WIRE-Net's Great Lakes Wind Network Makes Progress

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) recently noted the progress WIRE-Net’s latest brainchild is making to strengthen Ohio’s wind turbine supply chain.  See this link for information on subscribing to the electronic edition of Wind Energy Weekly:  http://www.awea.org/wew/

 

Ohio Group Seeks Out Wind Industry to Meet Value-Chain Needs
Ohio just put up a big Welcome banner for the wind industry value chain.

A recent conference organized by Ohio economic development organization WIRE-Net sought to connect suppliers in the state with the wind industry, with the ultimate goal of getting the state to provide a significant number of links to wind’s tight supply chain.

About 50 Ohio companies attended the Great Lakes Wind Network Supply Chain Forum to learn more about the wind power industry and network with featured guest Clipper Windpower. The event was so successful that Ed Weston, WIRE-Net’s wind energy director, intends to repeat the event on a quarterly basis, with a different wind industry company featured at each one. “I was delighted with the turnout,” Weston told Wind Energy Weekly. “It exceeded our expectations.”

Indeed, companies attending the event, to which Weston had to “turn people away,” could potentially make up a significant chunk of the value chain. The list of participants, among others, included eight foundries, seven machine shops, five forges, five fabrication shops, five electrical and electronics companies, four gear producers, four fasteners, and four materials suppliers. In addition to learning more about the wind industry through the presentation of Todd Windeknecht, Clipper’s strategic commodity leader, attendees had the chance to network and meet one-on-one with Clipper.

“If we can find suppliers we can partner with, we'll do it,” Windeknecht told the group.

In case Windeknecht and the rest of the gathering harbored any uncertainty about the state’s interest in attracting the industry, attendees also had the chance to hear from Chad Smith of the Ohio Department of Development and Michael Jung from the office of Governor Ted Strickland (D), who spoke on Ohio’s commitment to wind.

The success of the day, noted Weston, “speaks to the level of interest and density of wind-capable manufacturers” in the state. The next event, he said, will take place in the first quarter of 2008.

 

 

Great Lakes Mfg Council Comes to Cleveland, July 2008

From The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council: 

The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council announced today that its third annual Great Lakes Manufacturing Forum will be held July 9-11at the Cleveland Key Center Marriott, in Cleveland, Ohio,

The Great Lakes Manufacturing Forum brings together manufacturing, business, academic and government leaders focused on promoting, enhancing and preserving manufacturing in the Great Lakes Region. Regional leaders from the eight Great Lakes States as well as the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec will gather to discuss the image of the Great Lakes region, innovation in manufacturing, the workforce and skills needed for manufacturing today and in the future as well as the borders and logistics requirements needed to succeed in today’s global economy. The forum will be opened by Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson

We are pleased the Great Lakes Manufacturing Council has chosen Ohio as the site of this years forum, said Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, who also serves as Director of the Ohio Department of Development. The Great Lakes region has been a cornerstone of manufacturing and innovation for more than a century, providing jobs, new technologies, and robust businesses. This forum is a collaborative effort to help our region maintain that strength and make Great Lakes manufacturing the benchmark of the world.

Speakers include notables such as Jayson Myers of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, John Austin of the Brookings Institution, Ned Hill of Cleveland State University, and William Testa of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

“Working collaboratively is the key to ensure we all thrive in the current global economy,” said Ed Wolking, president of the Great Lakes Manufacturing Council and executive vice president of the Detroit Regional Chamber. “It is our responsibility as business and governmental leaders to enhance the image of the Great Lakes region and to celebrate and promote our manufacturing strength to guarantee the region’s future prosperity.”

Some of the Partners in this event include:

·         Society of Manufacturing Engineers

·         Chambers of Commerce of Chicago, Detroit and Toledo

·         Province of Ontario

·         Pittsburgh Technology Council

·         Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters

·         Conexus Indiana

·         Purdue University

·         And many more.

 

About the Great Lakes Manufacturing Council

The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council is a long-term relationship and collaboration of regional leaders from the eight Great Lakes States and the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec committed to the growth of manufacturing and the Great Lakes region. Its goal is to support a more competitive manufacturing base by promoting greater intra-regional communication and collaboration, best practices sharing and application and positive imagery that will attract, retain and grow business.

For additional information about the event go to greatlakesmanufacturing.org or call 866.615.2182.

 

US Metro Areas Must Leverage Mfg to Compete Globally

The American Assembly hosted a forum last November 2007 that focused on the challenges and opportunities facing US Metro areas, like Cleveland. Paul Brophy has just summarized the findings of this forum, to which I was honored to be invited. See this link for Paul’s original comments on his blog at the Drum Major Institute.

I’ll note that there was good discussion about the parallels between urban manufacturing, and anchor institutions, as economic assets on which cities can and should build. In Cleveland, for example, there are about 1000 manufacturing firms with 30,000 employees in the City. WIRE-Net’s approach has been to work to support the leaders and managers of these firms, and then to engage them actively in a metro-redevelopment strategy that addresses manufacturing improvement and innovation, workforce excellence, industrial redevelopment, and policy advocacy.

--John Colm, President, WIRE-Net

US Metro Areas Must Compete Globally, Not with Each Other

The mainstream macro-economists tell us that globalization is good for the world and good for the United States. Maybe, maybe not. But two things seem certain: Globalization is here to stay, and it produces big disruptions in places that have lost manufacturing jobs to China and other low-wage countries.

In the United States, those places are our older industrial metro areas, whose economic health is key to America's competitiveness. The largest 100 metro areas contain 65% of our population and produce three quarters of our gross domestic product. Some are thriving, but others have yet to find their footing in the global economy. Over 65 metro areas from Baltimore to Beaumont, New Orleans to Newark (see the full list here), are currently in a downward spiral of declining jobs, population, tax revenues and other vital signs.

How can mayors and county executives in these places cope?

In November, the American Assembly convened a meeting chaired by Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania and Ken Lewis, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America, and leading experts from around the nation and the UK to discuss how older metro areas can compete.

They wrote up their recommendations in a report entitled Retooling for Growth. It ought to be required reading for every state and city official, as well as the presidential candidates and their issues and speechwriting staffs. It finds there is plenty we can do to reverse the decline of these areas and strengthen our economy if we:

* Think and act metro. The economic unit that needs the economic development strategy is the metropolitan area—not the central city. Although it is sometimes true that central cities are competing with their suburbs, the real competition is between metro areas and other metropolitan areas around the world. Older industrial areas that will compete well are those that see themselves as an economic unit and act that way.

* Build from assets. Older metro areas have significant assets to work from, including colleges, universities, and hospitals. In this new economy, these places are poised to capitalize on these anchor institutions to build a knowledge-based economy, which is where the cutting edge is.

* Focus on human capital. Making these economies thrive again requires smart, networked people. Working to attract, retain, and network highly skilled people—some of whom are able to start new enterprises -- is key. This means that quality of life issues—safe neighborhoods, good schools, cultural and sports amenities--are essential to building the human resources needed to compete.

* Grow entrepreneurs. Most job growth occurs by retaining and expanding existing businesses, not by luring new businesses to move in. These older industrial areas need to create an economy where entrepreneurship can thrive—in neighborhoods, and in the region—so that new jobs are grown, not imported.

* Develop a new governmental compact. The federal government and state governments need to invest in older industrial areas, but it is only right that they demand accountability and buy-in from the recipients. Leaders of these areas – whether government, business, civic, and/or community -- must take responsibility for achieving results (Good Jobs First has published a wealth of site-specific studies on how to generate more results from economic development subsidies).

Despite the challenges, older industrial areas can and will find their places in the global economy if they focus on these opportunities.