HAMILTON - An Ohio-based company is expanding its operations to Hamilton and expects to begin production Monday.

Triton Metal Products, a new company formed by Industrial Steering Products, will move manufacturing jobs from West Unity, Ohio, to a nearly 100,000-square-foot plant on Hamilton's Homestead Drive, where Hillsdale Tool once operated.

Industrial Steering Products is a family-owned and -operated business that makes steering pitman arms and draglinks for heavy trucks and recreational vehicles. The company formed in 1982 from a division of General Motors. In 2001, the company added laser cutting, forming and welding to its services. It will continue to produce steering components, and the newly formed Triton Metal Products will take over fabrication.

General manager John Freudenberger expects the West Unity plant to be closed by April 22. The 55 people who work at the factory will keep their jobs and commute to Hamilton.

The transition from Ohio to Indiana was attractive because of state and local government incentives, Freudenberger said.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered the company up to $620,000 in tax credits and up to $50,000 in training grants, Freudenberger said. He is working with the town of Hamilton and the Steuben County Economic Development Commission to pursue tax abatements.

He added that the "price was right on the building. It was the right size. It fit our operations and was close to our current operations."

Freudenberger expects to add 111 new jobs for Hoosiers at the Hamilton plant by 2014, with about 25 jobs coming in the first year. He said the jobs will range from production and engineering to purchasing, customer service and sales.

"In addition to the creation of jobs, it's going to mean a lot of additional business for other local businesses in the area," Freudenberger said.

The company continues to reinvent itself and change with the times, he explained.

"Our business is diversified through several industries. Some industries were actually doing well during the recession. Some were doing poorly. So, we managed to hold our own," Freudenberger said.

Freudenberger manages the business with his brother, Justin Freudenberger, who is spearheading renovations and currently oversees operations in West Unity; and his sister, Tricia Baughman, who supervises information technology and Industrial Steering Products. The company was started by their parents, John and Terri Freudenberger.