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Team NEO back to its roots in JobsOhio role Central economic development duties would resemble group’s original responsibilities By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com

MARC GOLUB

Nextant Aerospace, based at the Cuyahoga County Airport in Richmond Heights, turns used Beechcraft jets into new aircraft. Pictured are vice president of manufacturing Jerry Beemis (left) and director of quality assurance Jim Immke.

AEROSPACE FLIES HIGH Industry’s strength and quick recovery has Northeast Ohio companies along for the ride By DAN SHINGLER dshingler@crain.com

he aerospace industry, it turns out, is a roomy firstclass cabin that is carrying local companies ranging from paint-maker Sherwin-Williams Co. to small high-tech manufacturers, which say they’re enjoying a sweet ride on the sector’s strength.

Some companies supply traditional parts while others are offering new, innovative components they think will require them to grow substantially here. And one — Nextant Aerospace, based at Cuyahoga County Airport in Richmond Heights — is about to introduce a new aircraft to the market, sort of. It’s taking used Beechcraft 400 jets and turning

With planning under way to serve its role as one of six regional economic development offices under the JobsOhio nonprofit created by Gov. John Kasich, Team NEO is coming full circle. Team NEO’s proposal to be the Northeast Ohio job-creation contractor operating the JobsOhio regional office was due last Friday, July 22, and the acceptance of that proposal won’t be announced until some time in August. But the nonprofit appears positioned to play the central role in a collaborative economic development effort that

was envisioned for it by its founders nearly a decade ago. The plan is for the Cleveland-based nonprofit to oversee economic development for 18 counties, only slightly more than was planned for the original Team NEO. It was never able to play that central role because local politicians and economic development officials were reluctant to share responsibility — and credit — for bringing jobs and industry to their particular corners of the state. Now, they may have no choice. JobsOhio is Gov. John Kasich’s vehicle for channeling state incentives to induce businesses to invest See ROOTS Page 20

INSIDE BlackBerry more often a thing of the past at area companies As security concerns on Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android operating software have eased, more companies are choosing the latest smart phone technologies and moving away from the BlackBerry. Find out what benefits those phones provide to companies beyond what the BlackBerry offered by reading Chuck Soder’s story on Page 3.

See FLYING Page 21

Management groups fearful of proposal speeding union elections NLRB changes would have ‘profound effect’ By DAN SHINGLER dshingler@crain.com

The unions are coming! The unions are coming! That’s the cry from pro-management voices in response to National Labor Relations Board recommendations for changes to its rules that dramatically would speed the process for union certification elec-

going to significantly spike the number of employers who are unionized.” Mr. Kirsanow, a former tions once a union has reRepublican appointee to ceived enough signed petithe NLRB, was in Washtion cards from employees ington last week testifying in favor of union represenon behalf of the National tation. Association of Manufac“It is unquestionably Kirsanow turers against the proposed the biggest change to labor law in half a century, and it’s going changes. The recommendations are to have a profound effect,” said subject to public comments until labor lawyer Peter Kirsanow of the Aug. 22, Mr. Kirsanow said. Sometime after Sept. 5, the NLRB Benesch law firm in Cleveland. “It’s

will decide whether to adopt the changes. Mr. Kirsanow expects they will be approved by the board, which is controlled by appointees of President Barack Obama. The biggest change to come about if the changes are adopted is that companies would have far less time to communicate with employees about the possible negative effects of union representation, said Mr. Kirsanow and others who testified before the NLRB in opposition to the changes.

Here in Cleveland, the Greater Cleveland Partnership said it was not yet sufficiently aware of the proposed changes to comment on them, but other pro-business groups around the country have been voicing their opposition to the amendments. Arnold Perl, a lawyer representing the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, said the changes not only would put employers at a disadvantage, but also run contrary to the goals of the NLRB. See NLRB Page 4

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COMING NEXT WEEK

Work on the Residences at 668 has since been completed.

REGULAR FEATURES Best of the Blogs .........23 Classified ....................22 Editorial ........................8 Going Places ...............15 Letters ..........................9

JULY 25 - 31, 2011

MARCHING IN PLACE Median weekly earnings of the nation’s 100.4 million full-time wage and salary workers were $756 in the second quarter of 2011, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was 1.6% higher than $744 in the second quarter of 2010, which is, unfortunately, quite a bit less than the 3.4% rise in the Consumer Price Index during the same period. Data from the BLS show median second-quarter wages, in constant dollars, are strikingly flat over the last 10 years, and the U.S. work force is smaller than it used to be.

Road to prosperity Certain parts of Euclid Avenue are teeming with new life, while other areas, such as East Ninth to East 12th streets, are challenged with vacancy. We explore the corridor’s development in our Real Estate section.

WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM

List: NE Ohio’s top employers .....16, 18-20 Personal View................8 Reporters’ Notebook....23 The Week ....................23

Year

Workers (in thousands)

Current dollars

In constant (1982-84 dollars)

2011

100,397

$756

$337

2010

99,674

744

342

2009

100,033

737

345

2008

107,061

723

335

2007

106,819

693

335

2006

105,798

663

329

2005

103,201

647

334

a banker can’t know your business without knowing your community

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Avenue District dispute winds down Developer, lenders working to untangle downtown condo tower from foreclosure By STAN BULLARD sbullard@crain.com

Mr. Zaremba’s company built in downtown Cleveland. In an effort to bring the foreclosure case to a close, an unidentified investor has joined with a group formed by Mr. Zaremba, his brothers, Walter and Tim, and contractor Panzica Cos. to acquire the troubled Avenue District property at 1211 St.

Lenders and developer Nathan Zaremba are sliding into the legal equivalent of a barber’s chair to see how much of a haircut each gets as they seek to end a foreclosure case ensnaring the 10-story condo tower

Clair Ave. Huntington Bank also has agreed to help finance the purchase of the tower, which would become a rental property instead of condos. Those revelations came as lawyers for the banks and the developer agreed to private mediation in a hearing last Wednesday, July 20, in Judge John P. O’Donnell’s courtroom in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Panzica 17 months ago filed to foreclose on the 62-unit condo tower to recoup $2 million in disputed

construction bills. That action triggered foreclosure filings by KeyCorp and PNC Bank and others that loaned more than $21 million to the much-touted residential construction project. Judge O’Donnell ordered the parties to hold the private mediation hearing by Sept. 9. To ensure the mediation process is productive, he also told them to share their disparate appraisals of the tower’s value. Although lender attorneys See AVENUE Page 22

The troubled Avenue District property at 1211 St. Clair Ave.

INSIGHT

Port seeks to become steward of river, lake

TOSSING OUT THE BLACKBERRY Some businesses eschew the cumbersome smart phone for iPhone, Droid

Agency expands reach under its strategic plan

By CHUCK SODER csoder@crain.com

By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com

he next company phone you receive may not be a BlackBerry. Companies in Northeast Ohio and nationwide have been letting employees use other smart phones to tap into their private computer systems, and some small businesses are going so far as to replace all their BlackBerrys. Arhaus Furniture is among the businesses opening their internal computer networks to other smart phones. About a year ago, the Walton Hills company started allowing employees who are eligible for a new mobile phone to select either an iPhone or a BlackBerry. Since then, about 12% of employees who use company smart phones have made the switch to the iPhone, said Ron Kerensky, chief information officer for Arhaus. See MOBILE Page 17

LAUREN RAFFERTY PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

THE WEEK IN QUOTES “Companies like Parker Hannifin, Alcoa, Goodrich … all have strong relationships with Airbus and the dollar-exchange rate makes doing business with the U.S. favorable for Airbus.”

“It is unquestionably the biggest change to labor law in half a century, and it’s going to have a profound effect. It’s going to significantly spike the number of employers who are unionized.”

