Italy-based Sogefi Group will add at least 250 new jobs in a $20 million expansion of its auto parts plant in Prichard, West Virginia.

Sogefi's Wayne County plant, which opened in 2004, manufactures parts for automobile engines, including fuel pumps, fuel filters, and oil filters. Parts from the company's West Virginia plant are used by global automotive giants including Toyota, Ford, Fiat, Chrysler, BMW, Nissan, Mazda, Hyundai, and Kia. The plant produces more than 5 million pumps and filters every year.

Plant modifications, which include repurposing the plant's existing space of 215,000 square feet of production, warehouse and office area, are scheduled to begin in January 2014 and finish by May. New equipment is set to arrive beginning in May and through August 2014. Financing for some of the equipment has already been approved by the West Virginia Economic Development Authority.

The auto parts manufacturer will add engine intake manifolds to its Prichard product line that includes integrated fluid filtration products. The Prichard plant will manufacture intake manifolds for General Motors, adding yet another major auto producer to the plant's customer list.

"The plant that we opened in West Virginia in 2004 was the first entry of Sogefi S.p.A into North America," said CEO Guglielmo Fiocchi. "Our company has had great success in West Virginia, and we consider the partnership with the state and local government officials to be important factors."

Hiring for skilled positions including; engineers, quality staff, supervisors and maintenance technicians will start in January 2014. Production positions will be added gradually from around April through August.

"West Virginia offers tremendous value for businesses who need a top-notch workforce and a winning business climate," Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said. "Sogefi's expansion underscores the competitive edge that's attracting more and more businesses to our state."

"I've said time and again, I will go anywhere to bring more good-paying jobs to West Virginia," Gov. Tomblin continued. "When I met with Mr. Fiocchi last month in France, he praised West Virginia's hardworking people and his company's experience in the state. Sogefi's decision to grow its Wayne County operation is a vote of confidence in all the things we've done to make West Virginia a great place to do business."

"I am pleased about the great news for Wayne County and the entire region. Sogefi is growing and that means our economy is improving," said Gary Walton, president of the Huntington Area Development Council. "When HADCO built the spec building that grew into Allevard Sogefi USA, Inc., this was exactly what our board of directors envisioned: more employment and more private investment. This development would not have happened without tremendous cooperation among federal, state and local government."

The West Virginia Development Office, HADCO and the Wayne County Economic Development Authority collaborated on the expansion project.