USA - Wind turbine plant to render 450 jobs

An Italian wind turbine manufacturer is expected to announce today that it will bring 450 jobs to the Muncie area.

Government officials confirmed that Brevini, an Italian company with U.S. headquarters near Chicago, is scheduled to make the announcement at a business park at I-69 and Ind. 332, where it will locate its new plant.

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence and Muncie Mayor Sharon McShurley both issued statements Tuesday welcoming Brevini to the area.

The company is expected to create 450 jobs to support the making of energy-generating wind turbines. The jobs would include administrative and manufacturing positions and are expected to pay an average of $46,000 a year.

"I'm delighted it's locating in East Central Indiana," said Roy Budd, executive director of Energize-ECI, the region's economic development agency. "This is one of the better projects to come to East Central Indiana since I've been here."

It also is welcome news for an area that has seen unemployment spike in recent months. Delaware County's unemployment rate reached 7.2 percent in August, nearly a percentage point higher than the statewide average of 6.3 percent.