“When you have stateof-the-art facilities, you attract the top minds. ... Those people are the ones who generate the most innovative, provocative and compelling grant proposals.”

— Mike Heil, president of the Ohio Aerospace Institute in Cleveland. Page One

— Peter Kirsanow, lawyer, Benesch. Page One

— Suzanne Rivera, Case Western Reserve University’s associate vice president for research. Page 11

“We’ve been getting questions about why we don’t have a culinary program, and we knew it was time to revive it.” — Steven Oluic, Lakeland Community College dean of social sciences and public service technologies. Page 14

A second regional government is going through a makeover. Just as Cuyahoga County government has been remaking itself under new County Executive Ed FitzGerald after a major corruption scandal, the ClevelandCuyahoga County Port Authority is coming clean and rebranding itself under its president of one year, William Friedman. Last week, in unveiling a new strategic plan, the Port Authority officially signaled it was abandoning its ambitions to be a real estate developer on port land. Instead, it wants to be seen as a green agency that’s protecting the Cuyahoga River even as it refocuses on its business role as a dock operator on the Great Lakes. In short, it’s positioning itself to be the steward of the lakefront and the Cuyahoga. The changes come after a plan to move the docks to East 55th Street proved to be financially unachievable — or, as a new policy statement explains in a mea culpa, “overly ambitious.” The agency is refashioning itself a year before it must go back to voters to renew, and possibly increase, the small, 0.13mill property tax levy that currently covers about 40% of the agency’s annual revenue, which totaled $7.9 million in 2010. “The Port Authority believes preserving the river channel and maritime industries are critical responsibilities,” Mr. Friedman reported to his board of directors last Wednesday, July 20. “We are prepared to lead that effort.” Later that day, in a meeting with the Crain’s editorial board, Mr. Friedman said the needs of the lakefront and the river channel are so great it could take $250 million over the next decade or longer to restore the waterfront infrastructure. See PORT Page 7

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NLRB: Organizers say there is ‘no ambush’ continued from PAGE 1

“The current rules for the conduct of representation elections, in our view, do not build in unnecessary delays,” Mr. Perl told the NLRB. “The proposed rules for quickie elections will prevent or impede a free and reasoned choice by the electorate, which goes against what the board has sought to do with its high standards.”

A matter of timing At present, it takes an average of 38 days between the time a union collects enough signatures from the employees it intends to organize and when a secret-ballot election is held to determine whether the union will represent those employees. If the

NLRB’s proposed rules go into effect, Mr. Kirsanow said, that time frame could be shortened to as few as 10 days. “That’s not enough time for a company to communicate its side of the story,” Mr. Kirsanow contends. Mr. Kirsanow told the NLRB as much, testifying that even under the current median of 38 days, “many employers have a difficult time effectively communicating vital information to their employees regarding their rights and the effect of unionization.” Backers of organized labor, though, contend that the current system allows employers too much time to intimidate employees into voting against a union. Their position was

put forth by, among others, Scott Pedigo, president of a Utilities Workers Union of America local in West Virginia and a union organizer. Mr. Pedigo told the board that, in his experience, employers have known for months about unionization efforts by the time petition signatures have been gathered. They use that time and more to cajole and intimidate employees into voting against the union if they can, he said. “Our last campaign took over a year to get the support needed to win an election,” Mr. Pedigo told the NLRB. “Our employer always knew within a matter of a few weeks that we were actively pursuing unionization. All of our campaigns were conducted in the light of day for months before filing for the election, and the company held many anti-union meetings. … There is no ambush of employees or employers.”

“(Ten days) is not enough time for a company to communicate its side of the story.” – Peter Kirsanow, labor lawyer, Benesch

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According to Mr. Pedigo, companies he has organized used the time before the election “to ramp up their anti-union campaign, and with even more mandatory meetings, topped off with one-on-one or two-on-one brow beating sessions, designed to intimidate (employees). … The additional time provided by the present rules greatly increases the employer’s chance of success simply by working the system.”

‘Old mo’ swings to labor That last point might be the only one on which people on both sides of the argument agree. Mr. Kirsanow predicts that if the rule is adopted in September, after the public comment period closes, unions will begin organizing more companies and winning a greater percentage of elections. They already have momentum in their favor, he said. “Unions are winning 68% of elections currently. When I was on the (NLRB) four years ago, they were winning about 56%,” Mr. Kirsanow said. As for the NLRB siding with business, Mr. Kirsanow said he doesn’t have much hope. He noted that the board held hearings for only two days — far less time than it has spent debating less momentous decisions in the past. But, he said, if it does adopt the socalled quickie elections amendments, business likely will challenge them. “Management groups are not going to simply rest once it’s adopted,” Mr. Kirsanow said. “Management groups are going to, I think, do whatever they can to get Congress to weigh in to either blunt the rules, stop implementation of the rules or not fund the rules.” ■

Volume 32, Number 30 Crain’s Cleveland Business (ISSN 0197-2375) is published weekly, except for combined issues on the fourth week of May and fifth week of May, the fourth week of June and first week of July, the third week of December and fourth week of December at 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113-1230. Copyright © 2011 by Crain Communications Inc. Periodicals postage paid at Cleveland, Ohio, and at additional mailing offices. Price per copy: $2.00. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Crain’s Cleveland Business, Circulation Department, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48207-2912. 1-877-824-9373. REPRINT INFORMATION: 800-290-5460 Ext. 136

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Rocky River insurance broker to grow by acquisition Dawson Cos. buys Virginia peer, seeks to fill in footprint between offices in Ohio, Florida By MICHELLE PARK mpark@crain.com

There’s lots of open space between Ohio and Florida, and Dawson Cos. plans to fill it. Like many in its industry, the insurance broker-agent based in Rocky River is achieving growth by buying it: This month, it acquired a firm based in Richmond, Va., in a deal that marked its 12th acquisition or merger since 2001. And more acquisitions are coming, said D. Michael Sherman, chairman and CEO. The office of the acquired firm, Tabb, Brockenbrough & Ragland, now is the hub for Dawson’s midAtlantic expansion. Dawson, which has offices in Ohio and Florida, wants to fill in its eastern footprint, Mr. Sherman said. It is one of many brokerages opting to grow via acquisition. Clevelandbased Oswald Cos. in January acquired Selvaggio, Teske + Associates of Beachwood, and Herbruck, Alder & Co. of Cleveland was sold to

publicly traded Chicago-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in December. Mergers and acquisitions have picked up substantially in the insurance brokerage business since late 2010, industry insiders say. Ninety-three occurred during the first quarter of this year, compared with 57 during the first quarter of 2010, said Jerry Theodorou, vice president of research and consulting for Conning Research & Consulting, an insurance research and consulting firm in Hartford, Conn. The uptick follows a dive in M&A activity in 2009 and is driven by improved valuations and diminished internal growth opportunities today, Mr. Theodorou said. The value of what’s insured is down, he said, and insurance rates are low and dropping further. “Organic growth is more difficult to achieve,” agreed R.C. Moore III, who was managing principal at Tabb, Brockenbrough & Ragland and now presides over Dawson’s new Virginia hub. The market has

URGE TO MERGE A look at merger-and-acquisition activity among U.S. insurance brokerages and agencies.

Year

Deals

Value ($)

2010

243

$1.7B

2009

176

615M

2008

284

5.8B

2007

312

15.2B

2006

246

944M

2005

180

212M

SOURCE: CONNING RESEARCH & CONSULTING

shrunk, Mr. Moore said, because fewer businesses are forming and existing businesses often have less risk exposure as they consolidate assets.

