The Yen, the Yuan and Self Interest

I appreciated Dr. Peter Morici's recent comment about the Big-3's pleading to the President:

The Yen, Yuan and the Big Three Meeting with President Bush

The President [met] with leaders of the Big Three domestic automobile companies. Auto leaders say they want don't want special treatment but rather solutions that generally help U.S. businesses.

High on the list is the undervalued Japanese yen, and it provides a perfect example of an issue where the auto industry speaks out of two sides of its mouth and behaves unrealistically.

The dollar is extremely undervalued against the Chinese yuan, Japanese yen and several other Asian currencies, and this problem affects all domestic manufacturers competing with trans-Pacific imports.

Consistently, GM, Ford and Chrysler lobby for relief on the yen but are noticeably reticent on the Chinese yuan, because they are locating factories in China and enjoy the benefits of Chinese protectionism.

The Big Three can’t have it two ways, a stronger yen and a weaker yuan. Japan can not appreciably revalue its currency, nor can other Asian governments revalue their currencies, until China stops intervening in currency markets.

Each month, China buys with yuan nearly $20 billion in U.S. dollars and hard currencies. The yuan it prints for this purpose flow into the hands of consumers in the United States and Europe, and create a 25 percent subsidy on Chinese exports. Unless and until China stops this egregious violation of free trade principles, Japan and other Asian economies undervalue their currencies too.

A resolution to the Big Three’s problems with the Japanese yen is not possible until the Big Three embrace realism and recognize the damage imposed by Chinese currency manipulation.

Peter Morici is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Business and former Chief Economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission.

WIRE-Net works with NEO Mfr and Fuel Cell Experts on Major Advanced Energy Initiative

Over the next decade, primary geothermic fuel cell use will play an increasing role in Ohio'’s use of advanced energy resources. WIRE-Net, on behalf of Independent Energy Partners, (IEP), ThermaFab Alloy, Inc., and Case School of Engineering with Wright Fuel Cell Group, NextTech Materials, Ltd., Battelle, and Composite Technology Development, Inc. has requested a Third Frontier Fiscal Year 2007 grant of $337,000 as part of $505,500 project for the research and development, leading to the commercialization of a Geothermic Fuel Cell™ (GFC™). WIRE-Net became familiar with IEP's work through an introduction made by Richard Steubi, BP Fellow for Energy and Environmental Advancement at the Cleveland Foundation.

IEP, a Colorado-based company, owns the exclusive rights to a patented Geothermic Fuel Cell™ technology (GFC™), that can dramatically lower the cost of oil and natural gas recovery from unconventional hydrocarbon resources. A primary application of the GFC™ is for on-site coal gasification for the production of syn-gas and/or for coal-to-liquids. In addition to creating over a hundred new industrial jobs in Ohio, over the next five years this application will facilitate the creation of additional new jobs around a new industry: in-ground coal gasification.

While a number of geothermic technologies have been used to produce oil from unconventional resources, many of them successful in confirming the scientific basis of geothermics, the economics have not supported a viable, long-term business model. The greatest barrier to commercial success facing these proven geothermic techniques is the cost of energy required to heat the ground. The GFC™ technology changes those economics.

Utilizing the research and testing capabilities of the School of Engineering and the Wright Fuel Cell Group at Case Western Reserve University, the design, engineering, and fabricating expertise in exotic alloys of ThermaFab Alloy, Inc. in Cleveland, and solid oxide fuel cells manufactured by NexTech Materials in Ohio, the collaboration will demonstrate that GFCs™ can be used as the heat source for an extraction method that will economically produce oil, natural gas, and “green electricity” from unconventional hydrocarbon resources.

This is the first phase of a project that will use solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology to create a single, working GFC™ unit that will be tested under laboratory conditions in preparation for a second phase field demonstration project.

GFC™ units work by heating the ground, releasing gases, and hydrocarbon liquids that flow into neighboring collection wells. A portion of the gases are processed and returned to the fuel cell stack to fuel the reaction, with the remainder available for sale. Following an initial start-up phase of operation, the GFC™ process becomes a self-fueling system - producing oil, electricity, and surplus natural gases.

WIRE-Net's 2006-2008 strategic plan stressed building collaborations around new technologies that could help create new market opportunities for NE Ohio manufacturing companies. Ty Haines, WIRE-Net's Vice President of Manufacturing Services is serving as the Project Manager for this Third Frontier Grant.

This technology can position Ohio as a leader in advanced energy. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources cites that Ohio has approximately 11.5 billion tons of bituminous coal. Successful application of GFC™ units can improve the economics of coal extraction by generating saleable gas, hydrocarbon liquids, and electricity without the environmental impact of mining, and without the sulfur and other green house gas emissions from coal burning. Moreover, Ohio can create a whole new industry around GFC™ manufacturing, coal gasification plant design, building, processing, and global export.

