Gov. Mike DeWine recently announced that Italian-based company Modula has invested $26.5 million in the City of Franklin after closing on the purchase of the historic Dayton Daily News building.
“A big Ohio welcome to Modula. $26 million investment and 100 jobs in Franklin,” DeWine wrote on Twitter after making the announcement at the U.S Commerce Department’s Select USA Summit.
A big #Ohio welcome to .@ModulaUS $26 million investment and 100 jobs in Franklin! #SelectUSASummit #JobsOhio #Ohiofindithere pic.twitter.com/ltr9uOWBSH
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) June 11, 2019
According to JobsOhio, Modula “designs and manufactures automatic vertical warehouses, also known as vertical lift modules,” and its investment will bring 100 jobs to the Franklin area.
“Modula is facing an impressing growth worldwide with a pace of almost 25 percent year-over-year in the last five years, and particularly in the North American market we faced a further acceleration in the last two years,” Modula CEO Antonio Pagano said in a press release. “After an accurate analysis, we chose Ohio and particularly the Cincinnati area because of the excellent position, the great industrial presence and the high professionality of JobsOhio and REDI Cincinnati, who helped us in the whole process.”
“We are sure that Modula will have a good impact in the local community of Franklin, and we are excited to start our new adventure there,” he added.
Yannick Schilly, board president of the European American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cincinnati, said the investment is “just more evidence of European and international confidence in the economic future of our region.”
“We’re proud to have been part of the team to support Modula in reaching this decision,” Schilly said.
“Modula’s decision to locate here as opposed to other competing locations shows a strong collaboration between the state, regional, and local communities in Southwest Ohio,” added Matt Schnipke, economic development director for Warren County. “The iconic location will provide a great home and room for future growth as Modula joins the Warren County business community.”
The company received a Job Creation Tax Credit from Ohio at a rate of 1.52 percent for a seven-year period. The site of the building, according to leaders involved in the process, offers Modula the capacity to expand in the future.
“The building could very well be the most iconic, identifiable and most well-known industrial building in the region, to folks both in the commercial real estate world and the general public,” said Chuck Ackerman, a senior vice president of Colliers International.
Sonny Lewis, Franklin City Manager, said he looks “forward to a long-lasting partnership where together we can make Franklin a better place to live, work and play.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
