The U.S. headquarters an Italian company that makes control systems for battery powered vehicles is expanding its operations in the Triangle and moving from Cary to Garner.

Zapi Inc. has signed a deal to lease 19,700 square feet of industrial space in the White Oak Business Park in Garner. Zapi will be relocating from a building with half the space at 219 James Jackson Avenue in Cary.

The move is expected to be complete by June 1, according to a letter that Zapi President Chris Murphy sent to his customers recently. Murphy did not return calls for additional comment.

Zapi Inc. is the North American subsidiary of Zapi SpA, which was founded in 1975 in northern Italy. The company produces motor controllers for industrial battery-powered vehicles worldwide, and it claims to have 80 percent of the market share in battery-powered forklift vehicles. The company opened its first U.S. office in 1998.

According to a recent report in the Energy Digital trade publication, Zapi Inc. had 15 employees and $20 million in revenue in 2009.

The company has added six new customers since January, which has precipitated the expansion. Zapi designers are working on a low-voltage pitch control system for wind turbines that should be more efficient and allow more control of the turbines in a heavy storm.

Bryan Everett of the Grubb & Ellis/Thomas Linderman Graham real estate firm in Raleigh represented Zapi in its lease negotiations.