All part of the plan Founded in Ohio in 1931, Dawson now has three hubs: the newest in Virginia; its corporate office in Rocky River, which serves five Ohio offices; and one in Naples, Fla., which serves two Florida offices. Its acquisition of Tabb, Brockenbrough & Ragland adds more than

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40 employees to its existing 170 and and management consulting firm $5.5 million in annual commission for insurance brokerages. revenue to its $30 million. Mr. SherPlus, the account retention rate is man said Dawson paid “a market at least 85% for most, Mr. Wepler competitive price” for the company, noted. but would not state the price. Today, however, is a “different Dawson’s mid-Atlantic expansion era of mergers and acquisitions,” and is to begin in Virginia and expand to companies are careful to buy what other states, Mr. Sherman said. By affords them synergies and specialty the end of 2012, Dawson officials lines of business, not just what aim to have two more hubs: one in makes them bigger, according to New England and one in the SouthConning Research’s Mr. Theodorou. east, perhaps in the Carolinas, Mr. Oswald’s acquisition of Selvaggio Sherman said. is a reflection of that trend. Oswald It then plans to acquire was attracted to Selvagoffices to be served by “The larger you gio because of its spethose hubs. How many in serving are ... the more cialization will depend on the architects and engiinsurance solu- neers, said Marc Byrnes, opportunities that arise, he noted. Oswald chairman and tions you’re “Acquisition is a major able to provide CEO. Still, he emphapart of our strategy,” Mr. sized, Oswald is focused to your clients.” more on organic growth. Sherman said, in part because it affords the Another driving force – D. Michael Sherman, chairman in the industry’s consolacquirer an existing client and CEO, Dawson and employee base. idation, Mr. Sherman has Cos. “The larger you are, found, is owners’ age. the more markets you’re According to Marshable to represent, the more insurBerry research, there were more ance solutions you’re able to provide than 28,300 insurance brokerages in to your clients,” he said. 2010. The firm projects that number will drop by roughly 3,000 by 2015. A different era Mr. Theodorou expects the conInsurance brokerage consolidasolidation rate of a couple hundred tion is nothing new; it’s occurred for firms a year to continue. Such a rate decades. really doesn’t limit the consumers’ As an industry that sells a product choice, considering the number of much of the population is required brokerages in the United States, Mr. to buy, its deals are perceived as Theodorou said. extremely stable relative to other “What’s good is you have more fields, said John M. Wepler, presiexpertise, you have firms that have dent of MarshBerry, a Willoughby got bench strength in specialized merger and acquisition advisory areas,” he said. ■

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That investment is needed to protect what the strategic plan calculates are 17,832 jobs and $1.81 billion in annual economic activity tied to Port of Cleveland docks and to private berths along the river. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s likely the Port Authority would seek state and federal money to cover as much of the cost of this work as possible, though Mr. Friedman told the Crainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s editorial board the agency also could use its tax receipts. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The portâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tax levy is a pretty logical place to look,â&#x20AC;? he said. Mr. Friedman said money from the Port Authorityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s levy could be used to support a long-term bond issue. But first, the Port Authority must beef up its cargo operations, which now are losing money and are subsidized in part by the tax levy.

Sections of the bulkhead that prevent the erosion of the riverbank are crumbling. In one section, this erosion has caused the closure of Riverbed Road because its base has shifted downhill. A landslide that breached the bulkhead could close the river to navigation.

Out with the old â&#x20AC;Ś The new strategic plan formalizes a significant shift from the direction the port had been heading last decade. Five years ago the Port Authority was making headlines as a real estate wheeler and dealer, as it embarked on a bold plan to remake the waterfront east from the Cuyahoga River. It even went a step further and offered its development

financing know-how to rebuild NASA Glenn Research Center. In part, the portâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real estate bent reflected the temperment of board chairman John Carney, a real estate developer who had seen the transformation of the Spanish port of Bilboa â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an Atlantic port city smaller than Cleveland â&#x20AC;&#x201D; while on a vacation/fact-gathering trip. He saw a similar opportunity in Cleveland. But the portâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision collapsed as newly appointed board members balked at the growing expense of a ballooning staff and questioned the Port Authorityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to afford new, larger docks, forcing the abrupt resignation in November 2009 of Port Authority president Adam Wasserman. â&#x2013;

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Port: New strategy addresses priorities continued from PAGE 3

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Oh, Canada The new strategic plan calls for pursuing various avenues for cargo growth. Mr. Friedman said he believes interest is developing among shippers for a new container cargo route that would bring goods chiefly shipped from northern Europe to Cleveland via Montreal. He also said he is pursuing a cargo ferry that would shuttle from a Canadian port on Lake Erie to Cleveland. This ferry would be in addition to a planned passenger ferry service the Port Authority is negotiating with local Ontario officials in Port Stanley. Beyond those measures, the Port Authority master plan sees potential for cargo from the wind energy industry and even an increase in steel and other traditional lake cargo as the port pursues business from shippers. Bradley Hull, associate professor of management and business logistics at John Carroll University, said he believes the cargo business can be built. Dr. Hull worked as a consultant to the Port Authority earlier this decade and surveyed local companies for their interest in shipping containers through the Port of Cleveland. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There were probably about 20 big companies in Cleveland that were interested in it,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They never said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Yes I would do this,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; but there werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t any steamship companies interested in coming to Cleveland at the time.â&#x20AC;? Dr. Hull said he believes there is more than enough business for a once-a-week container ship shuttle between Cleveland and Montreal. Arnie de la Porte, honorary consul for the Netherlands, likewise believes this new cargo plan makes sense. Netherlands shipping lines call frequently at the Port of Cleveland. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of the biggest problems we had at the port was uncertainty â&#x20AC;&#x201D; they talked about moving, about taking away certain things â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and everyone (in the shipping community) became nervous,â&#x20AC;? Mr. de la Porte said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This strategic plan makes sense.â&#x20AC;?

Dibs on the Cuyahoga The Port Authority also is looking to broaden its domain and its relevance by positioning itself as the keeper of the Cuyahoga. It makes the case that maintaining the river as a navigable channel for shippers who bring bulk cargo up the river â&#x20AC;&#x201D; such as the iron ore that is vital to the ArcelorMittal steel mill in the Flats â&#x20AC;&#x201D; is a key factor in maintaining the health of the port. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I feel strongly that it is the right thing for the Port Authority as a matter of public policy to address the needs of the river,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Friedman said.

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PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR:

Brian D. Tucker (btucker@crain.com) EDITOR:

Mark Dodosh (mdodosh@crain.com) MANAGING EDITOR:

Scott Suttell (ssuttell@crain.com)

