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.