Advanced Energy Business Incubator to Expand Ohio’s Technological Strengths

Millions in state and federal funding has recently been secured to launch a green and advanced energy business incubator in Warren, Ohio. The purpose of the incubator is to help foster the development of technology businesses in Ohio’s Mahoning Valley. Essentially, the businesses spawned from the incubator will produce parts for geothermal, solar and nuclear energy plants, increasing the number of tech jobs in the state.

The Northeast Ohio Technology Coalition (Nortech) will be lending its expertise on the incubator project. Rebecca Bagley, president and CEO of Cleveland-based Nortech, said that over the next 10 months Nortech will help to identify the site for the incubator. Nortech will also help the incubator's 26-person steering committee develop an operational plan.

So far, nearly $3 million has been secured for the project. About $2.2 million in federal funds will be used to help equip the site. Another $500,000 in state funds has been earmarked to purchase the incubator building. Operating capital is expected to come from both federal and state dollars, including Ohio Third Frontier, a bipartisan commitment to expand Ohio's technology business.

Click here to learn more about the advanced energy business incubator in Warren, Ohio.

Newly Released Study Finds that Ohio’s Investment in Tech Jobs is Paying Off

I recently read the results from an Ohio Business Roundtable study, which found that Ohio Third Frontier has provided a 22 percent annual return on investment. In fact, according to the study, 50 percent of Ohio Third Frontier investment has already been repaid in sales and income taxes – with the investment forecast to be completely repaid to the state by 2014.

The Ohio Business Roundtable’s study reports that employment growth supported by high-tech business development has created faster technology jobs growth in Ohio – the eighth-fastest pace of growth in the nation – than in nearly any other Midwest state, creating employment opportunities for Ohioans across all work backgrounds, at double the pay of non-tech sectors.

Employment numbers show Ohio is also gaining traction in the advanced materials, biomedical and power and propulsion sectors that Ohio Third Frontier specifically targets for business development. Since its inception in 2002, Ohio Third Frontier has created or capitalized more than 500 companies and has created $6.6 billion in economic impact in Ohio, a 9:1 return on investment. Click here to learn more about the newly released Ohio Business Roundtable study.

Ohio Third Frontier Helps Former Auto Worker Retool Skills for Technology Business

Shannon Swift had planned on working his entire career at General Motors. When he got laid off, he had no idea how he would transition his manufacturing skills into a new line of work to support his wife and five children. Around this time, Ohio Third Frontier, an unprecedented and bipartisan commitment to expand Ohio's technological strengths, was helping Dayton-area Renegade Materials Corporation complete construction of a new facility to bring the next generation of advanced materials for the aerospace and defense industries to market. To recruit labor to handle this new working capacity, Renegade tapped into the pool of displaced workers from the GM plant where Shannon had worked. That’s how he landed a job at Renegade.

After being hired at Renegade, Shannon received on-the-job training to transition his skills to the new technology business. Now, Shannon is working for Renegade’s high temperature polymer business. Essentially, Ohio Third Frontier was the bridge that brought Shannon to work with Renegade. Without Ohio Third Frontier, Shannon says he would still be searching for a career where he could apply the skills that he acquired in the automotive industry. Recently, Shannon spoke to us about his transition into the technology business. Click here to read the complete interview. Click here to read the complete interview.

Ohio Fosters Career Development in Advanced Energy Sector

What is a talented material science and engineering graduate to do in Ohio? Just ask Ryan Wayne. Ohio Third Frontier’s support of fuel cell technology helped him land a position researching fuel cells with the Case Advanced Power Institute at Case Western Reserve University, where he was working towards his master’s degree.

Ryan’s experience working with fuel cells as a graduate student eventually landed him a job as a scientist with GrafTech, a 120 year-old company located in Parma, Ohio that has recently transformed its business to accommodate the advanced energy industry of the 21st century. At GrafTech, Ryan develops components for fuel cells and other advanced electrochemical devices.

Recently, Ryan spoke with us about how Ohio Third Frontier, an unprecedented and bipartisan commitment to expand Ohio's technological strengths, helped launch his career. He said, “By supporting research in emerging fields and encouraging collaboration between Ohio’s universities and industry, Ohio Third Frontier creates employment opportunities for researchers on the leading edge of technology, helping reverse the brain drain from our state.”

Ryan believes that Ohio Third Frontier helps create high-tech, “green” manufacturing jobs by encouraging established companies to expand their operations into the advanced energy sector. Ultimately, Ryan told me that he believes that Ohio Third Frontier will be successful in its long-term mission to create the technology clusters that will establish Ohio as a world leader in advanced and renewable energy.

To read my full interview with Ryan, click here.

Ohio Provides Perfect Balance for High-Tech Industry Companies

Instruments, controls and electronics is a high-tech industry consisting of companies that offer goods and services related to the research, development and application of instrumentation, controls and electronics ranging from advanced sensor technology to distributed control systems.

Ohio is home to 159,900 high-tech employees, ranking the state 14th nationally in terms of high-tech employment. In 2007, Ohio's high-tech economy demonstrated its strength in the midst of a global economic downturn by adding 4,700 jobs, the state's 3rd consecutive year of net growth.

The state’s high-tech industry is boasted through support of innovative programs such as Ohio Third Frontier, an unprecedented and bipartisan commitment to expand Ohio's technological strengths and promote commercialization that leads to economic prosperity throughout Ohio. Since its inception, the program has created or capitalized more than 500 companies and has created $6.6 billion in economic impact in Ohio, a 10:1 return on investment.

Ohio's supply chain, workforce, innovative incentives, market access, low business and personal taxes, and work-life balance present a strong value proposition for high-tech companies analyzing potential investment locations. Click here to find out more about Ohio’s high-tech industry.