OPINION

Rush job

he National Labor Relations Board is in a hurry to do what Congress would not — namely, accelerate the process of staging union representation elections. It is a rush job by a board majority that seems intent on doing the president and his political party a favor by tilting the table in favor of Democrats’ campaign fundraising allies — labor unions — in their efforts to organize employees in the workplace. Like a summer storm that comes up quickly on Lake Erie and catches boaters off guard, the NLRB surprised many employers with its June 21 announcement that it was proposing a series of amendments to the procedures that govern union representation elections. According to the NLRB, the proposed amendments “are designed to fix flaws in the Board’s current procedures that build in unnecessary delays, allow wasteful litigation, and fail to take advantage of modern communication technologies.” And, in truth, some changes make sense. For example, one amendment would allow for the electronic filing of election petitions and other documents — something that isn’t permitted now. In our digital age, it’s a change that’s overdue. However, other changes are geared toward putting elections on such a fast track that they would give employers little time to make their cases for why union representation may not be in the best interest of their employees. Under the proposed amendments, an NLRB regional director who has determined that a union petition has enough employee support to merit a representation election would inform the employer and union of that finding and would set a hearing for seven days later. By the hearing date, the employer would need to file a “statement of position” form setting forth its position on election-related issues that it intends to raise at the hearing. The rules would not permit the employer to litigate later any issue it did not identify in its statement of position. It’s a stretch to think an employer could put together an ironclad, all-encompassing position statement in just seven days. There’s also a steamroller feel to a push to consolidate all election-related litigation or appeals into a single post-election appeals process. But those changes, and others, are what the NLRB board put forth by a 3-1 vote. We’re not surprised by this pro-union maneuver, based on the board’s composition and whom it serves. Craig Becker, an appointee of President Barack Obama, formerly was associate general counsel to the Service Employees International Union and the AFL-CIO. Mark Pearce, another Obama appointee, is a founding partner of a union-side labor law firm in Buffalo, N.Y. And board chair Wilma Liebman in the 1980s served as legal counsel with the Teamsters. The sole “no” vote on the changes came from Brian Hayes, who wrote in his dissenting opinion, “In truth, the ‘problem’ which my colleagues seek to address through these rules revisions is not that the representation election process generally takes too long. It is that unions are not winning more elections.” The public comment period on the proposed amendments is now, and it lasts only until Aug. 22. Employers must rally to shout down these changes.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Positive signs of a city on the move

continue his business development duties emember that time during the for his company while also taking over early ’90s when Cleveland was fundraising and advocacy for Breakthrough the envy of the nation’s older Schools, perhaps our area’s most shining cities? Led by a public-private example of charter schools that succeed. partnership that was a model for other One of those schools is Entrepreneurship cities, Cleveland opened a new ballpark Preparatory Academy, an outstanding and arena in the heart of its downtown. middle school that has proven wrong all Along the lakefront, we built a new footthe assumptions about urban ball stadium, adjacent to the education. Great Lakes Science Center and BRIAN At E Prep, as it’s called, any the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame TUCKER student whose family can guarand Museum. antee that he or she will get to The public-private partnership school — with extra days and doesn’t seem to be as prominent longer hours — will be accepted. in town these days since the disThe central requirement is that banding of Cleveland Tomorrow, the boy or girl has the discipline the novel, CEO-led economic to behave respectfully and the development body. Though desire to do the work necessary. many business leaders continue Jim knows the challenges to play prominent roles in facing Breakthrough Schools, but is enredevelopment efforts, there are fewer of ergized by the promise they hold. So now them here now, and some pass along that begins another grand experiment, with a duty to other senior executives. development executive who is commitThat’s why it was heartening to read in ted to the cause while still on the lookout our newspaper last week the tale of Jim for private equity deals for Blue Point. He Marra and his firm, Blue Point Capital knows he’ll feel a pinch in the pocketbook, Partners. They have created an innovabut adds, “This is for love, not the money.” tive arrangement that will enable Jim to

Our hats are off to Jim and others committed to expanding the education options of inner-city youth. **** IT FEELS AS IF change is coming to Cleveland and our region at the right time and pace. The city has a mayor who is committed to innovative ways to improve his school system. Construction cranes are appearing on our skyline. The HealthLine, a trainlike bus service connecting Public Square to University Circle, is succeeding at driving redevelopment along Euclid Avenue. Cleveland State University dramatically has transformed its downtown campus. After a few years of fits and starts, the Flats East Bank project is under construction. Now, we all must do what we can to reverse the thinking that has paralyzed our city and region for so many years. No longer should our loudest advocates be those who move here from other parts of the country and globe. We all need to be proud of where Greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio are headed, and we must tell anyone who will listen: Cleveland is back, baby. ■

PERSONAL VIEW

Warehouse District has staying power By JOSEPH MARINUCCI

n the July 11, Page 1 story, “Don’t stick a fork in the Warehouse District just yet,” Crain’s suggests that the Historic Warehouse District, a thriving mixed-use neighborhood that is home to more than 3,000 residents, businesses (including Crain’s Cleveland Business) and high-end restaurants, could meet the same fate as Cleveland’s Flats. The headline and the sensational graphic, however, almost declare a predestined failure. The Historic Warehouse District is not the Flats. Why should a thoughtfully planned, mixed-use neighborhood have to pay for the sins of an adjacent entertainment district? More than a quarter of a century ago,

Mr. Marinucci is president and CEO of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance. city leaders and community organizations came together to design a plan for the development of a mixed-use neighborhood in what was once the commercial and wholesale center of Cleveland. Unlike the first iteration of the Flats, which put rapid growth ahead of building infrastructure, the Historic Warehouse District was carefully designed to be a sustainable model. The district, often referred to as “a 25year overnight success story,” actually served as a model for other flourishing downtown projects such as the Gateway District and the development of East Fourth Street. It demonstrated that urban neighborhoods can thrive when

they create a balance of businesses, residents and restaurants. In 1982, Cleveland’s Historic Warehouse District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Although several buildings were individually listed on the register prior to the district’s listing, this designation allowed developers to leverage historic tax credits to transform industrial warehouses into prime residential spaces. Currently, 19 different residential buildings in the district house more than 3,000 residents. With downtown Cleveland residential occupancy rates hovering around 94%, the largest concentration of downtown dwellers is in the Historic Warehouse District. The district’s strong base of residents See VIEW Page 9

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

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THE BIG ISSUE Surveys show that more people are working seven days a week, from home on their usual down time. Have you found yourself working more outside the office?

ERNEST SZORADY

TOM WISKOWSKI

COLE WORLEY

KEVIN SOLORIO

Cleveland

Chagrin Falls

Cleveland

“I’m not working anymore, but when I visit my girlfriend she’s constantly on the little BlackBerry thing anymore. Even after hours ... she’s getting calls from her sales reps and putting out fires and answering emails.”

“Oh, yeah, I do. I’m checking my email from home. I just want to make sure I’m on top of everything.”

“I don’t even have a weekend (laughs). … Sometimes it’s late at night. Sometimes it’s Saturday. I try to keep Sundays pretty free.”

“Nights and weekends … it’s just more time to work on Dreamkumo (a software project).”

➤➤ Watch more people weigh in by visiting the Multimedia section at www.CrainsCleveland.com.

Warehouse District story off base ■ I never read Crain’s, but couldn’t pass up getting the July 11 issue to read the lead story, “Don’t stick a fork in the Warehouse District just yet.” I found it amusing, but it missed several key points and the reporter obviously had an agenda set before she started her work. The residential component of this mixed-use neighborhood has never been stronger. Rents are solid, occupancy is at record levels and tenant delinquencies — a key barometer of tenant quality — are at an all-time low. We all have waiting lists and some are even charging a fee to go on a waiting list. I was in our rental office last week and heard a prospect being told the next one-bedroom unit available was in October — and we have over 250 units. The key test of restaurant stability and profitability is staying power. Except for Crop, which left for larger space, and Metropolitan and Waterstreet Grill, which got offers they couldn’t refuse, only House of Cues closed for lack of business, and it had been open since 1995. Want to know why no “celebrity” chefs are here? They won’t pay the rent. In my conversations with one of them — looking at space then vacant — the deal they asked for was absurd: I pay for all the improvements and they pay rent if they make money. Our market is too strong to

LETTERS even consider such a deal. Security? The Cleveland Police had an issue here last year but the stepped-up presence and new techniques — closing West Sixth and occasionally St. Clair hill — have had the desired results. Sure it’s a younger crowd after 10, but it’s a crowd that behaves better than I did at that age and time of night. It was a clever cover and I’m sure sold more Crain’s than usual (even got me to buy one), but it’s just one more sad example of the Cleveland media being Cleveland’s worst enemy. Robert Rains President Landmark RE Management LLC

An epic battle in D.C. ■ Framing the debate over the budget deficit and debt ceiling as spending cuts versus tax increases avoids confronting the underlying issue of what kind of a society we want to live in. The choice, in only slightly exaggerated terms, is between socialism and free-market capitalism. The Obama administration is clearly trying to protect its priorities of income redistribution and big government regulation of the economy.

