great connection. They made quality products, and I’ve learned a little more about the hose business.”
Braun said the company is planning to cover the entire roof of the facility with solar panels.
“They said there would be a three- to four-year payback in doing it,” Braun said.
Emilio Padoan, FITT USA vice president of operations, said the company which manufactures garden hoses is expected to sell $110 million worth of product in 2027.
The Anderson facility is the only one operating in the United States.
FITT USA purchased the property in 2023 for $200,000 from the RACER Trust, which was formed to sell former GM properties on brownfield sites in Anderson and across 14 states.
The company produces a variety of plastic hoses and has sold $50 million in products to companies in the United States. FITT USA plans to add as many as 90 jobs in Anderson by 2027.
The company receives raw material for its products from Anderson-based Sirmax, which is also located on a former GM property.
Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.
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