WIRE-Net EXECUTIVE RECEIVES NATIONAL FELLOWSHIP

WIRE-Net's Rebecca Kusner, Vice President of Workforce Development, has been selected to join the 2006 class of Marano Fellows at the Sector Skills Academy. This group of Fellows is comprised of twenty-four leaders in the workforce development field who represent educational, community, and faith-based organizations, workforce investment boards, and economic development organizations located throughout the country, and in diverse industry sectors such as healthcare, hospitality, biotechnology, automotive, manufacturing, transportation, construction, and information technology.

The Sector Skills Academy was founded in 2005 as joint project of the Aspen Institute’s Workforce Strategies Initiative, Public/Private Ventures, and the National Network of Sector Partners (NNSP), to provide emerging leaders with a unique opportunity for peer learning, skills development, and professional growth. Marano Fellows are named in honor of Cindy Marano, a leader in the field of sectoral workforce development and head of NNSP until her death in April 2005.

In addition to skills development, during a 12-month period Academy Fellows participate in a series of three 3-day workshops designed to promote peer-to-peer learning and establish new relationships with prominent Sector Skills Academy faculty and mentors who are recognized leaders in the field of sectoral employment development. Participants are expected to apply the lessons of the Academy in order to substantially enhance their work in their chosen sector.

A proponent of sector-based strategies, Ms. Kusner joined WIRE-Net in 2005 to lead the organization’'s new workforce development initiative. WIRE-Net Works includes School-to-Career, WorkSource, and Employment Plus -- programs and services that offer manufacturing company employers performance-based solutions that will meet current and future workforce needs.

WIRE-Net's 2006-2008 Strategic Plan outlines stresses out need to create relationships with key public sector workforce development leaders. Since 1989, WIRE-Net has been a recognized leader in developing effective workforce strategies for manufacturing. During that time over 350 NE Ohio companies have relied on WIRE-Net for programs and services that address their human resource needs. Our success has been due to our designing programs that adjust to current trends while not lowering standards to be competitive. WIRE-Net has begun to implement a sector-based workforce strategy in the new WIRE-Net Works initiative. We're pleased that Rebecca can bring her learning to this new program.

Major support for WIRE-Net’s workforce programs is provided by The Abington Foundation, The Alcoa Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, The City of Cleveland, Deaconess Community Foundation, East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church, Eaton Corporation, Enterprise, Eva L. and Joseph M. Bruening Foundation, Fred A. Lennon Charitable Trust, The George Gund Foundation, George W. Codrington Charitable Foundation, The Hitachi Foundation, PMA Educational Fund, RPM Corporation, The Thomas H. White Foundation, and The U. S. Department of Labor. The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation provides major support for the Sector Skills Academy. To learn more about the new fellows and the Academy, please visit: www.sectorskillsacademy.org

Mayor Frank Jackson, Councilman Jay Westbrook, Cudell Improvement Inc, and WIRE-Net Celebrate Demolition of "The Trinity Building"

Last month marked the "creative destruction" of a major Cleveland eyesore, as Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Cleveland City Councilman Jay Westbrook (Ward 18), and community, business, and resident stakeholders gathered to kick-off the demolition of the 170,000 sq. ft. former Trinity Building on Cleveland’'s west side.

The Detroit Avenue property was best known as the home to the Monarch Aluminum Company in the 1950’s. Cudell Improvement, Inc. and WIRE-Net applauded the city’'s leadership in acquiring the property through tax foreclosure and for making this site the pilot project for the City's new Industrial-Commercial Land Bank Program. A $2.5M investment by the City in demolition and environmental clean up will convert the property into a new 5½ acre for light industrial uses.

In addition to Mayor Frank Jackson and Councilman Westbrook, family members of the former owners of Monarch, as well as, John Magill, Ohio Department of Development, Tracey Nichols, Cuyahoga County Department of Development, John Colm, WIRE-Net President & Executive Director, and Anita Brindza, Executive Director, Cudell Improvement, Inc participated in the event.

WIRE-Net's 2006-2008 Strategic Plan speaks to the need to redevelop manufacturing company properties in the urban core to ensure the city has a healthy tax and employment base and manufacturing firms have room to expand. The Trinity property affords an opportunity for one or more companies to have a modern space in an area supported by new infrastructure. WIRE-Net has welcomed the opportunity to be a part of that process.

OHIO’S “SILICON VALLEY OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY”

GETTING REAL

Over fifty people from 36 NE Ohio business organizations drilled into the business of Advanced Energy today (November 8, 2006), putting rubber on the road that leads to Ohio’s “Silicon Valley of Alternative Energy”, as our new Senator-elect, Sherrod Brown, puts it. They didn’t come to dissect policy or discuss legislation, but to identify opportunities to put NE Ohio’s manufacturing expertise to work in emerging advanced or alternative energy markets.

