FITT’s American dream, which began in 2017 with a market study, became a business strategy with a trading company in 2020 and has now turned into a full-fledged business plan that will lead to the creation of a production plant in Anderson, Indiana.
The project is driven by two fundamental and increasingly interconnected values strongly representative of the way FITT does business: innovation and sustainability.
The steady double-digit growth in turnover could no longer be sustained by production in Italy: the local plant will reduce the environmental impact caused by the transport of goods and provide better service to customers.
With this in mind, FITT has chosen to regenerate a so-called “brownfield” of 120,000sqm, a disused industrial site formerly housing General Motors, making the most of its characteristics and geographical location through major redevelopment and without further land consumption.
On 18 October, in the presence of the Mayor of Anderson and representatives of the local government and the State of Indiana, the Ground Breaking ceremony was held to kick off the construction of the factory. The construction works are scheduled to be completed in September 2024, with production starting in October 2024. The investment totals about 30 million USD and once fully operational the factory will have six production lines, and about 100 employees by 2028.
The arrival of FITT to the USA dates back to 2020. The commercial success of its gardening range is due to the fact that the American market has proved increasingly receptive to innovative solutions for domestic irrigation that, without compromising on performance, are also capable of meeting tangible sustainability demands. FITT Force, already well known in Europe for being the first carbon neutral product in the watering world, was developed following ecodesign guidelines (performance, circularity and reduction), and in the version specifically designed for the USA market (with high-performance aluminium fittings) has quickly become a key product with overseas distributors, driving market share gains.
FITT Force is in fact supplied to the major DYI chains across the country, such as The Home Depot, Walmart, Ace, Do It Best, Target, as well as through the Amazon US digital channel of the group.
“The “landing” of FITT in the USA is the result of a long-term strategic vision.” Says Alessandro Mezzalira, CEO of FITT Group. “We started in 2017 with a study of the market and its dynamics, end-user needs, competitors and potential, building our project on a solid foundation. We soon realised that the American market has very specific dimensions and characteristics which require a local presence that cannot be achieved through the current trading company. An overseas production hub will allow us to guarantee to our customers the same level of service that FITT has been able to offer to its European customers for over 50 years.”