BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — Calling it the beginning of “a new chapter” for the family-owned company, executives of Italian automotive supplier Vulcaflex S.p.A. broke ground on the company’s first North American manufacturing facility in Auburn Technology Park West Nov. 6.
The $70 million facility, which will produce synthetic leather for vehicle interiors, is expected to create roughly 130 jobs. Vulcaflex CEO Roberto Bozzi thanked local and state development officials in remarks delivered at the groundbreaking.
“Today we are not simply celebrating the beginning of the construction,” Bozzi said. “We are celebrating the beginning of a new chapter for Vulcaflex in the U.S. This is something very important, very exciting for us.”
Bozzi said the project will include nearly $40 million in machinery and equipment and a building of approximately 300,000 square feet. He added that the company weighed infrastructure, workforce, economic conditions, the business climate and long-term growth potential in choosing a site. But he said one factor mattered more than the rest.
“There is another element which is much more important and which is much more difficult to measure, and that’s people,” he said.
Bozzi said the company’s leaders left their first visit to Auburn, which occurred Sept. 15, 2025, with a strong impression. According to Bozzi, that first meeting left the delegation feeling that Auburn was the right fit because local officials were willing to listen, understand the project and work alongside the company.
On June 16, the Auburn City Council approved $1.07 million in municipal tax abatements for the project over a 10-year period. That abatement agreement estimated the project would generate nearly $1.59 million for the city of Auburn and nearly $1.04 million for Lee County in additional tax revenue.
Bozzi said for an Italian company making a major commitment so far from home, that welcome was something the family did not take for granted.
“We are not coming to Auburn simply to build a facility,” he said. “We have come to Auburn to be part of this community.”
Bozzi said the company focuses on long-term relationships with its customers, employees, suppliers and the communities where it operates. He said Vulcaflex hopes to create opportunities, develop its workers and build an operation that grows alongside Auburn and Alabama for many years.
He described the plant as another step in the company’s international growth, but said its Italian roots and guiding values, including quality, innovation, flexibility and close ties with customers, will not change. Bozzi said he believes combining those values with the talent and business environment the company found in Alabama will lead to success.
He thanked city and state officials, economic development teams, local organizations and the company’s advisers and employees, specifically mentioning several Auburn representatives, including Industrial Development Board Chairman Dave DeBaets.
Mayor Ron Anders welcomed the Bozzi family and the company’s leadership team, saying the city highly values the family’s investment.
“Italian design and manufacturing expertise meets Auburn spirit and values,” Anders said. “I call those ingredients for great success.”
Anders said items related to the expansion of Technology Park West have appeared on Planning Commission and City Council agendas over the past two years, but said standing at the site drove home how much the project means for the company, the local workforce and the community.
He said Vulcaflex had other options across the United States but concluded Auburn was the right place to put down roots, and the jobs will allow residents of Auburn and East Alabama to find work and raise families close to home. He said the city should be grateful to have the assets and programs needed to attract a company from nearly 5,000 miles away.
“Soon, the finest Italian synthetic leather for the automobile industry will be made right here in Auburn, right here in Alabama,” Anders said.
Anders credited the project to a long list of partners, including the Alabama Department of Commerce, consultants from International Advisors, Auburn University, Southern Union State Community College, utility providers and those involved in designing, engineering, financing, permitting and building the facility.
Alabama Secretary of Commerce Ellen McNair also thanked the company for its choice.
“You had choices all over North America, and you chose Auburn, Alabama, as your home, and we are very, very grateful for that,” McNair said. “This is a big decision to open a new facility in North America. And I’m sure it’s a little [nerve-racking], but you have got an amazing team with the city of Auburn and the economic development team.”
The project traces back to the Commerce Department’s European office, which first made contact with Vulcaflex at an event in Milan years ago. McNair said the state tripled that office’s operating budget this year to expand support for European companies, and encouraged Vulcaflex to keep relying on the office’s staff.
McNair said close teamwork between state project managers and the city’s economic development staff was the “secret sauce” behind the project.
“It’s not just to recruit you here, but we will be beside you every step of the way,” McNair said. “Again, thank you so much for your confidence in us.”
Vulcaflex was founded in 1965 in Cotignola, Italy, near Ravenna, and makes advanced surface materials for automobile interiors. The Auburn plant will supply automakers with assembly plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The company plans to hire lead technicians, who will train at its main facility in Ravenna. Jobs will be posted at WorkInAuburn.com.
While there is no concrete timeline for when construction will end, the project is expected to take roughly three years to complete.
