Costs associated with accessing markets and shipping products and supplies can be a considerable business expense for polymer and advanced materials companies. In addition, the challenge of coordinating with polymer manufacturers, suppliers and other resources across many states can be a logistical nightmare for companies.
Ohio is committed to capitalizing on its strength in polymer and advanced materials to create and attract 21st century businesses and jobs. From its early roots in Akron's tire production and the region's support for the auto industry to supply today's growth industries, Ohio has always been the heart of America's polymer industry.
The state's world-class transportation infrastructure, proximity to major markets and large-scale polymer and advanced materials industries offer key cost-reducing advantages for polymer companies and makes the state the preferred location for advanced material businesses. Generating $50 billion in annual economic activity and $1.3 billion in exports from plastics, rubber, resins, polymers, composites and other advanced materials, Ohio leads the nation in polymers and advanced materials production.
Ohio's world-leading polymer industry is one of the state's most expansive and important economic sectors. With more than 1,150 companies and a workforce greater than 80,000, the state has the largest concentration of polymer product producers, machines, materials and workers in North America. At least one industry establishment exists in 76 of Ohio's 88 counties.
Ohio also is home to the world's largest concentration of advanced materials and polymer research and development expertise. Eight Ohio universities have polymer research programs, offering a well-educated workforce and opportunities for research collaborations to create new products, applications and opportunities for growth. This workforce supply minimizes time associated with training, significantly increases productivity and reduces operating costs. In addition, millions of dollars of strategic investments by Ohio Third Frontier and more than 60 collaborating private industry partners are paving the way for commercialization of new technologies.
In addition to plastics, rubber and resins, Ohio's key polymer sectors include advanced composites, advanced energy, bioproducts, flexible devices, nanotechnology and polymer processing.
Find out more about Ohio's advanced materials industries from PolymerOhio, a connecting and networking group that is focused on enhancing the global competitiveness and growth of Ohio’s advanced materials industries.
A California native with an entrepreneurial itch, Dr. Patrick Hood admits he never thought of starting a business in Ohio, until a job offer after college from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base brought him to the Buckeye state. “Ohio felt like a different country. People would talk to you,” says Hood, now CEO of Cornerstone Research Group (CRG), remembering what he thought after moving to the state.
Hood’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to start CRG from his basement in 1997 with five hundred dollars in capital. Located in Dayton, Ohio, CRG is dedicated to providing high-quality research and development services that lead to breakthrough technologies. Today, the company employs about 60 employees and constantly works on new material that leads to innovative breakthroughs for a wide array of industries with a major focus on commercial and government contracts. Major clients include NASA and the Department of Defense.
“We offer the ability to take an idea and develop that concept from cradle to grave,” says Hood. The fact that CRG is mostly a knowledge-based company can be a detriment when it comes to investors. “I sell dreams. It’s hard to convince someone that we are going to take an idea and turn it into a business,” says Hood.
Hood leveraged Ohio's offering of entrepreneurial resources, such as access to capital and knowledgeable work force by utilizing two Ohio Third Frontier Programs, including an internship program that connected CRG to vital high-tech students, some of who are now company executives.
CRG touts technology and products that range from underwater to aerospace. For five consecutive years, CRG has had the honor of being on the Inc. 5000 list, a ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies.
Ohio‘s central location allows easy access to key North American and global markets, enabling CRG to quickly travel to clients and key prospects. With a large number of government clients, Ohio’s proximity to Washington, D.C. and various military bases, as well as access to three major airports, prove to be valuable for the company.
In addition, Ohio’s favorable business climate and high quality of living, combined with low business and personal costs, made Ohio the top choice for CRG executives, employees and their families.
With his West Coast background and firmly planted Ohio roots, Hood describes CRG as a fast-paced business with Midwest values.
Read the rest of Hood's story about achieving his entrepreneurial dreams in Ohio.
