Welcome to Weirton, Pietro Fiorentini

Welcome to Weirton, Pietro Fiorentini

The best things come to those who wait. It’s a saying which has been proven true recently as a long-awaited development project in our area has taken another step closer to completion.

On June 9, a ceremonial groundbreaking was held to officially welcome Pietro Fiorentini to Weirton, with company representatives joined by local and state officials and many other guests on the future site of what will be the Italian company’s first U.S. based manufacturing facility.

According to officials with Pietro Fiorentini USA, the first meeting between the company and representatives of the West Virginia Development Office took place in 2012. From there, it has been years of negotiations, incentive package creations, and looking for the proper location.

The company manufactures pressure regulators and valves, as well as pressure reducing and metering systems for use in the natural gas industry. Finding a location in the middle of the Marcellus Shale region is perfect, officials have said, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Ohio Valley, which continues to see growth locally from this industry.

Company officials have said they were amazed to see so much support from the Weirton area, and plan to return that support as they begin to operate, through partnerships with local colleges and others in the community.

It is not often such a large-scale development opportunity can be turned around in only a few months. It takes time, often years, to make the proper connections, grow a relationship and then get the right conditions together in order to move ahead.

We are fortunate, in West Virginia, to have those dedicated toward building those relationships, across the country and around the world. While not every project is going to come to West Virginia, and even fewer will find their way to the Ohio Valley, those continuing relationships — those friendships developed through the process — do benefit us in the long run.

These companies and government officials from across the globe take notice. They see the type of land available, they see our labor force, our communities and what we have to offer, and they often remember.

Our area is turning a corner, and this is just one more sign helping to show our brighter future.

We join the rest of the Weirton community in welcoming Pietro Fiorentini to the city, and look forward to years of prosperity and friendship.