Westrafo has already invested more than $50 million in the plant, with more to come, Cracco pledged.
“This absolutely means everything to the city of Trotwood,” said Montgomery County Commissioner Mary McDonald, a former mayor of Trotwood.
Westrafo designs and manufactures high-efficiency transformers in an era of power-hungry data centers and growing acceptance of artificial intelligence. The energy sector is increasingly important to the nation, Ohio and JobsOhio, the state’s private development arm, said J.P. Nauseef, JobsOhio president and CEO.
“We are an energy-dominant state,” Nauseef said. “Energy will be more and more important.”
Westrafo aims to create 230 jobs in the next two-plus years at the new plant, which is found in the 85-acre GATED Global Park, next door to smart tag producer Beontag, which itself is near EPIX Tube Co. and other businesses.
Westrafo has about 200 employees in Italy and about 50 in the African country of Ghana. In all, some 22 different nationalities of employees work for the company, Cracco has said.
The Trotwood site will produce Westrafo’s medium and high-voltage transformers and energy systems, which are focused on renewable energy growth. The products made in Trotwood are destined for American customers in the renewable energy and industrial markets.
The company has been exporting products to the United States since 2019 and is a worldwide exporter.
The company planned to generate more than $12 million in new annual payroll in Trotwood, according to the state’s calculations last year.
The new building includes about 216,000 square feet of space for industrial manufacturing and 15,000 square feet for offices.
Westrafo launched in the transformer energy industry in 2014, Cracco told this newspaper last year.
The CEO visited the U.S. in 2023 in search of a home for the planned plant, touring multiple states across the Midwest.
When it came to decision time, the choice was between Ohio and Wisconsin, said Jeff Hoagland, president and CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition.
The search for the right location took a year, Ohio officials have said. In all, Ohio competed with some 20 other possible locations for the plant.
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