An Italian manufacturing company that supports the natural gas industry is setting up shop in the Northern Panhandle. The Italian-based company Pietro Fiorentini broke ground in a ceremony this week to announce the purchase and development of a 26-acre plot in Weirton.

Fiorentini has been operating an office in West Virginia since 2013, but the Weirton site will be its first manufacturing plant in the U.S. The company makes pressure valves and other products that support the oil and gas industry. The $5.5 million  investment will create 45 jobs by next spring, possibly 77 with future expansions.