Northeast Ohio Awarded Make it in America Grant
MAGNET, Medina County Workforce Development, Team Northeast Ohio
(Team NEO) and WIRE-Net are part of a Northeast Ohio collaboration
that is among 10 groups nationwide to be awarded a Make it in
America grant. The $1,796,867 allocated to Northeast Ohio
will be used to provide specialized assistance to as many as 25
firms that have the potential to bring manufacturing jobs back to
the US, specifically Northeast Ohio.
Federal funding partners for the Make it in America grant include
the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development
Administration (EDA) and National Institute of Standards and
Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST-MEP) and the
department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration
(DOL-ETA) and the Delta Regional Authority (DRA). Awards announced
on October 22 are from the EDA, the DOL-ETA, and the DRA.
NIST-MEP plans to make awards in early FY 2014.
The grant will assist up to 25 organizations in areas such as
commercialization of new products or services, workforce
development and/or training and assessment of critical
manufacturing needs and capabilities within targeted sector supply
chains.
Jay Foran, senior vice president of business attraction for Team
NEO explained that WIRE-Net will take a lead role in identifying a
pool of medium-size companies in biomedical, automotive and
advanced energy sectors that use advanced materials such as
polymers in their manufacturing processes.
“Preliminary analysis indicates that a focus on advanced
materials technology has significant job-producing potential for
Northeast Ohio” said Foran. “This includes
research, technical and process improvements, business and
supply-chain enhancements, and talent development efforts to
support a more competitive manufacturing region. The bulk of the
grant will be used to fund the specialized technical assistance
that these companies need to grow and create more jobs in Akron,
Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown and Lorain. ”
Team NEO’s primary role was bringing the Northeast Ohio
organizations together to develop and submit the grant proposal.
Moving forward, an advisory council, comprised of the other partner
organizations, will oversee the identification, selection and
analysis phases of the grant. Team NEO’s core strength
in business attraction will support the effort by helping to
attract international companies that can play a role in the
supply-chains of the targeted sectors.
WIRE-Net, with its extensive manufacturing expertise, will work
directly with the companies. Ed Weston, director for
WIRE-Net’s Supply Chain Services, said WIRE-Net is excited about
working with its partners to support Northeast Ohio
manufacturing.
“Working with MAGNET and others, we can help manufacturers tackle
their major barriers to growth,” said Weston. “We
are also grateful for significant matching funds from The Cleveland
Foundation that will support implementation of a companion Growth
Accelerator in the City of Cleveland. The Cleveland Foundation
recently announced a grant to WIRE-Net of which $170,000 is focused
on the manufacturing and employment Accelerator.”
MAGNET will provide key resources and services focused on business
growth, job creation, and talent development to the target
sectors.
“Northeast Ohio’s Make it in America initiative builds
on the already strong working relationships among the participating
project partners,” said Dan Berry, President and CEO of
MAGNET. “For MAGNET in particular, this work enhances
our organization’s ability to meaningfully reach out to the
region’s manufacturers in the target sectors of biomedical,
automotive and advanced energy. We are proud to be part of
this team working to bring manufacturing jobs back to Northeast
Ohio.”
Medina County Workforce Development will focus on coordinating the
services of higher education partners – Case Western Reserve
University, Lorain County Community College, Stark State College
and The University of Akron – and aligning those services
with the needs of the companies selected.
“Medina County Workforce Development has a strong
history of connecting Economic Development with its Workforce
Development activities and planning,” said Bill Hanigan,
director, Medina County Workforce Development. “Our regional
activities and partnerships offer the connectivity required in this
undertaking.”
Organizations interested in more information should contact Laura
Hudak at lkhudak@teamneo.org.
About MAGNET
Founded in 1984, MAGNET, the Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth
Network, (www.manufacturingsuccess.org), is a regional economic
development organization committed to establishing Northeast Ohio
as a preeminent center for manufacturing growth….where jobs are
being created, new products are being designed and produced, and
the value of manufacturing companies is increasing. Since its
inception, MAGNET initiatives have generated well over $1 billion
in economic impact for the region’s manufacturers through
increased sales, enhanced productivity, and jobs created or
retained.
About the Summit-Medina Workforce Investment Board
(WIB)
The Summit-Medina WIB is a business lead organization that oversees
the employment and training policies and activities of its two
One-Stop operations. This federally funded program assists
employers in recruitment, assessment, placement and possible
assistance in new hire On-the-Job Training (OJT’s) expense.
During economic downturns we provide transitioning services for
those employees negatively affected. The oversight similarly
assists job seekers, whether they are recently unemployed, seeking
a new position offering self-sufficiency or just entering the job
market for the first time.
About Team NEO
Team NEO is a nonprofit business attraction and growth organization
that markets Northeast Ohio to the world, attracts new businesses
and helps those that are here grow. We are the Northeast Ohio
regional partner for JobsOhio, a private, nonprofit corporation
that drives economic development and job creation for the state. We
also work closely with economic development organizations across
our 18 counties. Since 2007, we have attracted 72 new company
operations, more than 6,200 new jobs and $266 million in annual
payroll to Northeast Ohio. Since becoming a JobsOhio regional
partner in 2011, we also have helped 162 companies within Northeast
Ohio create or retain almost 45,000 jobs and add more than $3
billion in capital investment. For more information, visit
www.clevelandplusbusiness.com.
About WIRE-Net
WIRE-Net is a non-profit economic development organization
dedicated to improving the community through nurturing
manufacturing and the jobs and prosperity that come with it.
WIRE-Net is a problem solver. It works as a consultant,
collaborator, referral source and hands-on provider in workforce
development, growth and operational improvement initiatives, peer
to peer and expert knowledge sharing, supply chain development,
governmental assistance programs and urban redevelopment.
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- Federal Grant