When it comes to Italian plastics machinery makers, Cleveland's loss is Pittsburgh's gain.
Northeast Ohio is losing compounding extruder maker Pomini. Company officials announced in December that they would move Jan. 1 from the Cleveland suburb of Brecksville, Ohio, into the offices of its parent, Techint Technologies Inc., in Coraopolis, Pa.
Pomini decided to move in November. A month earlier, an Italian injection molding machine maker, Sandretto USA Inc., reported it was moving from Middleburg Heights, Ohio, to Freedom, Pa. Both Pennsylvania towns are north of Pittsburgh.
The moves will cost Cleveland 17 jobs. Each firm said it wanted to be closer to operations of its parent company.
Two of Pomini's five employees will relocate to Coraopolis, according to Douglas Sublett, general sales manager. Pomini, based in Castellanza, Italy, makes twin-screw compounding extruders, continuous mixers and pelletizing heads for processing plastics, and extruders, mixers, mills and calendering equipment for rubber.
Techint of Milan, Italy, bought Pomini about 10 years ago, Sublett said. Techint engineers and builds manufacturing plants for the petrochemicals, steel and other industries. It also owns steel mills in Italy and Latin America.
Techint Technologies employs about 240 in Coraopolis. By moving there, Pomini will be able to share that facility's support services such as accounting and sales, said Tom Meston, Techint marketing manager.
Effective Jan. 1, all sales, spare parts, and technical support activities will be handled out of Techint's Pomini Division.
At Sandretto USA, all 12 employees will relocate to Pennsylvania. The company's parent, Sandretto Industrie SpA of Turin, Italy, announced the move during K'98 in October.
After Italy's Cannon Group purchased Sandretto in 1997, the two companies said Cannon's U.S. plant near Mars, Pa., would assemble Sandretto injection molding machines. Sandretto's new, 22,000-square-foot headquarters, now under construction in nearby Freedom, Pa., will house administrative offices, not manufacturing.
