Italian firm investing in U.S. compounding facilityItalian firm investing in U.S. compounding facility

The SO.F.TER. Group (Forlì, Italy), one of the world's largest independent compounders, is constructing a new compounding facility in the United States dedicated to the production, development and sale of plastic compounds based on polyamide, polypropylene, thermoplastic elastomers as well as other advanced plastics.

The new business, based in Lebanon, TN, expects to have a strong presence in the automotive, appliance, construction and electrical markets. Mark Rodden, with more than 15 years of managerial experience in plastics compounding, will serve as Managing Director of SO.F.TER. U.S. The initially investment of $11.5 million will result in approximately 50 new jobs with ultimate site employment expected to exceed 150.

The SO.F.TER. U.S. site area of 21 acres will host initial construction of an approximately 100,000-sq-ft plant with an installed capacity of 50 million lb annually. Ultimately the plan to expand the plant area  to more than 250,000 sq ft and capacity to in excess of 150 million lb/year.

"The foundation of SO.F.TER. U.S. is a step of paramount importance in our internationalization strategy," says Riccardo Meucci, Global Commercial Director of SO.F.TER. Group. "In addition to the size and breadth of its markets, we believe the U.S. has excellent prospects for growth. Moreover, the U.S. operation completes our presence in the Americas and complements our presence in Mexico and Brazil. Now, indeed, we can be considered as a global supplier, providing the same high quality products all around the world."

The debut of SO.F.TER. U.S. in the U.S. plastics market will take place this October with a presentation at the SPE Automotive Conference to be held in Detroit from 6 to 9 October 2013. The official launch, meanwhile, will be held at the K 2013 show in Düsseldorf (16 to 23 October).