Business Growth

Traveling the region one gets to see many different kinds of collaborations that work to strengthen our region's economy. The Wayne Economic Development Council is one of the region's stronger collaborations and its performance during the global recession of 2009 reinforces the benefits of forging strong private, public partnerships focused on helping companies grow.

Check out this update from the Council:

Wayne County enjoyed another successful year of growth in 2009. Thanks to the investments of a number of new and expanding businesses, Wayne County saw 23 new project announcements totaling more than $123 million in new investment and 960 employees. This compares to 15 project announcements in 2008 totaling more than $77 million in new investment and 522 jobs.

"Wayne County’s quality growth efforts and aggressive marketing programs have made us leader in new business growth not only in Ohio but across the nation," said WEDC president Rod Crider. "For three consecutive years, we’ve been named one of the top ten areas in the country for new business growth. With these results, we are hoping to make it four in a row. Our thanks go out to those businesses who continue to invest their resources here."

Learn more about the Council from its web site.

A strong collaboration among the City of Akron, private industry, health care institutions and the University of Akron is generating some strong economic returns. Check out this editorial from the Akron Beacon Journal to learn how the biomedical corridor plan outlined in 2006 by Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic is now coming to life.

It's another example of the power of collaboration.

While state money (see post on Third Frontier) plays an important role in supporting the region's growing innovation-based economy, private investment dollars are even more important. That's why partners in Advance Northeast Ohio have worked so hard to make our region a more attractive destination for venture dollars.

The latest Venture Capital Report for the Cleveland Plus region captures the progress the region has made over the last several years -- over the last five years the region has attracted $1.1 billion in venture dollars. This strong performance comes despite a slow 2009, when $99 million was raised, compared to $260 million in 2008. Plain Dealer reporter Tom Breckenridge explores some of the reasons for the drop off here.

The Venture Capital Report demonstrates that the region's pipeline of promising startup companies remains very strong, and hopefully a recovery in the global economy will encourage venture capitalists to continue to make big investments in Northeast Ohio's future.

Partners in Advance Northeast Ohio believe that to grow our region's economy we need more innovative companies developing new products for growing global markets. Ohio's Third Frontier program has provided nearly $500 million over the last eight years to Northeast Ohio researchers and businesses trying to develop such products.

Republicans and Democrats in Columbus agree that the program has been successful and are preparing to encourage voters to approve another bond issue to support the program in May. But the question raging now is how big to make the bond issues. The Republican-controlled Senate has approved a $500 million bond issue. Gov. Strickland is pushing a more ambitious $950 million proposal and much of his "state of the state" speech was focused on the role innovation plays in creating jobs in Ohio.

Crain's Cleveland Business' Jay Miller covers the issue in a story here. This will be one of the most important decisions facing Ohio residents in 2010. You owe it to yourself to read up on the Third Frontier and take a position on how much Ohio should commit to this program.

Young, high-growth companies will help lead Northeast Ohio to a more vibrant economic future. And two Ohio legislators have proposed new legislation designed to give those companies a financial boost.

The legislation, proposed by Jay Goyal, D-Mansfield, and Sandra Williams, D-Cleveland, would result in the state issuing $100 million bonds for the state-run Ohio Venture Capital Authority (OVCA). The state fund, in-turn, would invest the $100 million in a select group of venture firms that invest in companies with a high growth potential.

The state used a similar financing method when it raised the $150 million that the Ohio Capital Fund has been investing since its creation in 2005. The fund has lured several out-of-state investment firms to open offices in the state. In 2008, about 18 venture funds from outside Northeast Ohio made their first investment in a company in the region. Many of those funds were supported by the OVCA.

Venture capital is an essential ingredient for the growth of many promising companies. The Ohio Venture Capital Authority helps make more of that money available to our region's entrepreneurs.

The following from our friends at the Ohio Business Development Coalition tells us why  the state's big investment is paying dividends for Northeast Ohio:

Rolls-Royce’s recent announcement that it will expand its Ohio fuel cell research operations furthers the state’s reputation as a national advanced energy leader in fuel cell technology. Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems will invest $3 million in processing and testing equipment to consolidate its research and development activities at its North American headquarters at Stark State College of Technology in North Canton.