The event was cosponsored by WIRE-Net, the NE Ohio Campaign for American Manufacturing, the Cleveland Foundation, and Charter One Bank. Back in 2003, Ohio was in the thick of a vicious economic restructuring and had lost several hundred-thousand manufacturing jobs and over 1000 manufacturing firms. WIRE-Net’s Board stepped up and help create a public debate about the dire situation facing NE Ohio communities that depend heavily on manufacturing for jobs, taxes, innovation and economic health. That effort resulted in the formation of the NE Ohio Campaign for American Manufacturing or NEOCAM, which now includes a dozen organizations from across our region that speak for nearly 1000 manufacturing firms and their 60,000 employees. NEOCAM includes WIRE-Net, the major metalworking and metal finishing associations, the United Steelworkers of America-District 1, and others.

NEOCAM has pushed for legislative solutions to manufacturing challenges and has held several town hall forums that have looked at the impact of our inadequate trade policies on NE Ohio; we’ve held public forums with our candidates for Governor, including Governor-elect Ted Strickland; and candidates for Cleveland mayor, including Mayor Frank Jackson.

Today’s event was the second in our “Perspectives on American Manufacturing” series. This series kicked off in late September with a forum on Trade and US Manufacturing at the Union Club, where over 150 business leaders heard Dan DiMicco, CEO of Nucor Steel, deconstruct the myth of free trade.

Today we didn’t gather to debate policy, but instead to create practical awareness of opportunities in several emerging energy fields. The question was could we create meaningful links between NE Ohio companies, and new business opportunities in various segments of the energy field. Richard Steubi, of the Cleveland Foundation, an entrepreneur by nature, was willing to work closely with us to bring experts together with leaders from a variety of companies to bring new business to Cleveland.

So joining us today were leaders from many segments of NE Ohio’s business community, including lenders, law, economic development, investors, and, most importantly entrepreneurs and leaders of Ohio manufacturing firms of all sizes in

• precision metal forming,
  
• electronics,
  
• hydraulics,
  
• metalworking and machining,
  
• plastics and polymers,
  
• metal castings and others.

We can look backward and see great Ohio innovators in the energy field, like Charles Brush, who built perhaps the first functioning electricity generating windmill at his Euclid Avenue property in 1890 (check out the picture above from the December 1890 issue of Scientific American...taken at Brush's Euclid Avenue mansion. He used the windmill to recharge his batteries.) … but I’d rather look ahead to the great ideas and businesses that we can help generate out of the meeting held today. We’ve only started this “New Markets Initiative”, but we believe there is great potential, as expressed from the animated business-to-business discussions that Richard Steubi and his colleagues kick-started. And we already know companies that are doing great business building wind turbine gearboxes, and dryers for the PEM fuel cell industry. There is reason for optimism.

We also believe that this down to earth, face to face and “shoe leather” approach to economic development is what is needed to make the dream of a new kind of Ohio “silicon valley” a reality. We’re looking forward to working with our new Ohio leaders to make it real.

What We've Done Recently...

MANUFACTURING MATTERS JOB FAIR: LINKING SKILLS TO OPPORTUNITIES

Fifteen manufacturing companies attended WIRE-Net's "Manufacturing Matters" Job Fair on Friday, September 29th. Planned to coincide with the City of Cleveland's Manufacturing Week, WIRE-Net partnered with the Cleveland's Employment Connection to create a venue for manufacturing companies to recruit and interview local job seekers. One company participant offered the following feedback:

"Thank you both for encouraging me to do the Job Fair on Friday, September 29, 2006. It was a good experience, and I would definitely do one again. I received a lot of applications at the Fair, and a lot of people took my business card and/or applications that they said they would return to me. Some (9) went right into the "no" pile because they marked that they had a felony conviction, or they made a poor first impression, or both. I have three in a maybe file and six that I am going to call to set up an interview with. At the Fair I set up one interview for yesterday. We are running the background check and physical/drug screen on him now, so keep your fingers crossed! "

NORTHEAST OHIO CAMPAIGN FOR AMERICAN MANUFACTURING

Dan DiMicco, Vice Chairman, President, and CEO of Nucor Corporation (NUE) was the featured speaker at the first installment of the WIRE-Net- & NEOCAM-sponsored speaker series, Perspectives on American Manufacturing, on Thursday, September 28th from Noon to 1:30 PM at The Union Club.

The luncheon forum, for 150 leaders of NE Ohio manufacturing companies, was also attended by business leaders from Florida, Minnesota, Illinois, and New York. Mr. DiMicco is head of a Charlotte, NC-based steel producer that is one of the world's fastest-growing companies. His talk, while addressing many of the national and international issues that are currently challenging U.S. manufacturing, zeroed in on the China currency issue. DiMicco insists that our trade imbalance, particularly with our Asian trading partners, is by far the most damaging to our national and economic security. He challenged the audience to become informed, educate their employees, and engage in discussion with political leaders to promote legislation that addresses our ballooning trade deficit. Check Nucor's Government Affairs link on their website for more information.

The second installment of Perspectives on American Manufacturing will feature Richard Stuebi, BP Fellow for Energy and Environmental Advancement at the Cleveland Foundation. Mr. Stuebi will address the group on new market opportunities for manufacturers in advanced energy. Following the presentation, industry experts will lead discussion groups to focus on the growing industries in wind, solar, fuel cells, biofuels, and clean coal sectors. Experts include:

• Ken Alfred, Executive Director, Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition;
  
• Sam Spofforth, Executive Director, Clean Fuels Ohio;
  
• Bob Purgert, President, Energy Industries of Ohio; and
  
• Erika Weliczko, President, RePower Solutions.

