New manufacturer open for business

A high-end aluminum bi-folding door manufacturer, already popular in England and the Middle East, plans to open a U.S. headquarters in Venice.

The company, Origin Bi-Fold doors, will work out of a 6,000-square-foot factory and showroom with three employees, starting in May. Origin USA President Ben Halvorsen says the company hopes to hire 20-25 employees within three years. The family-run company, says Halvorsen, has $25 million in annual sales and 100 employees back in England, where it makes 30,000 doors a year. The firm also has an office in Dubai.

A British native who recently joined the company, Halvorsen says executives looked at several other places for a U.S. facility before they chose Venice — both in Florida and other states. But he says the region's weather, the lack of a state income tax and a friendly local business climate made the decision easy. “It's hard to beat the Gulf Coast,” Halvorsen tells Coffee Talk.