Jun 12, 2019   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Italian Manufacturer Modula Announces New Ohio Investment at SelectUSA

Modula, an international group with an Italian HQ, that manufactures automated storage and retrieval systems, announced today at the SelectUSA Conference in Washington, D.C., that it will invest $26.5 million in a new manufacturing and logistics hub at a vacant facility in Franklin, Ohio, where it will create 100 new jobs.

Modula Inc. Chief Executive Officer Antonio Pagano, who was joined by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, and JobsOhio President and Chief Investment Officer J.P. Nauseef, said that Southwest Ohio would be the company’s second U.S. location. The new facility will expand Modula’s manufacturing capacity and increase its access to customers across the country.

“Modula is facing impressive growth worldwide at a pace of almost 25 percent year-over-year in the last five years, and particularly in the North American market we faced a further acceleration in the last two years,” said Pagano. “After an accurate analysis, we chose Ohio and particularly the Cincinnati area because of the excellent position, the great industrial presence and the high professionalism of JobsOhio and REDI Cincinnati, who helped us in the whole process. We are sure that Modula will have a positive impact in the local community of Franklin, and we are excited to start our new adventure there.”

“Our target is to progressively establish a production capacity of 2,000 Vertical Lift Modules (VLM) per year in this building,” said Modula Chairman Franco Stefani. “The highly automated production process is in line with the high technological level of our VLM products, and the Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) software that goes with them. We are willing to invest in the rich, dynamic, and skilled human capital of this region who are able to work in an Industry 4.0 advanced environment.”

After experiencing rapid growth, Modula initially planned to expand in the United States by establishing separate facilities for its manufacturing operation and its logistics hub. Modula found that the former Dayton Daily News printing plant in Franklin met all of its manufacturing and logistics needs, which led to the company locating both operations there.

“Modula’s investment brings 100 new jobs and a globally successful company to Ohio,” said Governor DeWine. “The decision to choose Ohio for this cutting-edge manufacturing and logistics operation demonstrates how our state’s people, diverse industry strength, and location can support innovative companies’ efforts to expand in the North American market.”

Modula attributed its decision to locate at the 5000 Commerce Center Drive building because it affords future expansion opportunities and an advantageous location closer to customers. In addition, the region’s strong infrastructure supports faster and more efficient delivery of products.

“We and our partners at REDI Cincinnati and Warren County are delighted to welcome Modula, Inc. to Ohio,” said Nauseef. “Modula’s Franklin investment will revive a vacant facility and employ at least 100 Ohioans who will support Modula’s ongoing innovation and worldwide growth in the automotive storage and retrieval systems space.”

The project represents ongoing efforts by REDI Cincinnati, in partnership with the European American Chamber of Commerce, to attract foreign investment to the Greater Cincinnati region. Modula’s new facility in Southwest Ohio will be its second location in the United States.

“Modula’s investment in Franklin is a unique opportunity that combines foreign direct investment and one of our target industries, advanced manufacturing, into an iconic building,” said Kimm Lauterbach, REDI Cincinnati president and CEO. “It takes the work of all of our partners to accomplish this, and I’m thankful for their commitment to the region.”

Cox Media Group Ohio was the previous owner of the building, which housed printing operations for its three daily papers – the Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun and Journal News – and several of its weekly publications.

About Modula

Born in 1987, Modula is an Italian company that designs and manufactures automatic vertical warehouses (aka VLM- Vertical Lift Modules) suitable for any industrial sector or environment. Modula is also the name of our products which are used to store various types of products. The VLM are designed to reduce occupied floor space by 90%, increase productivity, speed up picking throughput and improve warehouse efficiency by reducing risks to both people and goods. Today Modula counts on more than 15.000 customers around the world and a production capacity of 3.500 machines per year in the 3 production plants: Italy (Salvaterra, Reggio Emilia), US (Lewiston, Maine) and China (Suzhou). Besides these plants Modula has a network of 7 Subsidiaries (France, UK, Spain, Russia, Germany, India, Mexico) and more than 50 authorized dealers all over the world. This ensures we have a presence where our clients are, allowing us to service all our main markets and respond quickly and locally to all our client's needs. Sales in 2018 exceeded the $ 150 million, 5% of them continuously invested in R&D, and more than 600 people employed around the world.

About JobsOhio

JobsOhio is a private nonprofit corporation designed to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio through business attraction, retention and expansion efforts. JobsOhio works with six regional partners across Ohio: Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth, Columbus 2020, Dayton Development Coalition, REDI Cincinnati, Regional Growth Partnership and Team NEO. Learn more at www.jobsohio.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

About REDI Cincinnati

The Regional Economic Development Initiative (REDI) Cincinnati is the first point-of-contact for companies locating or growing in the 16-county region at the heart of Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana. REDI Cincinnati is supported by top business leaders and community partners, and staffed by a team of economic development experts who are uniting the Greater Cincinnati region to compete globally.