PERRY, Iowa (October 17, 2025) — Leaders of an Italian-based manufacturer had three key requirements for their first manufacturing facility in the U.S.: It needed to be close to customers; construction had to start quickly; and the area had to offer a good quality of life, especially for employees relocating from outside the country.
Officials from ADR Axles USA Inc., an affiliate of Milan, Italy-based ADR S.p.A., visited possible development sites in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa, all of which are near facilities of major customers including John Deere and Kinze Manufacturing. Officials decided to build the $14.3-million North American headquarters and production facility on a certified site in the Perry Industrial Park.
“We knew that once we decided on a site that we wanted to be able to develop it fast,” said Chiara Radizzani, vice president of ADR Group. “We wanted as short of [a] turnaround time as possible. This land was shovel ready. It already had utilities. … So much work was already done that it saved us several months.”
Making sure sites are ready to develop on has been a critical element of Iowa Economic Development Authority’s strategy to attract manufacturing companies and other businesses to the state. Debi Durham, the state agency’s leader since January 2011, frequently has shared that early in her tenure, Iowa lost a development deal to Nebraska for reasons related to the availability of land.
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Originally published by the Business Record in October 2025