Its various policies have led to weak job growth, weak GDP growth and, of course, expanding deficits. Its commitment to fairness has made it blind to the reality that taxing the rich will not only not reduce the budget deficit, but actually will make it worse as it discourages domestic investment and dampens entrepreneurial spirit. The Democrats’ approach to dealing with deficits will lock us into a lowgrowth, high-unemployment future with high energy costs, rationing of medical services and a gradual erosion of global leadership on all political, economic and military fronts. We may have marginally cleaner air and water, but we will not be a healthier country because we won’t have the economic resources to pay for an acceptable level of health care along with everything else we would like to pay for. Furthermore, the malaise and depression of living in a low-opportunity welfare state will take a toll on the well-being of the population. The Republicans are missing a major opportunity by allowing the Democrats to define them, as they have always done, as protecting the rich. The Republicans should make the case for job growth as the answer to budget deficits and a brighter, more prosperous future. The road to

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View: Downtown stronger than ever continued from PAGE 8

and visitors has more than a dozen high-end restaurants on their doorsteps. As the Crain’s story points out, there has been a consistent list of new restaurants waiting in the wings for space to open up in this area. The restaurant scene in the district is healthy, even without the presence of celebrity chefs. With an enticing combination of restaurants and residents, businesses have sought space in the neighborhood. Today, office occupancy rates in the Historic Ware-

house District are around 80%. Many companies understand the value that an address in this neighborhood delivers. The final piece to the puzzle, of course, is safety. Last year, Downtown Cleveland Alliance worked with the city of Cleveland, Councilman Joe Cimperman and the U.S. Department of Justice to implement a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among district restaurants, clubs and residents who all share the district. The MOU was nearly universally embraced and has been effective in managing

the late-night crowds when the bars close. Our downtown core is stronger than at any point in recent history. Each of the neighborhoods that make up downtown Cleveland brings something different to the table. It is wrong to presume that one district must first die before another can prosper. With more than $2 billion in investments flowing into downtown Cleveland, our backyard is big enough to support many vibrant neighborhoods. ■

If your company is a small construction or engineering ﬁrm or a provider of goods and services, we invite you to apply for our Business Opportunity Program.

Visit neorsd.org/opportunity to register! Opening doors for Northeast Ohio minority-owned, women-owned, and small businesses. facebook.com/yoursewerdistrict

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Casinos drain cities

LETTERS continued from PAGE 9

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robust job growth requires a probusiness attitude by the administration, which is exactly the opposite of what we currently have. The EPA and the Energy Department are working in tandem to drive up the price of energy and keep us dependent on expensive imported oil. The Labor Department’s policies are trying to benefit organized labor at the expense of business growth and job growth. The Commerce Department policies are reducing foreign investment in our country and driving domestic capital to offshore investments. The policies of the Education Department have created a generation of uneducated students who don’t have job skills, the ability to think critically or the knowledge to appreciate the strengths and accomplishments of our system of democracy. It is a perfectly uneducated generation highly susceptible to the siren song of socialism and more entitlements paid for by other people. Some Republican positions are not exactly pro-growth, either. Immigration policy is denying the country the creativity and productivity of half of our engineering graduates by forcing foreign nationals to return home when they finish school. A pro-business administration would reverse all of these policies. With pro-business and smaller government policies in place, the economy could support the higher taxes that Democrats want. Higher taxes are not really the issue; people just don’t want to pay more taxes into a

wasteful and unproductive system. Without pro-business policies, no amount of fine-tuning spending and tax policy will produce the growth that we need to reduce deficits. A pro-business administration would make the case for the opportunity, liberty and freedoms that have been and still are our defining characteristics. In less than 200 years this nation went from a tentative experiment that most elites expected to fail to the most successful and powerful nation on earth. That is proof of our exceptionalism. We should understand it and be proud of it. Our citizens are not better people than the citizens of other countries; after all, we are nearly all immigrants from all over the world. Our exceptionalism is due to our system of government; the underlying principles of individual rights, limited government; and the marvelous balancing of powers both between the states and the federal government and between the branches of the federal government. The Democrats see only injustices to be remedied without regard to all that is right and good about our system. The Republicans need to stand for more than just not raising taxes. They need to sell the virtues of our system and the pro-business policies that will lead to job growth. That will produce a brighter future and a better and stronger economy for all of us and for the rest of the world, too. Martin Shook Beachwood

■ I know this letter is a bit late, but I was a bit late in reading the June 27 issue and Mark Dodosh’s commentary, “A view from our hypocrite, Mr. Vegas,” regarding his concerns about the pending arrival of casino gambling in Cleveland. I lived in St. Louis when they brought in the gambling boats. I was just a regular teenager and I saw what it did to the city. I saw the crime go up. I saw the poverty go up. I saw the taxes go up to pay for the crime and poverty. Not only that, I saw families torn up. A hardworking dad would start to spend more and more of the paycheck at the tables and the kids suffered. Moms would gussy up and hang all over the arms of the big spenders and that would tear families up, too. I saw brainiac kids that I went to school with sneak into the boats and pile up huge debts, virtually ruining their lives before they even started. The voters voted down the gambling boats three times. City officials actually came out and said they would make them vote over and over until they got the boats. Sounds kind of familiar. Now, look at Detroit. Does gambling help its economy? Look at Las Vegas — foreclosure capital of the U.S. I am just so sad to see the city I love succumb to the temptation of the tables. I’ve seen what it can do and I wish I would never have seen it here. Rebecca Klaubach Garfield Heights

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INSIDE

14 CULINARY EDUCATION JOINS RECIPE AT AREA SCHOOLS.

HIGHER EDUCATION FEEDING THE RESEARCH BEAST Area universities upgrade facilities in effort to land federal cash, top talent By TIMOTHY MAGAW tmagaw@crain.com

MARC GOLUB

Case Western Reserve University professor Jun Liu (top) and students Rosemary Bramante and Heather Lemire in the school’s Materials for Opto/Electronic Research and Education Center. The $1.8 million center, which opened in May, offers research opportunities in a diverse group of disciplines, which is becoming popular among grant-makers.

ortheast Ohio’s universities are injecting millions of dollars into their research spaces in order to better compete for shrinking pots of federal research dollars and to attract prominent new hires. Just like any business, universities are vying for the top talent and the top payoff, and a robust research enterprise can bring both, university officials say. As such, the research facility building boom comes as no surprise to Suzanne Rivera, Case Western Reserve University’s associate vice president for research. “It feeds on itself,” she said. “When you have state-of-the-art facilities, you attract the top minds who want to work in those facilities. Those people are the ones who generate the most innovative, provocative and compelling grant proposals.” Over the last five years, Case Western Reserve University has invested more than $28 million on research equipment. Additionally, the school has spent more than $140 million on building and renovation projects, many of which support research activities. Similarly, Kent State, Cleveland State, the University of Akron and Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) all have heavily invested in their research enterprises — a trend that appears to transcend Northeast Ohio. See BEAST Page 12