THE TIES THAT BIND

Every day WIRE-Net looks for ways to engage companies. Frequently, the catalyst is an issue of shared concern. This Spring, WIRE-Net's Jacki Adams facilitated a safety and security meeting to address the security concerns of businesses located on West 14th St, Valley, Jennings, Bradley, and Beltline Road. WIRE-Net solicited help from the Cleveland Police Department of Community Relations and Ward 15 Councilman Brian Cummins, to address the concerns of over 30 business leaders in the audience. While attendees found the information extremely valuable, several of the companies wanted to take additional steps to hire a private security firm to provide additional security to companies in the neighborhood.

Over the summer, WIRE-Net obtained proposals from two security firms and held neighborhood meetings to discuss the scope and cost of service. Subsequently eight of the companies selected a firm and agreed to share the expense associated with providing security for companies for the area.

NEW MEMBER PROFILE...214 AND COUNTING

ThermaFab Alloy is a steel fabrication company on the near west side of Cleveland. Their markets include energy producers who need their ASME pressure vessel certification for a variety of products incorporating specialty steels in heat exchangers, scrubbers and energy generation parts. WIRE-Net is helping them in several ways on their next steps with a $2.7 million dollar investment:

1. Support in gaining financing to expand their current business from City, County and State sources.

2. Identification of sites that would allow them to consolidate two existing locations with no room for growth into one location with space to grow.

3. Proposal for Lean Training and Implementation plus providing the key components to the creation of the culture required to support today's competitive demands.

Collaboration on new product development is one of the unique skills that Ty Haines brings to WIRE-Net members. Ty has added design input on a Geothermal Fuel Cell project that would bring several hundred million dollars in revenues to Ohio with a focus on Cleveland. ThermaFab, WIRE-Net and Independent Energy Partners are part of a group looking to build a proof of concept prototype early in 2007.

WIRE-Net's School-to-Career Program Launches 06-07 Year!

WIRE-Net School-to-Career (STC) staff planned a fun-filled yet educational weekend get away trip for the STC students on Friday and Saturday, September 15^th and 16^th of 2006.  Students departed Cleveland Friday morning for an overnight retreat at Pleasant Hill Outdoor Center in Perrysville, Ohio and then traveled Saturday to attend an all-day town hall meeting at University of Akron sponsored by Voices & Choices.

 

Upon arriving at Pleasant Hill, students were able to acclimate quickly to the campground environment before participating in a well-structured program developed by the STC staff.  Students began with learning about accountability and the 10 standards they’re accountable for, and STC staff detailed 10 promises that students can expect from them.  Both STC students and staff committed to their standards and expectations by signing an Agreement.  The remainder of the structured activities involved students learning about the importance of self-awareness and how to assess their personality styles.  Interspersed with the structured events, the students played basketball and billiards, talked around the campfire while roasting marshmallows and making s'mores, and took a nature walk on the campgrounds.

 

The next morning, upon arriving at the University of Akron, the students were greeted and dispersed at tables among the hundreds of attendees of Voices & Choices.  While at their respective tables, they interacted very well with the attendees.  They were asked to talk about themselves, their futures and their opinions regarding perceived problems and possible solutions of public education. 

 

All and all, the weekend was a memorable one that students will talk about for months to come.  STC staff has already received some initial remarks from students and parents commenting on how much these events how impacted their lives in a positive way.  STC staff is in the process of sending a formal evaluation to all of the student participants.

WIRE-Net Honors School-to-Career Program Students, Employers, & Community Partners

CLEVELAND (May 24, 2006)—Manufacturing matters to students, employers, and community stakeholders participating in WIRE-Net’s School-to-Career Program.

 

WIRE-Net is hosting its School-to-Career Program Awards Banquet at Brennan’s Party Center on May 25^th from 11:30 am-1:30 pm to recognize the achievements of participants in the School-to-Career Program.  WIRE-Net has been a corporate partner with Max S. Hayes High School for the past 10 years and is celebrating the program by presenting 3 new awards—the John F. Sustar Award to a graduating senior, the Career Builder Award to an individual dedicated to the program and the Community Partner Award to a local employer. 

 

WIRE-Net’s School-to-Career Program prepares young people to enter manufacturing by creating awareness of manufacturing positions available throughout the region and providing information on the skills they will need to move into these jobs or post-secondary education and training.  Students are exposed to the employability & life skills needed to succeed in the workplace—“employment isn’t just technical ability—employers want to hire the job seeker that has the best attitude and is willing to go an extra mile to do the job well” says Annette May, School-to-Career Coordinator, Students.  The School-to-Career Program engages local manufacturers in curriculum review, career days, field trips, plant tours, job shadowing, and ‘PAY’ opportunities.  “Involving employers is critical—they are able to make connections from the classroom to the real world” says Derrick Parks, School-to-Career Coordinator, Employers.  Employer engagement helped 9 of 16 graduating seniors get hired into manufacturing related positions upon completion of the program in 2005.

