CIRI Program Has Positive Impact on Manufacturing

CIRI’s mission is to work with Cleveland's manufacturers to help them stabilize and grow in Cleveland. CIRI, or Cleveland Industrial Retention Initiative, is a program of the City of Cleveland, managed by WIRE-Net. At last week's council meeting, City Council read and passed legislation to continue another contract year for CIRI services to Cleveland manufacturers. The city annually invests around $350,000 in direct support to the sector through CIRI.

For every dollar invested in CIRI in 2011, the City earned $2.46 in payroll taxes alone. Since 2007, when WIRE-Net began managing the program, the ROI is a $2.85 return on every CIRI program dollar invested.

Since 2007 the combined economic impact of CIRI's 61 service interventions has been:

• 55 firms retained or expanded
• Retained 1,200 direct jobs
• Preserved over $59 million in annual payroll
• Secured $1.1 million in annual payroll taxes

CIRI assists the city's manufacturing firms to improve operations, maintain profitability, and remain competitive. Kareemah Williams is CIRI Program Director and she believes in building relationships with businesses to develop an understanding of their needs, opportunities, and challenges as the cornerstone of business retention.

Williams remarked, "The volume of manufacturing services that CIRI now offers has evolved beyond a visitation and information referral program, to one that includes facilitating projects that help manufacturers compete and grow in Cleveland. CIRI meets daily with manufacturers on behalf of Mayor Jackson and the City of Cleveland. We identify issues and provide solutions that are important to the retention of jobs and income to the City of Cleveland."

The CIRI team consists of Industrial Development Managers, Jacki Adams, Millie Caraballo, and MidTown Cleveland's JP Kilroy. The whole team is well-respected by their manufacturing customers. Michael Smalley, VP for Electric Cord Sets said, "Jacki and WIRE-Net have been instrumental in bringing Electric Cord Sets into the City of Cleveland. Jacki always has new and good ideas on how we can increase sales and reduce our expenses. What a fantastic asset!"

Millie Caraballo is known by local companies as someone who gets things done. According to Ingolf Nitsch, Factory Manager for Nestlé Professional – L J Minor Division, who is managing a large plant expansion on 25th Street, "Millie is one of the most knowledgeable people that I know about the overall workings of our local government. Her knowledge, commitment to help better the city, her sincere passion for helping others, and her ability to get things done make her an invaluable asset to the City."

Nestlé / L J Minor was evaluating a complicated expansion requiring assembly of property from several different owners. Expanding in an older City is rarely easy, but the City's help with the support of CIRI ensured that the over $20 million project would stay on track. It resulted in the retention of over 200 jobs at the plant, which has never seen a layoff.

In 2011, the CIRI team had a direct impact on helping to create or save 870 Cleveland jobs. This includes CIRI's project support for plant expansions at LJ Minor, Miceli Dairy, and Electric Cord Sets, among others, but does not include the often small – but important – daily support CIRI offered over 520 unique companies in 2011.

In 2011 CIRI Industrial Managers:

• Delivered in-plant support to 520 unique Cleveland manufacturing firms employing over 22,000 people
• Conducted over 750 total visits to uncover opportunities and challenges at Cleveland's industrial companies (includes follow-up visits)
• Completed over 510 services primarily in the areas of infrastructure, general business assistance, employment and training, and real estate and land assembly
• Delivered service interventions to 21 firms where jobs were at risk or new jobs could be added, for a total impact of:
1. 870 direct manufacturing and related jobs
2. $43 million annual payroll *
3. $860,000 in annual payroll taxes paid to the City
4. 67 jobs projected to be created with potentially $3.3 million in new payroll*

*Annual payroll is estimated on payroll data from the State of Ohio Labor Market Information System.