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moving forward with optimism

Economic Engines Several key industries are taking the Columbus Region into the future.

By Evan Weese

Through economic expansions and recessions, alike, six industries have proven to be key growth drivers for the Columbus Region. Several have maintained the status for decades, while others are newer to the list. All six, though, are evolving with new players, major investments and changing technology.

There’s finance and insurance, a stalwart since Bank One (now JPMorgan Chase), Huntington and Nationwide first called the city home decades ago. Among the industry’s newcomers, however, is the newly public insurtech company Root, which is leveraging the industry’s deep local talent pool as it digitizes insurance. It is difficult to mention Root without noting the presence of Drive Capital, the Columbus-based venture capital firm that first funded it and which has bolstered the region’s startup ecosystem since its founding in 2013.

And there’s the biomedical industry, a more recent addition to the list of six. The Columbus Region is becoming a hub of gene therapy activity, a process more than 20 years in the making with investments made by Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

The automotive and mobility industry has been a big slice of the region’s economy since Honda set up shop in 1982, and has taken on a new sort of national-testinggrounds role with the presence of the Transportation Research Center and the Smart Columbus program.

The industries adapted during the Covid-19 pandemic and even benefited from the shift to digital operations.

Together, they will be key to powering growth for years to come.

E-commerce 90,000

Columbus Region transportation and logistics workers

(Source: One Columbus)

270 million

Square feet of logistical and industrial space in the Columbus Region, making it the 11th-largest distribution location in the U.S. (Source: Cushman & Wakefield)

It was a historic year for the development of new warehouse space in the Columbus Region, driven in part by a surge of ecommerce. The region is ideally located for distribution and

Amazon’s facility in Etna fulfillment operations, providing unparalleled market access to U.S. consumers. More than 150 million people—46 percent of the country’s population—are reachable in a one-day drive, more than any other large metropolitan area. In addition to being home to major hubs for FedEx, UPS and DHL, Amazon and other ecommerce retailers set up distribution and fulfillment operations in the Columbus Region.

Facebook data center in New Albany

File/Columbus Dispatch/DORAL CHENOWETH III Advanced computing 50

Data centers in the Columbus Region

(Source: One Columbus)

The Columbus Region has the infrastructure needed for data center development—long-haul fiber, robust and reliable electric service, water and land—and it’s paying off. The region is home to more than 50 data centers, including large campus locations for Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Facebook, along with many corporate-owned facilities. Key assets include the Ohio Supercomputer Center, which provides supercomputing, cyber

infrastructure, research and educational resources. With no tangible personal property tax in Ohio, qualifying data centers can receive an exemption on sales and use tax for data center equipment and construction materials.

Auto and mobility $2.7 billion

Regional economic output for the automotive industry

(Source: One Columbus)

650,000

Cars produced annually in Columbus Region (Source: One Columbus)

With smart mobility assets and testing grounds, the Columbus Region provides the ideal environment for companies to innovate for auto and mobility. In 2016, Columbus won the U.S. DOT Smart City Challenge which has led to the creation of Smart Columbus and several local mobility initiatives. In Union County, the Transportation Research Center is the largest independent vehicle testing and proving grounds in the U.S. Additional assets in the Columbus Region include the U.S. 33 Smart Mobility Corridor, the OSU Center for Automotive Research, Connected Marysville and DriveOhio. “The pieces are absolutely all there, and it’s a matter of continuing to refine alignment to better answer the ongoing development needs,” says Brett Roubinek, CEO of the Transportation Research Center.

Bath & Body Works Facebook data center in New Albany

File/Columbus Dispatch/JOSHUA BICKEL Retail No. 4

Region’s ranking among large U.S. metro areas for concentration of retail headquarters

(Source: One Columbus)

The Columbus Region is home to some of the world’s most recognizable retail and apparel brands. The concentration of

Abercrombie & Fitch, Express and other retail headquarters has turned the region into the nation’s renowned test market for retail and a hub for market research, analytics, design, technology and omni-channel efficiencies. Due in part to the disruption caused by Covid-19, however, the future is unwritten. “This is going to define a generation of retail,” says Kenny McDonald, president and chief economic officer of One Columbus. “For a town as invested in retail and retail technologies and leadership as we are, that’s going to be really important. Are we going to lead through that?”

Biomedical 8,700

Degrees granted locally in biology, biomedical science, chemistry, and pharmacy over the past five years

(Source: One Columbus)

From medical breakthroughs to cutting-edge technology, the Columbus Region is home to one of the most dynamic life science industries in the country. The Abigail Wexner Research Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is a global leader in gene therapy. Innovation coming out of the

Sarepta Therapeutics

S arept a Courtesy organization has led to investments by Sarepta Therapeutics and Andelyn Biosciences, which are investing millions for cutting-edge facilities in the region. “Having all of that co-located together is really advantageous,” says Dr. Dennis Durbin, chief scientific officer of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute.

Finance and Insurance 40

Estimated number of academic and vocational institutions in the Columbus Region with business, finance and communication programs

Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital

institutions and national insurance providers to upstart technology companies, finance and insurance accounts for the greatest economic output in the Columbus Region. Columbus is home to JPMorgan Chase’s second largest employment market in the world with over 20,000 employees, including the company’s largest global technology center. High-growth companies like Root Insurance, Upstart, Beam Dental, Bold Penguin and Homeside Financial have positioned the Columbus Region as a fintech and insurtech hub. One key development is the growth in venture capital, as Columbus is now home to the nation’s largest noncoastal VC fund in Drive Capital.