Partnership Pays Off

...from INSIDE DISTRICT NEWS, a publication of the Cleveland Municipal School District.

Partnership Pays Off
AN INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP
BETWEEN Max Hayes and WIRENet’s
School-to Career Program is
providing students with preapprenticeships
and for some, full-time
jobs upon graduation.
Students interested in careers in
manufacturing are recruited for preapprenticeships
and job shadowing
opportunities at area manufacturing
companies and are also offered academic
support through tutoring. WIRE-Net
connects with member companies to
develop appropriate pre-apprenticeship
opportunities for students, then works
with Max Hayes instructors to identify
those best suited for the preapprenticeship.
WIRE-Net staff meets
with the prospective employer, the
student, and his/her instructor to
develop an appropriate training
program.
Besides spending 100 hours in their
pre-apprenticeship position, which
allows the student and the company time
to determine whether the pairing is a
‘good fit,’ students are paid $7 an hour
by WIRE-Net. Last year, 16 students
were placed in pre-apprenticeships and
more then half were hired as regular
employees. One student, now attending
North Carolina Agricultural &
Technical State University, returns to
Cleveland to work for the company he
was paired with during school breaks.
WIRE-Net’s School-to-Career
Program Manager, Jessica Malloy, says
the program’s growing success can be
attributed to a large base of member
companies, which allows for better
matches with student interests and trades.
A concerted effort is made to make the
pre-apprenticeships relevant to the
student’s future career. Max Hayes
Principal David Volosin says the WIRENet
partnership helps the school train the
workforce for the manufacturing skills
they will need in the 21st century. Volosin
added, “If we can teach the soft skills,
such as punctuality and hard work,
students will leave here so far ahead of
the game.”

BODYSTORMING AND UNFOCUS GROUPS...

...are just two of the unusual techniques IDEO uses with its clients. IDEO is perhaps the world’s leading industrial design and innovation firm.

Tom Kelley, IDEO's managing partner, will not be just another innovation guru at WIRE-Net's Innovation Celebration on June 22 at Jacobs Field’s Terrace Club in Cleveland.

As someone whose firm helps their clients build a culture of innovation (this is what Kelley's latest book, "The 10 Faces of Innovation", is all about), Kelley – originally of Barberton, Ohio – will offer practical ways to strengthen innovation in any organization.

As Kaiser's Adam Nemer (a IDEO client) put it, "Consulting firms usually come in, go away, and return with heavy binders that sit on the desk. With IDEO, we partner up and work side-by-side. We are internalizing their methodology to build our own culture of innovation."

Another reason to sign up for WIRE-Net’s Innovation Celebration…Tom Kelley has TWO books in Business Week’s Top Five Business Innovation Books (“The Ten Faces of Innovation”, and “The Art of Innovation”).

Our thanks to Kaiser Permanente for joining WIRE-Net as our “Grand Slam” Sponsor for the Innovation Celebration.

For more information, give Pamela Holmes a call at (216) 588-1440, ext. 104.

INNOVATIONS IN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

WIRE-Net and PTDA Receive Funding for Innovative Workforce Development Initiative

Cleveland, OH – WIRE-Net announced that a partnership created with the Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) Foundation has been awarded a grant by The Manufacturing Institute, the research and education arm of the National Association of Manufacturers. The Manufacturing Institute is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott, Hitachi, and Annie E. Casey Foundations in its “sector” work. WIRE-Net will be supporting the efforts of the PTDA Foundation by connecting them with workforce development intermediaries and related resources in Northeastern Ohio.

This one-year grant will support local industrial distribution and manufacturing and will strengthen Cleveland’s workforce system. According to Rebecca Kusner, Vice President of WIRE-Net’s Workforce Development Programs, “We are absolutely thrilled to be a part of this project. It was a highly competitive process and Cleveland is one of only two cities in the nation selected to implement it.”

WIRE-Net will be supporting the PTDA Foundation-led alliance to expand the Industrial Career’s Pathway (ICP) ^(SM) initiative in Cleveland. They will be working together to promote career awareness, development, and training opportunities by connecting industrial distribution and manufacturing employers, local workforce resources, and low-income residents.

Kusner continued, “WIRE-Net has a strong track record of successful collaboration with community partners.” WIRE-Net and PTDA Cleveland area members hope to recruit and train 60 individuals for jobs in manufacturing and distribution by December 2006 by working closely with Tri-C, the local Workforce Investment Board, local One-Stops, and other supporting community-based organizations.

“We know these are aggressive goals”, stated Ms. Kusner. “However, both organizations are confident that together we will be able to make them. Cleveland and, northeast Ohio as a whole, has a strong base of industrial distribution companies. It is essential that we work together to create new opportunities to sustain and grow this sector of our manufacturing economy.”

The Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) is the leading association for the industrial power transmission/motion control distribution channel. PTDA is dedicated to providing exceptional networking; targeted education, relevant information, and leading-edge business tools to help distributors and manufacturers meet marketplace demands competitively and profitably.

The PTDA Foundation is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation whose operations are funded entirely by tax-deductible contributions. The Foundation was founded in 1982 to enhance knowledge, education, professionalism, and productivity within the power transmission/motion control (PT/MC) industry.

WIRE-Net, as a management partner to manufacturing business leaders, provides services in manufacturing improvement, workforce development, and industrial real estate development and planning. A non-profit economic development organization, WIRE-Net has a membership base of over 200 manufacturing-related companies throughout the region.

WIRE-Net strengthens manufacturing in northeast Ohio to create healthy communities and fuel economic growth by providing expertise that is responsive to manufacturing related businesses and their employees. WIRE- Net connects leaders to each other and engages them in their communities. Through its mission WIRE-Net is working to create a region that values and invests in profitable, sustainable manufacturing companies. WIRE-Net is building a community of manufacturers that embraces innovation to compete globally, that works together to drive economic health locally, and whose leaders are committed to their employees and our community.

For more information, please see on WIRE-Net’s website at www.wire-net.org.

OHIO GRANT SPURS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Cleveland Innovator and City Benefit From Clean Ohio Grant

Cleveland, OH (March 30, 2006) The future of the City of Cleveland and one of WIRE-Net’s member companies was brightened by Monday’s announcement of a $750,000 Clean Ohio Assistance Fund (COAF) grant that has been awarded for brownfield remediation activities at the Detroit Avenue site of the former Monarch Aluminum/Trinity Building.

Energy Wise Building Systems, LLC, a manufacturer of energy efficient panelized building systems, hopes to invest approximately $3.2 million in a new office/warehouse facility on the 5.6 acre site, owned by the City of Cleveland’s Industrial Land Bank. Jacki Adams, WIRE-Net’s Industrial Outreach Manager and a representative affiliated with Cleveland’s Industrial Retention and Expansion (CIRI) Network, has been working with Energy Wise for the past 12 months. Adams states, “Joe Gallo and Mark and Brett Crudele are true innovators, just like leaders of other WIRE-Net member companies. They are committed to creating wealth, jobs, and new investment, and believe in sharing their success with the rest of the region. The construction of this new facility will permit the company to expand operations and add 35 new jobs. That’s good news for Energy Wise and great news for Cleveland.” According to Adams, the City of Cleveland would like to use the Energy Wise development as a sustainability model for future development activity at the Midland steel site. Their project still must go through a City and community review .

Clean Ohio Assistance Fund grants target projects in distressed communities that support job creation and economic expansion. Monies are used for Phase I and II Environmental Assessments, brownfield remediation, and public health projects. According to Mike Hoag, WIRE-Net’s Vice President of Redevelopment, the former Monarch Aluminum/Trinity Building site has been on WIRE-Net’s “short list” for some time. WIRE-Net used $55,000 from a USEPA grant in 2000 to launch assessment efforts to understand the environmental issues now being addressed with this grant. “We were very pleased the City made this property one of the Industrial Land Bank’s first acquisitions. This is a prime piece of real estate that meets the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund guidelines perfectly. Once demolition and remediation are complete, the property will bring new investment and a cutting edge manufacturing company into the city.”

Energy Wise Building Systems is one of over 200 manufacturing-related WIRE-Net-member companies that are bringing innovation and excellence to Northeast Ohio manufacturing. WIRE-Net offers management services and support to company leaders who use the principles of Total Manufacturing Innovation-- a holistic approach to company performance that incorporate innovation and best practices for managing people, products, processes, and productivity improvement. WIRE-Net members network to leverage their combined expertise to increase business productivity, sales, and global competitiveness.

For more information please see WIRE-Net’s website at www.wire-net.org. or call (216) 588.1440.

REBUILDING CLEVELAND'S INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS

Ohio Grant Supports Business Development in Cleveland

Cleveland, OH – WIRE-Net announced that the Ohio Department of Development has awarded a $500,000 grant to the City of Brook Park from their Roadwork Development Fund (629) to add the final funding piece for a planned $3.8 million reconfiguration of West 150^th Street between Industrial Parkway and Brookpark Road. This section of road spans the Cities of Cleveland and Brook Park and both communities will see the immediate benefits to strong commercial/industrial corridors.

“Collaboration has been the key to this project from the “get go”,” according to Michael Hoag, Vice President of WIRE-Net’s Redevelopment Program. “Cleveland and Brook Park recognize the importance of this artery in supporting a base of nearly 70 firms and 3,800 full-time jobs. Major roadway deficiencies will be addressed to allow these businesses to continue growing in this area”. Improvement slated under this project include, widening existing road lanes, increasing turning lanes at both Brookpark Road and Industrial Parkway, and addressing drainage and clearance issues at the Norfolk Southern railway bridge.

Additional funding was provided though the Ohio Public Works Commission with a $1.0 million grant and a $1.5M loan. The remaining cost will be shared among the Cities of Cleveland and Brook Park.

