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| September 8, 2006 |  |
| The CEO's Corner - NASA Project Yields Regional Implications |
 The recent announcement that NASA Glenn has been assigned a major role
in the shuttle replacement program is good news for all of Northeast Ohio.
NASA Glenn will provide critical leadership to the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) Project, managing development of the Service Module and Spacecraft Adapter. This offers significant opportunities for our region. Just last week, NASA selected aerospace giant Lockheed Martin Corp. as the key contractor to build the new spacecraft known as Orion. Lockheed is already an important citizen, with presence in both Cleveland, where their IT operations are located, and Akron, where they are developing a new generation of very large, unmanned airships that will be used for communications systems and a supplement or alternative to satellites. With their assignment to the CEV project, we applaud Lockheed's growth in Northeast Ohio and further contribution to our region's economy. To maximize the Orion opportunity for business growth, Team NEO is working with the State of Ohio, the Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP) and others to put the region's best foot forward. The team is working to demonstrate the numerous capabilities, such as research, testing and fabrication that NASA Glenn and Northeast Ohio industry can offer to this project. Each of the partners plays a critical role. GCP will be working to develop office and research facilities near the center, whileTeam NEO will focus on attracting business. The team is also working with Glenn Center's Plumbrook facility that is located just west of our region, and which offers additional assets for development. The Orion Project is a major economic development opportunity that will unite the region to accelerate the growth of the airspace industry in Northeast Ohio. This is a prime example of strategic business expansion and attraction, where we leverage the strengths of the region to grow our economic base. We have innovative technology and core industry strengths, such as the polymer industry cluster in Akron, the fuel cell centers in Canton and our top-rated healthcare providers throughout the region on which we can build. For instance, just this week, Northeast Ohio organizations including The Red Room Revolution, Team NEO, Case, The City of Cleveland and Playhouse Square Foundation are leveraging our healthcare and information technology strengths to host TechSync, a series of events to showcase business innovation and to attract high-tech companies to the region. (See article below for further information.) We all offer strengths to the region and by building on them, we truly can “launch” our way to success. Tom 
Top |
| Team NEO Highlights |
| Business Spotlight: |
This month, we take a look at
Wooster Brush Company, a 155-year old business that today is still a vibrant, growing company,
with strengths in every area of the paint sundries industries. Here are
some of the successes we learned when we recently visited with Jon Rose,
Vice President of Sales while meeting with the Wayne County Economic Development
Council and other Wayne County community leaders:
Top |
| CEO Waltermire on WVIZ Programming: |
| Tom Waltermire appeared on WVIZ Channel 25 programming as part of the station's
coverage of the Voices and Choices series called "Ideas." His segment
covered a broad range of discussion on challenges the region has faced
to grow business, as well as steps that have been made to address these
areas. For the full segment, including a profile on Knotice, who powers
this e-newsletter, a business that is thriving and growing in the region,
click here.
Top |
| R.E.D.I.S. Enhancements Announced: |
| R.E.D.I.S is our GIS-based online portal to showcase Northeast Ohio's assets
to site selectors, brokers, corporate real estate professionals and the
economic development community. Located at
neogis.org, visitors can easily find available properties and vacant land, create
reports on demographics and workforce, surrounding businesses, consumer
expenditures, drive-times, available incentives and much more. In August,
Team NEO hosted an event with the local economic development and real
estate community to showcase new features and enhanced functionality so
that organizations listing sites can optimize their visibility online.
For example, the portal can now give properties homepage placement for
all visitors to see upon entering the site. Look for more enhancements
in the coming weeks, including advanced search capabilities and automated
property expiration. For more information about R.E.D.I.S., contact Steve
Fritsch at 216.363.5413 or
sfritsch@teamneo.org.
Top |
| Regional Business News |
| TechSync - A Celebration of Technology Excellence: |
| TechSync includes a number of tech events being held September 6-15. TechSync
hosts include The Red Room Revolution, Team NEO, The City of Cleveland,
Case Western Reserve University and Playhouse Square Foundation, and featured
keynote speaker Guy Kawasaki, managing director of Garage Technology Ventures,
an early-stage venture capital firm and a columnist for
Forbes.com. Previously, he was an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc. where he was
one of the individuals responsible for the success of the Macintosh computer.
