Team NEO and economic development network achieve strong results
CLEVELAND, February 6, 2019 – Team NEO, the region’s JobsOhio network partner for the 18 counties of Northeast Ohio, today reported on its 2018 performance, including 76 announced projects expected to generate 6,329 new jobs and $2.34 billion in capital investment for Northeast Ohio.
“Collaborating with many partners from the public, private, educational and philanthropic sectors, we attracted investment from a wide variety of companies, both large and small, that represent Northeast Ohio’s diverse industry base,” said Team NEO CEO Bill Koehler. “Looking ahead, we see tremendous opportunities in our largest sector, manufacturing, as companies look to adopt technologies related to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and 3D printing.”
To this end, Team NEO, along with prominent manufacturers (both end-users and supply-chain companies), as well as numerous public and private sector organizations, formally launched the “Smart Manufacturing Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Roadmap for Northeast Ohio,” which seeks to establish a regional IIoT commercialization strategy to serve as a catalyst for helping local companies adopt the latest smart manufacturing technologies.
In addition, collective efforts of our economic development network are gaining positive momentum as outlined in topline growth performance metrics illustrated below. Notably, since 2015, there has been a consistent increase in the number of jobs and payroll created, as well as in capital investment.
Throughout 2018, Team NEO also continued to work with partners in workforce and higher education toward ensuring a strong pipeline of talent to meet the needs of the region’s businesses. The group released the 2018 edition of its “Aligning Opportunities in Northeast Ohio” report, shedding light on the demand and supply imbalance in the workforce to help higher education institutions and other workforce organizations shape their programming strategies.
The ongoing collaboration of Team NEO and the region’s economic development network continues to drive progress and job creation throughout Northeast Ohio in 2019: Facilitating manufacturers’ implementation of technological advances and strengthening educational partnerships and programs are just the start.