This industrial district in Cleveland has seen close to $14 million in business investment in the past 2 years, highlighted by a new $8 million warehouse/distribution facility opened by the Oatey Company in 2004. A private developer has plans to invest $4.5 million in a new 60,000 sq. ft. office/warehouse facility on 5 acres in the area and Amros, a designer and builder of specialty packaging, has already invested over $2 million since moving into the area last year.

“Public and private investment feed off each other”, notes John Colm, WIRE-Net’s President and Executive Director.

Brook Park will serve as the lead agency for coordinating the improvements. They already have an engineering firm under contract for design services and construction is targeted to begin later this year.

WIRE-Net strengthens manufacturing in northeast Ohio to create healthy communities and fuel economic growth by providing expertise that is responsive to manufacturing related businesses and their employees. WIRE- Net connects leaders to each other and engages them in their communities. Through its mission WIRE-Net is working to create a region that values and invests in profitable, sustainable manufacturing companies. WIRE-Net is building a community of manufacturers that embraces innovation to compete globally, that works together to drive economic health locally, and whose leaders are committed to their employees and our community.

For more information, please see on WIRE-Net’s website at www.wire-net.org.

TRANSFORMING MANUFACTURING - RESHAPING TRADE POLICY

The “giant sucking sound” of millions of manufacturing jobs being lost since 2002 was a major factor behind WIRE-Net’s decision to step into the debate over the future of US trade policy, beginning in 2004, especially since there was precious little public discussion of what was behind the manufacturing crisis.

 

While at least 40% of the jobs lost can be traced to the truly heroic efforts of US firms to improve their productivity and to become more competitive, millions of the jobs were lost due to weak demand, and to import subsitution – when buyers substitute foreign made for US products.  This number could be as high as 30% of all jobs lost, according to some estimates.  This is a huge issue and many policy makers and economic development pros don’t want to tackle the issue, preferring instead to fall back on the mantra of “free trade”.

 

Even at symposia supposedly meant to focus on this sticky issue, most discussions are held within the dominant “free trade” paradigm.  So instead of dealing with the root cause of the problem, we hear platitudes about increasing funding for the feeble Trade Adjustment Act, job training programs, and other band-aid approaches.  (Its interesting to note that many in Congress are for free trade, except when it comes to immigrant doctors, or immigration period.  Free trade is good if you are looking for lower labor and other production costs, but not for people seeking employment in the US.  In the latter case, the debate quickly shifts to how high the walls or fences around our borders should be…but not so when what’s at stake are the loss of hundreds of thousands of US manufacturing jobs, or the erosion of our business and innovation infrastructure.)

 

This is why it was refreshing to listen to Rob Atkinson at the recent Washington DC Summit of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).  Atkinson was formerly with the Progressive Policy Institute, and best noted for his work to rate regional economies for their performance in the “new economy”.  He’s the author of a new book on US innovation.  Among his top concerns for the US are our lack of fortitude in enforcing trade laws, particularly with regards to the currency manipulation of China and other Asian nations.

 

It was refreshing to hear Atkinson list weak trade-law enforcement as one of the major factors undermining US innovation and future economic growth, and also suggesting that border-adjusted taxes were a reasonable and feasible reaction to stem the tide of jobs flowing out of the US and imports flooding in.  The US is States is the only country in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) without Border-Adjusted taxation.  Rob Atkinson has now moved on from the PPI to a new “inside the beltway” think tank focusing on the challenges to US innovation.  For more, see the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation at www.innovationpolicy.org.

 

Border Adjusted Taxation was also a key part of the case for a new approach to trade policy that Charlie Blum, of International Advisory Servces Group, made when he spoke before a group of WIRE-Net and NE Ohio business leaders several weeks ago.  For an interesting article on this approach, see this link to an article by David Hartman:

http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/cgi-bin/hartman.cgi/Taxes/2006/01/16/Cracks_in_the_Cryst

 

LITTLE ENGINES

Small businesses generate more jobs than large ones. Its almost an article of faith, but recent data from the Labor Department reinforce it once again. From 1992-2005, payrolls of businesses with fewer than 100 employees generated 47% of new jobs created.

Payrolls of companies with more than 1,000 jobs accounted for just 28% of new jobs (see Business Week, SmallBiz, Spring 2006, p. 42).

WIRE-Net is targeting just these firms…manufacturers in Cleveland with sales of $25 million annually or less, but with 25 or more employees. There are about 530 of those in Cleveland, generating wealth by exporting their products outside our region to customers all over the globe. Combined, they employ nearly 33,000 people and generate annual sales of over $3.8 billion. WIRE-Net estimates total annual payroll at around $1.2 billion. Only about 65 of these companies have more than 100 employees. These are our "Little Engines".

CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM:

Our major challenge is engaging the leaders of these firms in programs to help them improve their operations, thereby strengthening local communities. But our track record gives cause for optimism…in each of the last 4 years we’ve worked with roughly 300 unique manufacturing firms.

