December 2nd WIRE-Net eNewsletter

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December 2, 2010

Table of Contents

Building on Success:
WIRE-Net's Story

Call Cleveland the Medical Capital of the World

Pains in the Supply Chain Could Equal Opportunities

CIRI Corner:
Who's Growing in Cleveland?

Manufacturing Workers:
Is There a Shortage?

A New Face at WIRE-Net:
Welcome Julie

WIRE-Net's Mission

WIRE-Net strengthens manufacturing to create healthy communities and fuel economic growth.
We provide expertise that is responsive to manufacturing related businesses and their employees.
WIRE-Net connects leaders to each other and engages them in their communities.

WIRE-Net:
Where Manufacturing Matters.

The views expressed in WIRE-Net's eNewsletter do not necessarily reflect those of our member companies or funders. To express your opinion or concerns, please contact John Colm at 216.588.1440, ext 105.

WIRE-Net: Building on Strong Foundations

For over 20 years, WIRE-Net has built on the foundation of our region's economy– the sector that produces value. This is why WIRE-Net is Where Manufacturing Matters. Here are two examples of the kind of results WIRE-Net is achieving:

In our recent emails, we introduced you to Amber Kren, whose world opened up after working with WIRE-Net at Max Hayes High School (click on the image to follow the story). Amber is working full time at WIRE-Net member company, Kitzel & Sons, Inc., while she pursues her degree. WIRE-Net's connection to manufacturing leaders was a key part of her success.
Hundreds of manufacturers are using industry intelligence in wind, biomedical, and aerospace from our New Markets programs that connect suppliers to buyers.

WIRE-Net's staff delivers value in areas important to us all. We can point to successes like Amber's, but also to testimonials from manufacturing veterans, like Steve Craig, President at UniControl Inc., who told us "like most small companies...many important activities require outside assistance...WIRE-Net has proven to be an invaluable resource to UniControl's manufacturing achievements."

With your help, WIRE-Net's mission to support manufacturing and to connect leaders to each other and to the community is gaining traction. As you consider making a gift, please bear in mind:

Providing a job shadowing experience for 4 students costs $100
Lunches for 50 students in our Accelerated Introduction to Manufacturing program costs $350
Organizing our annual Student Leadership Summit costs $1,000

Please consider pledging your contribution today.

Cleveland: The New Medical Capital

The Cleveland Health-Tech Corridor, launched earlier this year, is a globally competitive location for attracting and growing biomedical and technology companies. Located in the heart of one of the leading biomedical, health-care, and technology regions in the nation, the Cleveland Health-Tech Corridor is already home to 75 biomedical companies, 45 technology companies, seven business incubators, four world-class healthcare and research systems, and three higher education institutions. The initiative also builds on the $2.9 billion investments already made in the Corridor, and leverages the RTA HealthLine public transportation infrastructure improvement.

A year-long study exploring the feasibility of creating a health and technology district in Cleveland along the recently completed HealthLine outlined six core strategies for success:

Promoting the Health-Tech Corridor and Greater Cleveland's position as a leading biomedical center
Creating a single point of contact for the Corridor
Developing appropriate real estate options to meet industry requirements in every stage of growth
Leveraging existing and creating new development financing options and incentives to spur development and attraction of future and expansion of existing companies
Strengthening the connections between the corridor and existing/planned assets including institutional, physical and intellectual infrastructure
Ensuring proper alignment of the workforce skills needed to meet current and future health and technology needs

Each of the major institutions in the Cleveland Health-Tech Corridor continues to build new patient care, research and education facilities. Recently, biomedical and technology companies and institutions in the Corridor have been awarded $200 million in State of Ohio Third Frontier funding which has helped establish world-class research centers.

Whether you're a CEO looking to expand your business, an entrepreneur seeking fertile ground for innovation, or a hospital products supplier looking to partner with major health systems, log onto the newly created website www.healthtechcorridor.com for more information.

The Cleveland Health-Tech Corridor is managed by MidTown Cleveland, Inc., cooperatively with BioEnterprise, to provide companies with business development support, direct real estate assistance, and connections to additional resources available through Corridor institutions and organizations.

Pains in the Chain

By Ty Haines, VP Manufacturing Programs

While attending a recent Airbus Supplier Conference, I learned several interesting facts:

Supplier opportunities continue in aerospace, more so for most companies in tiers 2, 3, and 4. Airbus may have hundreds of tier-1 suppliers but there are tens of thousands of tier-2+ companies in the supply chain making parts and subassemblies.
Smaller AS9100-certified manufacturing companies will have more opportunities as Tier-2, 3, and 4 suppliers of parts.
Differentiation and market diversification continue to make sense.
AS9100, cost + time to implement + procedure changes within a manufacturing company, remains a prerequisite for much of the aerospace work. It is either an OEM requirement or sometimes just a favorable differentiator for the suppliers to the suppliers.

Manufacturers' new market opportunities are often directly related to the pain that is present in a supply chain. WIRE-Net pioneered this concept through the New Markets Initiative and their first program that grew into GLWN.org. Those who feel the pain are typically from the demand-end of chain customers like the OEM and Tier-1 companies and include those in, Purchasing, Procurement, Sourcing, Buying, Engineering, Supplier Quality Assurance, Supply Chain, and more. Suppliers should strive to stand out in the following areas.

Continue reading to learn more.

From the Cleveland Industrial Retention Initiative: A Program of the City of Cleveland, Managed by WIRE-Net

Look Who's Growing in Cleveland

As an industrial retention program for the City of Cleveland, CIRI gains a unique perspective of the state of manufacturing in Cleveland. Many area companies are seeing consistent increases in quotes, production, and sales causing them to be cautiously optimistic about the future. As a result of this optimism, CIRI is providing a variety of services to support business growth like connecting companies to workforce resources for hiring and training needs, providing information about financing resources for expansion projects, and introducing resources to expand company exposure to government supply opportunities.

Several companies in the food, consumer products, and automotive sectors are seeing growth that will lead to an increase of their physical plant and employment. One of these companies, a manufacturer of automotive drive shafts has seen a pick-up in the automobile market and has experienced double-digit growth in sales and employment over the last 12 months. CIRI introduced the company to the Employment Connection Project HIRE grant to grow their workforce. CIRI will also help the company plan the needed expansion of their physical plant over the next 18-24 months.