Fronius USA to Invest $26.64 million in Relocation of New U.S. Headquarters to Indiana

Fronius USA, LLC, the world's fourth-largest solar inverter producer, has announced it will relocate its North American headquarters from Brighton, MI, to Portage, IN, and create up to 512 new jobs by 2016.

Company officials said they will invest over $26.64 million to lease and equip 400,000 sq.-ft. of space to assemble and manufacture products for the North American market, and meet worldwide demand for welding technology and solar electronic inverters as well.

Founded in 1945, parent firm Fronius is headquartered in Austria, and employs more than 4,200 employees globally. Its production sites are found in Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic and Ukraine, and the company's 13 sales subsidiaries are located throughout the world.

Fronius USA, LLC is a world technology leader in the fields of battery charging systems, welding technology and solar electronics. Fronius opened the Brighton branch near Detroit In 2002 to gain access to the enormous American automobile industry and its suppliers concentrated in the region. Since 2004, its Solar Electronics division has been working with the U.S. photovoltaic market.

Portage Mayor Olga Velazquez said Fronius will bring "an entirely new high tech industry to Portage and northwestern Indiana. The skilled jobs created will keep our young people near home."

Fronius USA, LLC was offered up to $4.25 million in performance-based tax credits (based on its job creation plans) from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. It's been reported that the City of Portage will consider additional property tax abatement at the request of the Portage Economic Development Corporation and Portage Redevelopment Commission.