The activities include the Global Technology Summit, hosted by Team NEO, in which ten leading edge wireless healthcare technology companies from around the world will present their technologies to Northeast Ohio leaders in the health care industry. The companies are all focused on "Wireless Healthcare in the Digital Community." The summit's goal is to attract technology companies and grow the technology cluster in Northeast Ohio. Top |
| Regional Approach to Bring RNC to NEO: |
| While the spotlight was on all the festivities surrounding the pitch to
bring the Republican National Convention (RNC) to Northeast Ohio in 2008,
there was a lot of collaboration in the background. The Akron-Summit Convention
& Visitors Bureau worked with the Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) of
Greater Cleveland to gather hotel information, confirming the 3,500 rooms
in Akron required to meet the necessary total of 23,000 rooms in the region
to accommodate the event. In addition, Susan Hamo, President of the Akron-Summit
CVB and Dennis Roche, President of the CVB of Greater Cleveland, teamed
together to provide a joint letter to the editors of both the
Plain Dealer and the
Akron Beacon Journal, for possible inclusion in the op-ed section, providing support for the
tourism industry and its more than $4 billion economic impact for the
combined counties. Team NEO got into the act as well, providing an economic
impact study on the implications of the RNC coming to the region.
Top |
| Quiet Renaissance: |
| A July 30
Akron Beacon Journal article noted that there are signs that small manufacturers are innovating,
automating, adapting and growing in Northeast Ohio. Examples cited included
Northeast Tire Mold, near downtown Akron, which has invested $600,000
to buy state-of-the-art machining equipment and entered joint manufacturing
agreements with companies in France and China. Their sales have been increasing
the last few years, and are up 20 percent this year according to company
owners. Another example cited is Solmet Technologies Inc., in southwest
Stark County, which has evolved from performing metallurgical testing
for nearby Timken Co. steel mill, to becoming an open die maker and forger.
Solmet's revenue has been growing by 25 to 30 percent each year for the
past four years. In addition, large manufacturers such as Canton's Timken,
who recently announced record sales of $1.4 billion for the second quarter,
are also doing well.
Top |
| Growth in the Region: |
| Lincoln Electric will expand and improve the global corporation's flagship plant in
Euclid. The $40 million expansion will include $20 million for machinery and
equipment and $16.8 million to upgrade the campus. The company will buy
the neighboring Euclid-Hitachi Heavy Equipment plant and base a growing
robotic-welding unit there;
RMI Titanium, one of the world's largest producers of titanium, has been awarded a
45% tax credit for an eight-year term to expand operations in
Weathersfield Township. The project will include $100,000 for new construction and $7.4 million
for new machinery and equipment and is expected to create 35 new jobs
and retain 525 positions within the first three years of the project's
initial operations;
Incept Corp. has opened a call center facility in
Smithville. The new location will employ 24 initially, with the potential of growing
to 160 positions.
Top |
| NEO on List of Fastest Growing Companies: | |||||||||||||||||
Each year, Inc. Magazine produces a list of the nation's fastest growing
private companies. This year's Inc. 500 is announced in the September
edition, with the following Northeast Ohio companies making the list:
Top |
| Frontier Airlines in New Concourse at Akron-Canton Airport: |
| Frontier Airlines recently moved into the new south concourse at Akron-Canton
Airport. All scheduled big jet flights from the Akron-Canton Airport will
depart from the new, spacious second-level gates. The new concourse also
features free Wi-Fi internet access, multiple power sources, new food
service options and spacious and clean restrooms.
Top |
| 3rd Annual Quality Conference: |
| The featured speaker at the 3rd Annual Quality Conference, formerly known
as Lean Six Sigma, will feature Jack Welch, Former Chairman and CEO of
General Electric and best-selling author of
Winning. The conference will be held at Corporate College East on Friday, November
17. For more information,
click here.
Top |
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