COLUMBUS, Ohio (CGE) - One day after E. Gordon Gee, president of The Ohio State University, accompanied new Ohio Gov. John Kasich to Detroit to see and sit in new cars like Chevrolet's electric vehicle Volt - the car of the year - and the Cruze, portions of which are built in Ohio, Venturi Automobiles has announced that Venturi North America will be headquartered at OSU in Columbus.
Venturi, based in Monaco, plans to design, engineer and produce electric vehicles for specialty markets, according to an OSU media release. John Pohill of Livonia, Mich. has been named chief executive officer of Venturi North America, OSU officials said.
OSU officials said Venturi chose Columbus as its North American base of operation to be in closer proximity to The Ohio State University Center for Automotive Research (CAR), a partner on projects such as the Buckeye Bullet landspeed racing team, which recently set new international speed records for both hydrogen fuel cell and battery powered vehicles.
“The Center for Automotive Research is enthusiastic about working with Venturi’s design and engineering staff to development new electric vehicles,” said Giorgio Rizzoni, Director of CAR, in a statement. “Venturi employs some 70 people in their engineering and manufacturing operations in Monaco and in France, and we expect that in time they will establish a similar presence in Central Ohio.”
Venturi specializes in the design, engineering, manufacturing and conversion of electric vehicles including high-performance sports cars and lightweight urban vehicles. Recently, in collaboration with French automobile manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroën, Venturi developed an electric conversion for delivery vehicles, selected by La Poste, the French postal service.
In September 2010, the company opened its first factory, MVE (Manufacture de Véhicules Electriques), near Le Mans, France, and with an immediate order for 1,500 vehicles, became the largest active electric vehicle production line in the world.
Venturi North America plans to use manufacturing space within the Science and Technology Campus Corporation research park (SciTech) located on Ohio State’s West Campus. Company headquarters will be located within TechColumbus, adjacent to SciTech on Kinnear Road.
“We’re very pleased about Venturi’s announcement to base its North American operations in Central Ohio,” said Ted Ford, president and CEO of TechColumbus. “This adds another important advanced energy asset to the region and further demonstrates our commitment to becoming a world recognized leader in advanced energy manufacturing and energy storage.”
Central Ohio, recently designated as the Ohio Hub of Innovation and Opportunity for Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Energy Storage, was also chosen by Coda as a site for its electric battery manufacturing operation.
A group of local partners is working to attract advanced energy enterprises to the area while supporting existing concerns. Partners include TechColumbus, Ohio State University, Battelle, Edison Welding Institute and Columbus 2020!
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