Liberty Engineering to partner with Belardi Auto Racing

Liberty Engineering, a provider of turn-key engineering solutions primarily for the food manufacturing industry, will be a primary sponsor of Belardi Auto Racing beginning in the 2011 season. The company plans to use its sponsorship of the race team as a promotional vehicle.

"Certainly the brand attributes of INDYCAR's Firestone Indy Lights align well with our mission here at Liberty Engineering. Innovation, technology and speed are all key components to our success in providing service to the biggest names in the food industry," said John Akelaitis, Liberty Engineering General Manager. "But beyond branding, it's truly the business-to-business opportunity offered by the team in the motorsports environment. The ability to allow our customers to leverage the many tools of motorsports marketing, i.e. trackside sampling and interaction with customers, hospitality for entertaining, and utilizing showcars at tradeshows and retail locations, are tremendous resources to be able to pass on to our customers."

Founded in 1940, Liberty Engineering is recognized today as a leading manufacturer of proprietary machinery, conveying equipment, candy making equipment and paper test machinery. Located in the Rockford, Illinois area, Liberty has provided exceptional engineering and manufacturing services for candy, cheese and dairy products, pizza, fruit, vegetables and liquid handling, conveying, filling, packaging, labeling, cartooning, and palletizing. Brach, Gimbal Brothers, Kellogg's, Albanese, Just Born, Ferrara Pan and Kraft are just some of the customers that Liberty works with on a regular basis.

As a team partner, Liberty Engineering will have a presence in both the Firestone Indy Lights effort as well as the US F2000 Championship presented by Cooper Tires and Powered by Mazda.

According to Belardi's Director of Marketing LeeAnne Nash, "There is a new energy at INDYCAR. An openness and a willingness to truly work with teams and their partners to grow business in a beneficial way for all involved. This partnership will not only provide Liberty Engineering a great branding experience but also provide access to a plethora of diverse new markets as well as the opportunity to network within the INDYCAR arena and extend those opportunities to their customers. "