ORANGE — Rodney Hunt Inc., the nearly 200-year-old factory sold to the American arm of an India-based company in 2017, is teaming up with the Orange Economic Development & Industrial Corporation to refurbish its manufacturing facility.

Rodney Hunt, a subsidiary of Jash Engineering Ltd., has entered into an agreement to collaborate on economic and industrial development, starting with the refurbishment of up to 30,000 square feet at the company’s 47-acre property at 46 Mill St. These upgrades would enable the facility to accommodate more machines and expand Rodney Hunt’s manufacturing capacity.

“We’re hoping that over time this will be a much larger regional impact,” said Mikael Pyrtel, OEDIC’s executive director. “This is good news. We’re fortunate enough to work with a great team in Orange and Houston, and we were able to go through two rounds of discussion with Jash Engineering’s Managing Director [Pratik Patel].”

The OEDIC is contributing Pyrtel’s expertise and labor to the partnership.

JASH USA Inc. has its headquarters in Houston, Texas. Its parent company, JASH Engineering Ltd., is in Indore, India. JASH USA bought Rodney Hunt and its intellectual property, including the brand name, on Sept. 21, 2016. Rexnord, which formerly owned Rodney Hunt, closed the plant in 2016 and moved its 200 jobs to Pittsburgh.

“In 2016, Rodney Hunt had some challenges,” Patel said in a statement. “Since the acquisition, Jash has invested more than $12 million in Rodney Hunt. ... Under Jash, Rodney Hunt has grown exponentially and expanded our workforce to close to 50 employees in Orange. Our head count is increasing by eight to 10 people every year.”

Patel also plans to invest another $10 million in the next few years to improve the overall infrastructure.

Rodney Hunt Director of Operations Robert Cantu also expressed his confidence in the company’s growth plans.

“We are proud of our history of innovation and continuous operation in town going back to the 1840s,” he said in a statement. “The agreement with OEDIC will help us build on that legacy of excellence and industry leadership.”

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.