Schools uncertain on continuation of rapidly rising enrollments As economy, employment improve, completion rates could fall off By MICHELLE PARK mpark@crain.com

or several Northeast Ohio colleges and universities, student enrollment has done nothing but climb for the past half decade. Recessions have a way of convincing people to go to school, and their numbers appear to prove it. However, some of the schools project the increases will continue, while others expect numbers to level off. In the words of Rick Bischoff,

uncertainty reigns. “As the economy has impacted families, certainly it has become more challenging to predict exactly how families behave,” said Mr. Bischoff, vice president for enrollment management at Case Western Reserve University, which expects to have 200 fewer undergraduate students this fall than last fall. “There’s great uncertainty about the impact of the economy on enrollments, and fear that it’ll impact the kinds of institutions that students enroll at,” Mr. Bischoff added. “I think that anxiety is some-

thing that will continue to be felt … for the foreseeable future.” Both Cuyahoga Community and Lorain County Community colleges expect enrollment growth to level off. Tri-C projects 3% growth this year, far less than its doubledigit growth in recent years. “The question is, what’s doing that?” said Pete Ross, vice president for enrollment management for Tri-C. “Is the economy that much better, have people dropped off the rolls and given up, are there people moving away?” Bruce Johnson, president of the

INSIDE: A look at enrollment growth at area schools since 2006. Page 12 Inter-University Council of Ohio, a council of the presidents of Ohio’s 14 public universities, expects the statewide enrollment growth to continue because demand is there. “It’s driven by both the fact that the economy is down and the realization that jobs in the future require a higher education,” he said. What Mr. Johnson expects to drop are completion rates. Those who start school because they can’t find a job are likely to stop attending when they do, Mr. Johnson said. He anticipates schools will grapple

with reduced completion rates in the foreseeable future. “That’s a natural phenomenon,” he said. “As the economy begins to improve, people find the job that they wanted and drop out of school.”

Ups and downs Notre Dame College in South Euclid correlates its growth to new academic and extracurricular programs it has introduced, such as the school’s nursing program and marching band. University of Akron officials attribute increases to a campus transformation and a redeveloped See RISE Page 12

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HIGHER EDUCATION

Beast: Research seen as economic driver continued from PAGE 11

The amount of science and engineering research space at colleges and universities across the country expanded 4% between 2007 and 2009, according a recent study from the National Science Foundation. The increase nearly triples the growth between 2005 and 2007 and follows a period of slowing growth. “We will never probably get back to funding levels when federal grant budgets were doubling,” said Walter Horton, vice president for research at NEOMED, formerly the Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy. “If you focus on your strengths, recruit scientists and have a proven track record, you can still be successful in this environment.”

Need for new digs Over about the last six years, NEOMED has ramped up significantly its research mission with a host of construction projects and a steadily growing pipeline of research dollars flowing into the university. Faculty attracted more than $10 million in research funding in 2010 and 2009 — more than doubling the amount received in 2008. Also, in May, the university broke ground on a $42 million research complex — an 80,000square-foot structure situated on the northwest corner of the Rootstown campus. It will house biomedical research labs, faculty offices and teaching space. “We’ve just seen this growth happening in our strategic research visioning and, frankly, we needed to expand,” Dr. Horton said. “We need more space.”

Likewise, Kent State is investing heavily in its main campus with a $250 million overhaul that will touch more than 30 academic buildings and other facilities. Part of the project will redevelop the campus “science corridor” to expand educational and research opportunities in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine. Kent State also recently invested $1.5 million to renovate a portion of the facility that houses the Liquid Crystal Institute and reorganized its leadership. The projects come on the heels of Kent State president Lester Lefton’s charge to faculty to bring in more than $100 million a year in research funding. In 2010, faculty brought in just about $36 million. “We see ourselves as a public research university,” Kent State provost Robert Frank said. “We want our faculty to be successful in the research game. It’s a more difficult time than it’s ever been.”

A collaborative approach In May, Case Western Reserve University opened its $1.8 million Materials for Opto/Electronic Research and Education Center, which offers research opportunities across several academic disciplines — an increasingly popular component of many new research facilities in the region. The cross-pollination of faculty is a central driver in the development of several of Northeast Ohio universities’ plans for construction because interdisciplinary research has become an attractive element to grant-making bodies, according to university administrators.

The University of Akron plans to invest $20 million over the next 10 years to hire 200 new faculty members who would be appointed to two or more academic departments to facilitate more of an interdisciplinary approach. “On one hand, you’re generating research that enhances knowledge that can be applied to elements relevant to the region, and at the same time you’re focusing on graduating individuals who can work in business and industry who utilize that knowledge generation to develop new devices and products,” said Michael Sherman, the university’s provost. University administrators are quick to say that while research can elevate a university’s level of prestige, it’s important to note that the same efforts also are essential in driving the economic resurgence of the region. Cleveland State University, which has pushed to increase its research profile since president Ronald Berkman’s arrival in 2009, houses the Center for 21st Century Health Professions, which focuses on health career preparation and biomedical research. Given the region’s strong focus on health care, it makes sense that the university would flourish in this area, according to Jerzy Sawicki, the university’s associate vice president for research. “We are serving a metropolitan area and the Northeast Ohio region,” Dr. Sawicki said. “Increasing our research enterprise will promote our educational mission and drive our region’s economic development.” ■

GLOBALLY recognized NATIONALLY ranked LOCALLY vital Kent State University is the region’s leading public university • Ranked as one of the top 200 universities in the world, by Times Higher Education, London • Named to the top tier of the Best Colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report • Generated $1.96 billion in added income to the Northeast Ohio economy • Ohio’s second largest public university • Nearly 200,000 alumni worldwide • Celebrating more than 100 years of excellence in action

INSIDE THE NUMBERS A look at fall enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent students from 2006 to last fall at area colleges and universities:

School

2010

2008

2006

’06-’10 change

Baldwin-Wallace

3,352

3,319

3,170

5.7%

Case Western Reserve

4,227

4,356

4,080

3.6

Hiram

1,124

1,071

905

24.2

Kent St. (incl. regional)

30,121

24,706

24,195

24.5

Lorain Co. Comm.

8,375

6,816

6,401

30.8

Notre Dame

1,556

1,331

1,106

40.7

Oberlin

2,934

2,824

2,807

4.5

Akron

18,871

16,263

14,379

31.2

Rise: Some schools at or approaching capacity continued from PAGE 11

scholarship strategy, which broadens who’s eligible for aid. Kent State University, meanwhile, is projecting its largest freshman class ever in fall 2011 — between 4,100 and 4,250, according to T. David Garcia, associate vice president for enrollment management. The university has offered to release some 140 students from their residence hall contracts to make room on campus. “Students, especially here in Northeast Ohio who thought they were going out of state, who thought they were going far away, they’re realizing the cost and affordability factor, seeing what options exist here,” he said, noting that the school also has placed an emphasis on campus renovations and financial aid. Ursuline College has seen enrollment drop in recent years. First-time freshmen dropped to 83 in fall 2010 from 124 in 2006, and that’s a significant revenue loss, said Thandabantu Maceo, vice president for enrollment management. Still, the institution’s budget remains balanced, he noted. The college, which has seen applications increase but expects enrollment to be flat this fall, wants to reverse the trend while remaining a women-focused institution, Mr. Maceo said. One challenge, he noted, is that fewer women prefer a women-focused institution. Baldwin-Wallace College, too, expects its freshman class this year to be 650, which is concerning because it’s less than the 700 for which it budgets, said Susan Dileno, vice president of enrollment management. As a result, vice presidents have been asked to trim operating budgets.

Though B-W is “fairly affordable” — it costs $35,000 a year, including books, tuition and room and board — more families have need, Ms. Dileno said. “I think when the recession first hit, people believed it was shortlived,” Ms. Dileno said. “Now, we’re into our third year, and people are not so optimistic. They’re willing to make an investment, but they’re only willing to do so much.”

