Salvagnini America is a leading supplier in North America with its machine tool product, said Johnson. During Thursday’s demonstration day, they showcased their products, which include several types of laser, punching, and bending machines for the advanced manufacturing industry.
Johnson said their success “speaks for itself” with more than 1,600 machine installations for more than 400 companies from the Hamilton facility. The international company is based in Italy and more than 7,000 Salvagnini systems are in operation in more than 75 countries.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“I personally witnessed the growth of Salvagnini America since 1998 when I joined the company,” said Johnson of the company that’s been in Hamilton for 30 years and has around 125 employees (and looking to hire). “We are a quiet organization. We are not boisterous by nature.”
The expansion completes the campus that will provide “a welcoming facility” for current and future customers to explore the machines they offer. He emphasized that it’s not a machine showroom, calling it a “comprehensive learning center to promote complete manufacturing solutions in a marketplace.”
“The campus is the place where visitors can achieve the full scope of design and manufacturing from conception to finished products,” Johnson said. “We are first and foremost focused on our customers and the campus provides a better place to exchange ideas, and communicate our competencies, values, and original thinking.”
This is the latest manufacturer to either move into or expand in Hamilton, which mirrors the revitalization the city’s been undergoing for the past decade-plus.
“Manufacturing, especially with what you’ve seen in Hamilton, southwest Ohio, and Ohio in general, that’s returning is really advanced manufacturing, and a higher quality and a higher quality of good that’s being manufactured in the state.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Ohio is consistently on lists identifying the top states for manufacturing. The database website IndustrySelect.com ranked Buckeye State third with the number of manufacturing jobs at nearly 900,000 with more than 15,000 manufacturing companies.
Hamilton’s seen several companies in the past 12 months to either open a new facility, expand existing facilities, or announced expansion plans, including Saica, thyssenKrupp Bilstein, and Vinylmax.
“It’s a company like this that will help us keep our workforce and grow our workforce,” Gunderson said of Salvagnini.
Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce President Dan Bates said the city has attracted and retained businesses for several reasons, including its utility infrastructure, the transportation infrastructure, and the ease of cutting red tape.
“I think everybody in Hamilton ― the city, the chamber, economic development, everybody ― works as hard as they can to make projects easy,” said Bates. “This team in Hamilton does what it takes to make it happen. Things don’t get bogged down with bureaucracy, red tape, and those kinds of things. That still happens, but everybody figures out a way. They’re not going to make it difficult for them to make a project like this happen, safely, easily, legally, and to make it happen as quickly as possible.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Gunderson said the character of the building speaks to the character of Salvagnini. Johnson said the architecture of the expansion focused on nature, craftsmanship, and simplicity, which is not unlike its Italian headquarters.
“To see this facility, it’s really breathtaking,” said Gunderson. “There’s just so much thought that went into the architectural building of this community, and it really says about the company. It really speaks to their character. They do things right, and they do it right the first time.”
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