The announcement of the purchase of Perin Machining Company was written in Italian on the Bonomi Group website, but explains the investment the company has made in this Webster City company.

“The company is small, but this is a crucial first step towards starting production on the other side of the Atlantic, as we have been planning to do for some time, even setting aside Trump’s tariffs.”

Aldo Bonomi, who, together with his brother Carlo, heads the Bonomi Group, has announced the acquisition in the U.S. of Perin Machining Company, a firm based in Webster City, through its subsidiary Bonomi North America, Inc.

“This operation,” explains the Brescia-based taps and valves group in a statement, “forms part of its strategy for international growth and consolidation.”

Perin Machining Company specializes in the precision machining of turned and machined metal components, but the key factor is its location, which enables it to avoid the impact of tariffs on products manufactured across the Atlantic. Given the specific additional costs associated with steel and copper components, these tariffs reach decidedly significant levels.

“On some of our products, the tariffs amount to as much as a 50 percent mark-up,” explained the entrepreneur, “while on others it is 25 percent. In effect, under these conditions, we are out of the market. Admittedly, so far the impact has mainly been felt by importers and end customers; we have only reduced our prices by a few percentage points. But clearly, it is a detrimental situation. It affects a market that is crucial for us, generating over $100 million in revenue, out of a total of 400 at group level.”

The Brescia-based group has carried out a comprehensive scouting mission in the United States as part of a long-standing search; this operation has now been completed, though it does not rule out further initiatives in the future.

“At the moment, we are obviously focused on getting this operation off the ground,” said Bonomi, “assessing which investments to make and which initiatives to implement. However, we are not ruling out looking further ahead either, because the U.S. market is crucial for us.”