A new brick has been placed in the road to our area’s future.

Last Thursday, representatives of Gruppo Fanti were joined by local and state officials and other guests to celebrate the opening of Fanti USA, the company’s first U.S.-based operation.

As we’ve reported, Fanti is an Italian company which can trace its history to World War II. It’s founder studied tuna cans left by American military personnel and learned how to make them himself. Today, the company produces more than 100 million containers for various products with operations now on four continents.

Fanti USA is starting its operations in the former Signode Building in the Half Moon Industrial Park with two production lines to manufacture cans for use with paint, varnish and other materials. Plans include future expansion, adding on to the building and bringing in more lines, and the creation of at least 40 jobs.

This project is a win for so many. It is an opportunity for a company to grow. It provides jobs for local residents. It makes use of a building that has been sitting vacant for a long time.

I had been in that building on probably three previous occasions over the years.

The first two were as part of our coverage of meetings of an association of the businesses operating in the Half Moon Industrial Park. This was, I believe, prior to 2010, and it was still being used for some purpose. There were some active office spaces and meeting rooms. I never received a full tour of the building in those days, but what I saw was clean, bright and welcoming.

My third previous visit was in 2020, a few months prior to the announcement Gruppo Fanti had selected Weirton for its first U.S.-based facility.

I’m not going to get too deep in the weeds about the changes of ownership during the years, or what may have been done during that time, but to see it back then and compare it to what is there now, I would have thought it was two different buildings.

Fanti spent approximately $30 million to refurbish a building which, last I saw it, had major leaks in the roof with large puddles on the floor where rain had gotten in. Where piles of garbage and stores of personal items had once been stacked, there now is machinery to manufacture a company’s products. A building which had been stripped of its infrastructure once again has proper lighting and other utilities operating. Most importantly, what only a few years ago had been a vacant structure with little hope for a future now is providing a livelihood to many of our residents.

Some of the investment, company officials noted, included “renewable” energy infrastructure, with approximately $1 million used for the installation of solar panels on the building’s roof.

We’ve been incredibly fortunate in the Upper Ohio Valley in recent years, with several companies announcing their plans to locate in Hancock and Brooke counties in particular. Form Energy continues to work on its facility in Weirton’s north end. Pietro Fiorentini has had success, and Bidell is maintaining its operations. Pure Watercraft is aimed at opening in Beech Bottom. Friday morning, it was announced our area will have components for a hydrogen storage hub network.

There have been discussions of other potential opportunities on the horizon, as well, which should continue to build the excitement. We’re seeing larger employers taking more notice of our region. That is then becoming a selling point for national retail chains and there continue to be local residents being willing to hang a shingle for themselves and start their own business.

It’s diversity in our economy, and while it has taken more time than most probably hoped, it is good to see these successes continue.

(Howell, a resident of Colliers, is managing editor of The Weirton Daily Times, and can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com or followed on Twitter @CHowellWDT)