Growing isn’t all the rage Some institutions are not interested in growing enrollment. Oberlin College aims to reduce its enrollment by about 100 students to 2,850 over the next five years, said Debra Chermonte, dean of admissions and financial aid. The college’s desire to keep class sizes down is one reason, she noted. If Kent State reaches its projection of 4,250 freshmen, it will be right at, or near, capacity, and it is not seeking to grow significantly beyond that, Mr. Garcia explained. In fact, it closed applications for fall 2011 about a month ago; the last time the university shut down applications was in 2002. The University of Akron, too, backed up its application deadline, in a sense, deferring those students who may be less certain about their potential success at college, said Mike Sherman, senior vice president, provost and chief operating officer. It projects an enrollment increase of at least 3.5% this fall. As the number of applicants climbs, the type of student admitted changes. “We’re going to have to become more selective,” Kent State’s Mr. Garcia said. said. “That means students will have to have higher GPAs, higher test scores.” ■

We specialize in academic conferences. Kent State University, Kent State and KSU are registered trademarks and may not be used without permission. Kent State University, an equal opportunity, afﬁrmative action employer, is committed to attaining excellence through the recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce. 11-0847

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 13

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HIGHER EDUCATION

THEINTERVIEW MARY E. KERR Dean Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University By AMY ANN STOESSEL astoessel@crain.com

or Mary Kerr, taking over the deanship of Case Western Reserve University’s Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing is a homecoming of sorts. “When this came up, I thought, ‘Perfect,’” said Dr. Kerr, who earned her doctorate in nursing from CWRU in 1991. “To have the opportunity to go there and lead was amazing to me.” Dr. Kerr, who officially took over the post last Monday, July 18, most recently worked as deputy director for the National Institute of Nursing Research, a component of the National Institutes of Health. The new dean recently took the time — amid preparing to make the move to Ohio from Bethesda, Md. — to answer several questions from Crain’s Cleveland Business.

Q What are some of the greatest challenges facing the nursing profession today? A As a profession at the forefront of change and innovation, nursing has met and overcome countless challenges over the decades. It now faces several challenges: our increasing diverse and aging population with its associated chronic illnesses, the nursing shortage and technological dependence.

An increasing obese and older population and a growing incidence of chronic illnesses are straining our health care system. With the increase in expected lifespan and the shift of once-deadly diseases becoming chronic illness, the need for nursing services continues to expand. Our challenge is enhanced by a global nursing shortage that is estimated to rise to 800,000 nurses by the year 2020. As the average age of U.S. nurses increases, schools of nursing are being called upon to meet the projected need in an increasingly widening gap in the nursing work force. This gap did not come from a lack of interest in the profession, but rather from inadequate numbers of qualified faculty. In 2010, over 65,000 qualified students were refused admission to nursing schools due to inadequate resources and numbers of faculty to educate them. The challenges of technology surround our everyday existence, from wireless access to information to innovations in nanotechnology. These advances change the way we view and communicate with our world and thus impact the way nurses assess and deliver health care.

delivery. A report by the American Academy of Colleges of Nursing calls for nursing schools to strongly encourage faculty to integrate all aspects of nursing — practice, teaching, research and service — into the curriculum. The landmark 2010 report from the Institute of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health,” recommended that nurses be allowed to practice to the full scope of their education, achieve higher levels of education and be leaders and full partners with other health and policy professionals in redesigning our health care system. The Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing utilizes novel approaches, encourages dynamic and collaborative partnerships, applies innovative technologies and designs interventions that improve health care delivery while meeting the health needs of individuals, families and communities. Bolstering nursing education attracts more students and prepares graduates as expert scientists and clinicians who can design and test strategies that improve health and health care. Q How has nursing changed over

the past several decades?

lives of individuals all over the globe.

A Caring has always been nursing’s central mission, and nursing’s historic leader, Florence Nightingale, used data to demonstrate the impact of clinical practice on patient outcomes. Since that time, practice is increasingly supported by evidence generated by nurse scientists, and the National Institute of Nursing Research at the National Institutes of Health provides key research funding. Interdisciplinary clinicians and scientists work to incorporate theory-based approaches and methodologies to better understand the problems that patients and families present. The shift continues from hospitalbased diploma programs to academic-based programs that emphasize the importance of advanced education and life-long learning. Improvements in clinical skills and decision-making have expanded advanced practice across the entire health care spectrum, from primary care to acute and end-oflife care. A multidisciplinary team approach facilitates the development of innovative programs or interventions that promote health, prevent illness and improve the

Q What do you see as some of the growth areas and specialties for today’s nursing professionals? A With over 3.1 million in the U.S., nurses touch every aspect of health care practice. They are increasingly diverse in age, ethnicity and gender and quickly adopt the latest health care trends, which may encompass technology, genetics, community-based participation programs, developments in research methodology and much more. More and more professionals are extending their careers to nursing or are nurses who wish to enhance their education. They are discovering that a graduate education provides them greater autonomy and leadership opportunities. At FPB, some of our most popular advanced clinical specialties include nurse anesthesia, public health, midwifery, psychiatric/ mental health and nurse practitioner programs in flight nursing, family and acute care. Our Ph.D. program provides research opportunities utilizing advances in scientific methodologies. Specialties such as genetics, informatics and nanotechnology present potential collaborative opportunities.

Q How must institutions of higher learning respond to the challenges? A Academic institutions must adapt to these ever-changing developments through innovations in nursing practice, research and health care

ON THE WEB Schools respond to need for health care IT experts Demand is rising at area hospitals and other health care providers for people who have both clinical experience and intimate knowledge of electronic medical record systems. For more details, read Chuck Soder’s story at www.CrainsCleveland.com /healthcareit.

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391 West Washington St. | Painesville, Ohio 44077 1.855.GO.STORM | www.lec.edu

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HIGHER EDUCATION

More schools put food curricula on the menu â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We know thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a demand,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Lakeland official says

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aad Toor in a previous life was a law clerk for a downtown firm, but his true calling summoned him to the culinary field. With about 1Â˝ years left before he earns an associate of applied business degree with a concentration in culinary arts from Cuyahoga Community College, Mr. Toor, 25, already has an offer from downtownâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pura Vida to become a chef. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Indeed, this has been a fantastic privilege,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Toor said during a break from the restaurant at which he regularly works, located next to Tri-Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Hospitality Management Center on Public Square, where he takes classes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I work with outstanding faculty and students, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a complete joy also being able to work at Pura Vida, right here in the industry.â&#x20AC;? Mr. Toorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience is just one of many available to Northeast Ohioans who are looking to become seasoned professionals in the food and beverage industry as more community college culinary programs come online. Tri-Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s downtown Hospitality Management Center opened in October 2010, and the location is contributing to a rise in the programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visibility and enrollment, which is spread out among Tri-Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Metropolitan campus â&#x20AC;&#x201D; including the downtown center â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and its Beachwood location, said Gregory Forte, dean and general manager. About 300 students are enrolled in the culinary arts program. The hospitality management programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total enrollment is 455, divided between culinary arts, restaurant/ food service management and the lodging/tourism management tracts, and it has grown from about 248 in spring 2010. Mr. Forte said the college is aiming by 2013 to boost program enrollment to 600, with about 400 estimated to be culinary arts students. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Based on the way things are going, I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be surprised if we hit that by the end of next year,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Forte said.

