ANDERSON — The city of Anderson will be the home of the North American facility for Italian based company Italpollina, a world leader in the production of organic fertilizers.
The company is investing $9 million in the first phase of construction and plans to hire 35 people with an annual payroll of $1.8 million.
It was founded in 1971 and will be constructing its U.S. headquarters on property to the west of the Purdue Polytechnic campus along Scatterfield Road.
Italpollina will be manufacturing biostimulant fertilizer from soy beans at the Anderson facility and hopes to start construction in March with production to start in 2017. It says its fertilizers are based on safe animal byproducts and biostimulants of vegetal origin.
It is the first public/private partnership project for the Anderson Redevelopment Commission, which is working with Scatterfield 2700, owned by John Paugh and Bill Fredricks.
Greg Winkler, director of the Anderson Economic Development Department, said the intent is to have the ARC sell 6.4 acres to Scatterfield 2700 at a cost of $1,000 per acre.
He said the cost is a part of the incentive package being offered to Italpollina and is being constructed in a Brownfield area on the site of a former General Motors plant.
The ARC is transferring $1.05 million to the Anderson Economic Development Commission, which will provide the funds to Italpollina.
Winkler said Italpollina is investing an estimated $5 million in a 70,000 square foot building and $4 million in equipment.
Italpollina will pay $160,000 in taxes for the next 10 years which will go into the Tax Increment Financing account of the ARC.
The city is not providing Italpollina any tax abatements for the project.
Luca Bonini, CEO of Italpollina, said the idea of the company was started by his grandfather in 1953, and he is the third generation of the family in developing the company.
He said a second and third phase could be added in Anderson that would increase the size of the facility to 300,000 square feet.
Bonini said the Anderson location is ideal because it’s close to the raw material (soy beans) and close to many of Italpollina's Midwest customers.
He said the fertilizer is produced in a liquid form and then provided to other companies in the United States.
Bonini said the company is working on an agreement with Purdue University to develop new products, and the Anderson facility will include a lab.
“The construction of this new plant is a very exciting step for our company since it confirms our commitment to the U.S. market and shows the importance of biotechnologies in agriculture,” he said. “In Anderson, we have found the right mix of a skilled workforce and a business friendly environment. We are really looking forward to expanding our activity in the U.S. with the creation of our new North American headquarters in Indiana.”
Bonini said he is moving to Indiana with his family in the future.
Italpollina becomes the third company to locate in Anderson within the past year, joining Tecnoplast USA and Sirmax.