Dr. Mark Laskovics, president and chief operating officer of Girindus America Inc., knows it takes the right combination of people, education and environment to build a successful bioscience business.
That's why Ohio is the perfect location for Girindus, a technology-driven company creating solutions for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.
Ohio's extensive university system delivers to Dr. Laskovics the high-tech talent he needs. He knows that Ohio's reasonable cost of living and easy lifestyle keep career-minded scientists and specialists here in the state. Once they land here, highly skilled workers embrace a work-life balance found nowhere else.
And Ohio's supportive business climate has been instrumental in the company's growth. A $1.2 million Ohio Third Frontier grant enabled Girindus to build a production facility for a unique class of compounds.Tax abatements and grant possibilities through local government helped lay the foundation for the company's success.
Dr. Laskovics relishes the relaxed pace and focus on family in Ohio. He is free to enjoy a range of leisure activities, from biking along the network of trails in southwest Ohio to attending major league sporting events.
After living all over the world, Dr. Laskovics has constructed his dream team in Ohio's business-friendly environment, capitalizing on the state's many assets. Watch this video as he discusses Ohio's bioscience strengths and how he and his employees have found the perfect work-life balance.
Ohio has attracted companies and talent from around the world in the development and manufacturing of high-tech, advanced technology, preparing the state to become a high- tech corridor for the instrument, controls and electronics industry.
Ohio’s instruments, controls and electronics industry is a technology- intensive field consisting of companies that offer goods and services related to the research, development, and application of instrumentation, controls and electronics.The scope of the industry reaches to advanced sensor technology, distributed control systems, and advanced motion control.
The state's high-tech industry is boasted through support of innovative programs such as Ohio Third Frontier, which promotes economic growth by expanding the availability of investment capital needed to form new companies, supporting product innovation in established companies, facilitating commercialization of new products, funding collaborative projects between private companies and Ohio colleges and universities and nurturing Ohio's increasingly experienced pool of entrepreneurial management. Ohio's technology workforce pipeline is annually replenished with over 80,000 graduates from the state's institutions of higher education, including the University System of Ohio's 14 main campuses, including The Ohio State University.
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. Find out more.
Building on its rich rubber and automotive manufacturing heritage, Ohio has become a global leader in polymers and advanced materials. Ohio’s leadership is supported by the top polymer science programs in the U.S., the world’s highest concentration of polymer research and development and the country’s most extensive industry supply chain.
With more than 1,150 companies and a workforce of 81,000, Ohio has the largest concentration of polymer product producers, machines, materials and workers in North America. In addition to plastics, rubber and resins, key polymer sectors include advanced composites, advanced energy, bioproducts, flexible devices, nanotechnology and polymer processing.
Ohio is capitalizing on its strength in advanced materials to create and attract 21st century businesses and jobs. Between 2006 and 2009, the state gained more than 250 new polymer plants and expansions, while in the past three years companies announced investments of $1.5 billion in 78 major capital investment projects that will create 2,500 new jobs.
Eight Ohio universities have polymer research programs, offering a well-educated workforce and opportunities for research collaborations to create new products, applications and opportunities for growth. Strategic investments totaling more than $270 million by Ohio Third Frontier and over 60 collaborating private industry partners are paving the way for commercialization of new technologies.
Recognizing the continuing importance of Northeast Ohio in advanced materials manufacturing, the state recently designated Youngstown as its Entrepreneurial Hub of Advanced Materials Commercialization and Software Development. The hub will emphasize development, manufacturing, marketing and application of next-generation materials using steel, titanium, magnesium, industrial ceramics, aluminum and other hard materials.
A California native with an entrepreneurial itch, Dr. Patrick Hood admits he never thought of starting a business in Ohio, until a job offer after college from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base brought him to the Buckeye state. “Ohio felt like a different country. People would talk to you,” says Hood, now CEO of 
Dr. Mark Laskovics, president and chief operating officer of