Valve manufacturer readies its move to Sparks from California

Micro Matic USA Inc., a company that makes liquid-transfer valves such as beer taps, is moving its manufacturing operation to Sparks from Northridge, Calif.

The company leased about 38,000 square feet in a building at 677 Spice Island Drive.

Micro Matic USA will employ about 20 people many of them hired locally when it opens its doors in January, said President Peter Muzzonigro.

Muzzonigro said, however, the company expects its employment in northern Nevada to grow steadily and that's one of the reasons it decided to move from Southern California.

The tax and business climate, he said, are more attractive in Nevada than California for a company preparing to grow.

"There was an economic benefit to moving out of California," Muzzonigro said.

Micro Matic's core products are the valves and related equipment used by bars to dispense beer and wine.

The products range from couplers and taps to the faucets and drip trays installed on the bar itself.

In recent years, the company has widened its products to include extractor tubes and dispensing valves for uses involving agricultural chemicals and edible oils.

Customers for those industrial products, Muzzonigro said, include Dow Chemical, DuPont and other major manufacturers.

Along with the facility that will be relocated to Reno,Micro Matic operates distribution centers at Center Valley, Pa.; Brooksville, Fla.; and Machesney Park, Ill.

Carole Brill of Miller Industrial Properties represented the company in its 10-year lease of the facility.

She said Micro Matic spent about a year looking at properties from Dayton to Stead.

Trainor and Associates represented the landlord in the lease negotiations.

Micro Matic USA is a unit of Nielsen and Nielsen Holding A/S, a company based at Odense, Denmark.