Crizaf srl, the Italian maker of conveying systems and related parts-handling equipment, has opened a 14,000-square-foot manufacturing operation in Durham, N.C., to serve the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Crizaf manufactures conveyors, parts separators, filling and storage systems along with weighing and counting systems. Founded in 1954, the family-owned company in Saronno, Italy, has become a multinational company, with production sites in its home country, Brazil, India and the United States. Crizaf has a sales network with distribution in more than 50 countries.
The Durham facility, called Crizaf Inc., employs seven people, and that number could double in the next few months as the company expands its business, said Christel Monmoine, marketing director.
Crizaf is well-known to the U.S. plastics industry, because of a relationship with conveyor maker EMI Corp. in Wickliffe, Ohio. Monmoine said after that agreement ended in 2013, Crizaf officials looked for locations for a U.S. manufacturing operation.
In addition to plastics, Crizaf's conveying equipment is used in a wide range of industries, including food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and automotive.