Fiit, joint venture in China Targets Asia and Australia
Industrial partnership with Starmatrix: the aim is to achieve a turnover of 10 million in three years in the area
After the inauguration of a new production plant for the 'garden' sector in the United States (started up at the end of 2024 but officially inaugurated a week ago), Fitt is continuing its international expansion strategy, which includes an industrial presence in key markets. On the one hand the American one, and on the other Asia and (above all) Australia, explains Alessandro Mezzalira, CEO of the group based in Sandrigo (Vicenza), specialised in the production of thermoplastic material solutions for the passage of fluids, which currently has about 15 production plants (of which nine in Italy, four in Europe and two between China and the USA), 1,150 employees and a turnover of about 300 million Euros in 2024.
Hence the joint venture signed a few days ago with Starmatrix Group, a company specialising in garden and swimming pool equipment, entirely for export. "This operation stems from two fundamental considerations," explains Mezzalira. The first is that today China is the place in the world where most innovation and technology is being done, so I think that for a manufacturing company like ours it is important to be present in that country to be in contact and to confront the context of technological advancement, to stay hooked on the future".
The second reason is more purely commercial and has to do with FITT's desire to strengthen its presence in Asia - a fast-growing area - and to gain more structured access to two markets of great interest, Australia and New Zealand, which are currently difficult to preside over because they are too far away to export products made in Europe there and not suitable for setting up production sites there.
"We have chosen Starmatrix as our partner because it is already one of our suppliers and is also one of the world's leading players in the production of automatic garden hose winders," adds Mezzalira. "This industrial partnership will help us face and overcome the initial bureaucratic and cultural complexities of starting production in China. The majority of the jv is in the hands of Fitt, while the Chinese partner will be entrusted with the management of the plant, which should be operational between the end of 2026 and the beginning of 2027.
The agreement involves the installation of four new extrusion lines within the Starmatrix facilities, based on the technological know-how of Fitt, which will design in house both process engineering and advanced materials development, for the on-site production of flexible garden hoses, with the aim of reaching 10 million in sales in the Asia-Pacific region within three years.