BIG IMPACT

This includes “critical interventions” with seven firms, interventions where WIRE-Net’s “hands-on” role determined the outcome of a company’s decision to retain and/or attract new jobs to the city. Combined, the seven interventions helped retain and attract 564 jobs, a $22 million annual payroll, and an indirect employment impact on an additional 361 jobs in “downstream” business sectors.

In projects where WIRE-Net had an important impact, even if jobs were not at risk, WIRE-Net’s work with four other manufacturing firms helped companies significantly improve their competitive position and revenue base supporting 480 jobs and $19 million annual payroll. “Downstream”, the four projects impacted 307 jobs.

Bottom line: WIRE-Net’s work with these eleven manufacturing companies has had a direct regional economic impact on 1044 jobs with a combined annual payroll of over $41 million.

WIRE-Net is putting leather on the street to make a difference in Cleveland.

Momentum Building for Hunter-Ryan China Currency Bill

A recent Cleveland Plain Dealer article detailed how African-American workers are suffering more than their share in our globalizing economy.  A factor neglected in this article about the loss of manufacturing jobs is our stubborn commitment to obsolete trade policies (“Black factory workers hit hardest”, 2/25/06.  Click here for a link to the original study, The Decline in African-American Representation in Unions and Auto Manufacturing, 1979-2004 by John Schmitt and Ben Zipperer, January 2006.).  These policies are eroding the economies of communities across NE Ohio, particularly in Ohio Congressional District 11, represented by Stephanie Tubbs-Jones.  This was the topic of a Chinese Currency Policy Briefing sponsored on Thursday, February 23 by the NE Ohio Campaign for American Manufacturing.

 

The Chinese government is perfecting the practice of currency manipulation – which is in effect an illegal export subsidy under World Trade Organization rules.  Manufacturers know that manipulation of the Chinese currency gives products made in China a 30-40% cost advantage compared to products made here.  This hidden tariff contributes to the hemorrhaging of US manufacturing jobs, the dislocation of US production, and erodes the living standards of working families -- white, Hispanic and, especially, African-Americans, as your article noted.  Since China entered the WTO, Ohio has lost over 14,500 manufacturing jobs due to our trade deficit with China – fueled by their policy of currency manipulation.

 

Congress can change this.  The China Currency Bill (HR 1498, introduced by Democrat Tim Ryan of Youngstown and Republican Duncan Hunter of California) would help US based manufacturers remain competitive around the globe.  This is needed nowhere more than in Ohio’s 11th District, which has a large number of manufacturing firms, particularly in steel and related sectors that have been under attack from Chinese based competitors maximizing the unfair advantage of an undervalued Chinese Yuan.  Tubbs-Jones is familiar with the problem, as she joined with others to challenge China’s currency manipulation in 2005.

 

Now it is time for Congresswoman Tubbs-Jones to join Northern Ohio’s congressional delegation, Democrats and Republicans alike, all of whom are cosponsoring the Hunter-Ryan bill.  Doing so would bring the number of cosponsors to well over 150, the most bipartisan trade bill ever, and would send a clear signal to Chinese officials that the US wants action to end currency manipulation, leading to a more level international trading field.  Click HERE to send a message to Congresswoman Tubbs-Jones.  Phone calls to her Ohio office are preferred over faxes or emails.

 

WIRE-Net Cited as National Model

A coalition of older cities has published a “guidebook” or manual on effective strategies to arrest and reverse urban decay.  WIRE-Net was one model that is highlighted in the report, published by PolicyLink on behalf of the Community Development Partnerships’ Network.  Other efforts in Cleveland were also highlighted.  For example, the City of Cleveland’s landbank.  Click here for a description of the citation and a link to the publication:  http://edpro.blogspot.com/#innovolder

 

 

Protecting Ohio's Tool and Die Industry

The tool and die industry is a crucial one. It creates the tooling needed to make almost every manufactured product, including products used in our national defense. It has long been considered a "strategic industry", which is why many nations have targeted the US industry, using government supports and market interventions to weaken US based companies while giving their own tool and die sector an advantage.

Since 1996, Michigan has been able to designate "Tool and Die Renaissance Recovery Zones" to provide up to 15 years of tax relief to tool and die firms with fewer than 50 employees that are participating in a qualified collaboration with similar firms. Tax relief is coupled with an approach linking small firms together to compete for larger jobs. The collaborative approach ("inter-firm collaborations") has been used by WIRE-Net for many years to help frequently isolated firms learn better and faster about how to effectively overcome challenges and compete globally.

In Cuyahoga County, 122 firms employing over 1500 people would match the Michigan criteria. This includes firms in metal cutting, metal forming, special tool & die, die set, jig and fixtures, and cutting and machine tool accessory makers. They have had a tough time of it, particularly given China's strategic targeting of this sector and the numerous advantages the Chinese government has given its own industry (everything from a currency that is 40% undervalued, to provision of loans that are rarely repaid, not to mention health care costs and the environmental and other protections that do not exist in China).

Isn't this worth a look in Ohio?

For information on the Michigan program, click here.