CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio (From the Columbus Dispatch) -- An Italian tissue manufacturer has chosen Pickaway County for a new facility.

Sofidel Group disclosed a plan on Thursday to build a 1.4 million-square-foot facility just south of Circleville as part of a multipronged expansion in North America.

County officials say the project probably will lead to "a few hundred jobs," with hiring to start next fall. The plant would open in 2017.

The company and economic-development leaders declined to provide specifics about the number of jobs expected, the value of the company's investment or the amount of state and local tax incentives.

"This is a huge win for the community," said county Commissioner Brian Stewart. "It's a real game-changer for the local economy."

The plant has the potential to "very quickly become one of the largest employers in the region," he said.

The county's largest private-sector employer is DuPont, which has more than 500 workers.

The company's products include toilet paper, paper napkins, paper towels and facial tissue. Its most-popular brand is Regina tissue; it has many other brands and makes private-label products for grocery stores.

"The U.S. is the most important market in the tissue-paper industry, so selecting an ideal facility location was critical to our continued growth in American markets," said Luigi Lazzareschi, Sofidel's CEO, in a statement.

The privately held company describes itself as the sixth-largest producer of tissue paper in the world. It has operations in 13 countries. Its U.S. operations include plants or offices in Florida, Nevada, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

Along with the Pickaway County announcement, Sofidel also disclosed on Thursday that it has acquired plants in Green Bay, Wis., and Hattiesburg, Miss. The latter plant was under construction; Sofidel will invest $120 million to buy and expand the Hattiesburg operation. In addition, the company has opened a U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia.

Sofidel is based in Porcari, Italy, just west of Florence in the Tuscany region.

Sofidel has been exploring options in the United States for about two years, and Ohio was competing with several other locations in the Midwest, Scribner said.