Product development firm GE/Fitch Inc. has new owners and a new name.
The Powell-based company, which has specialized in plastic products, has been purchased by its employees from former majority owners GE Plastics and design firm Fitch: Worldwide.
Pittsfield, Mass.-based GE Plastics and Worthington, Ohio-based Fitch have retained a minority share in the firm, said spokesman Jon Reischel. The firm's 31 employees bought a majority stake in the company in December and have renamed it New Product Innovations Inc., or NPI.
The firm will continue its focus on all aspects of project development, including design and engineering, supply-chain management and sourcing of contract manufacturing, Reischel said.
``A lot of companies are looking for outsourcing partners,'' Reischel said.
Fitch, which is nearby, will continue to provide industrial design work for NPI and assist in product management, said Fitch public relations director Nita Rollins.
The company changed its name a year ago from Fitch Inc. and operates as a holding company working with 10 design and engineering firms, including NPI.
New Product Innovations also has an office in Hong Kong.
The employee stock-ownership plan allows company executives greater autonomy and incentive to manage projects, according to Reischel.
``We're re-establishing a new brand with new ownership,'' he said.