Simmering needs Lakeland Community College this fall will begin offering an associate of technical studies in culinary arts in partnership with International Culinary Arts and Sciences Institute in Chesterland. Steven Oluic, dean of social sciences and public service technologies at Lakeland, said the community college until three years ago had a program with the Auburn Career Center in Concord Township, but the location didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pan out. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been getting questions about why we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a culinary program, and we knew it was time to revive it,â&#x20AC;? he said. Enrollment is too early to project, he said, but â&#x20AC;&#x153;we know thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a demand, both from the community and from students in the region,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Students will be able to take general education courses at Lakeland, and the culinary classes at the educational institute, about a 10-minute drive from Lakelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campus. Similarly, Lorain County Community College in fall 2010 launched its associate of applied business with a concentration in culinary arts and is planning to open by fall 2012 an $11 million Culinary and Convergent Digital Arts building to accommodate the new program, said Robert Young, dean of the business division. The 44,671-square-foot facility will include three teaching kitchens and classrooms that could be converted into a fourth teaching kitchen. Until then, the school will be offering culinary classes at Vermilionbased Laurel Run Cooking School. Even though initial enrollment likely will be modest â&#x20AC;&#x201D; perhaps only a handful of students â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the facility could handle â&#x20AC;&#x153;several dozen students,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Young said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a long-term goal,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been talking culinary for 10, 15 years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our feeling is, between Cedar Point to the old Geauga Lake and across the city of Cleveland, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a lot of restaurant activity,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Young said. Indeed, growth in accommodation and food services sector employment in the ClevelandElyria-Mentor metropolitan statistical area is expected to be 6.7% between 2006 and 2016 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; nearly double the expected 3.5% growth in the overall job market. Lawrence Gilpatric, chairman of the business technology department and professor of hospitality management at the University of Akron, said enrollment in that schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culinary program is about maxed out, at 110 students each year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There have been talks about moving to a new, larger facility or expanding the hospitality management program into a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree, but nothingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been decided or is concrete,â&#x20AC;? said Mr. Gilpatric, who also is certified executive chef. Mr. Gilpatric and other community college officials say their schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; two-year culinary programs are springboards into a variety of careers that include becoming a chef, managing a restaurant, operating a catering company or working as a nutritionist. As for Tri-Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mr. Toor, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll likely continue juggling his coursework with his current duties of prepping and cooking at Pura Vida until he is able to secure a higher position at chef Brandt Evansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; establishment. Mr. Evans also is executive chef and partner of Blue Canyon Kitchen & Tavern in Twinsburg and plans to open more restaurants in Northeast Ohio. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This all started when Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m doing catering next door (at Tri-Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospitality Management Center) and this guy I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know just starts helping me, and I keep giving him more things to do,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Evans said.â&#x2013;

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SOCIETY OF FINANCIAL SERVICE PROFESSIONALS OF CLEVELAND: James O. Judd to president; Charles F. Adler III to presidentelect; David A. Kucharski to vice president; Arthur P. Ward Jr. to secretary/treasurer; James S. Aussem to immediate past president.

GOING PLACES JOB CHANGES EDUCATION CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART: Mike Kinsella to director, annual giving and alumni relations. CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY: Sajit Zachariah to dean, College of Education and Human Services.

FINANCIAL SERVICE BARNES WENDLING: Laurie A. Gatten to director. CORRIGAN KRAUSE: Dennis M. Dlugosz to manager. OHIO CATHOLIC FEDERAL CREDIT UNION: Brian Mooney to CFO.

HEALTH CARE HOPE MEDICAL SERVICES: Sarah Ferguson to data entry. PRIORITY HOME HEALTH CARE INC.: Sherry Arnett and Tyrone Patton to client service representatives.

MANUFACTURING ROLL-KRAFT: Patrick Hopkins to account manager; Brad Lazar to regrind engineer; Ivan Pereira to tooling engineer; Tim Jerew to tooling designer, Tube & Pipe.

MARKETING BTZ BRAND: Kathy Dawson to director, Advertising Speciality Division. MARCUS THOMAS LLC: Todd Morgano to senior vice president, director of public relations.

NONPROFIT ELIZA JENNINGS SENIOR CARE NETWORK: Sheryl L. Sereda to chief development officer. NORTH RIDGEVILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Dayle Noll to president, CEO.

REAL ESTATE GENDRON REALTY: Anita Ferguson to senior commercial and residential associate. MMPI: Mark Falanga to president.

RETAIL EZ ENERGY USA INC.: Michael Paull to vice president, CFO; Charlotte

AWARDS Kinsella

Mooney

Ferguson

Fornal to manager of treasury services; Aaron Taylor to marketing category manager; Jim Mitchell to dealer operations manager; Tina McDonough to support center administrative assistant.

SPORTS THISTLEDOWN: Laura Tibbs to manager of human resources.

TECHNOLOGY BLUEBRIDGE NETWORKS: Petar Bojovic to director of operations; Jason Munsell and Rick Rohlke to sales executives; Scott Lee to general manager; David Kuchler to senior engineer; Jeremy Dodge to network administrator.

BOARDS CITIZENS LEAGUE OF GREATER CLEVELAND: James Dixon to chair; Jay Carson to vice chair; Edward Blakemore to secretary. CITY CLUB OF CLEVELAND: Hugh E. McKay (Porter, Wright, Morris and Arthur) to president; Hewitt B. Shaw to vice president; Robert Littman to treasurer; Barbara Danforth to secretary. JUNIOR LEAGUE OF CLEVELAND INC.: Hermione Malone (University Hospitals) to president; Lindsay Doerr to secretary; Penny Casselman to treasurer. MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART CLEVELAND: Scott Mueller (Dealer Tire) to chairman; Mary Ann Stropkay to president; Toby Devan Lewis and Char Fowler to vice presidents; Scott Bogard to treasurer. NORTH RIDGEVILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Julie Cantrell (Lorain County Community College) to chairperson; Jason Jacobs to first vice chair; Sara Markle to second vice chair; Chris Teater to third vice chair; Jack Smith to treasurer; Tim Sherman to assistant treasurer.

AMERICAN CARBON SOCIETY: Julian Norley (GrafTech International) was selected for the 2012 George D. Graffin Lectureship in Carbon Science and Engineering. AMERICAN ORTHOPAEDIC SOCIETY FOR SPORTS MEDICINE: Dr. John Bergfeld (Cleveland Clinic) received the 2011 Thomas A. Brady Community Service Award. CLEVELAND METROPOLITAN BAR ASSOCIATION: The Honorable William K. Thomas Professionalism Award was presented posthumously to Thomas S. Kilbane; Steven E. Wolkin received the Volunteer of the Year Award; Hugh E. McKay (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP) received the President’s Award. KOINONIA: Dr. Anna Koo (Cleveland Clinic) received the 2011 Recognition Award.

Send information for Going Places to dhillyer@crain.com.

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

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100 LARGEST NORTHEAST OHIO EMPLOYERS RANKED BY FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT LOCAL EMPLOYEES(1) Full-time equivalent local employees

Rank

Company Address Phone/Web site

6/30/2011

6/30/2010

% change

Total number of employees in Ohio Type of business

Top local executive Title

Cleveland Clinic 9500 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 44195 (216) 444-2200/www.clevelandclinic.org

34,000

0.0%

39,000

Health care provider

Delos M. "Toby" Cosgrove president, CEO

U.S. Office of Personnel Management 1900 E St., NW, Washington 20415 (202) 606-1800/www.opm.gov

15,095

15,207

(0.7%)

50,965

Federal government

C. Frank Figliuzzi chair, Cleveland Federal Executive Board

University Hospitals 11100 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 44106 (216) 844-1000/www.uhhospitals.org

13,726

13,224

3.8%

15,834

Nationally recognized, integrated health care system comprised of hospitals and outpatient health centers

Thomas F. Zenty III CEO

Giant Eagle Inc. 5300 Richmond Road, Bedford Heights 44146 (216) 292-7000/www.gianteagle.com

10,311

10,010

3.0%

13,643

Grocery store chain

Bill Artman vice president, Cleveland operating division

Progressive Corp. 6300 Wilson Mills Road, Mayfield Village 44143 (440) 461-5000/www.progressive.com

8,612

8,569

0.5%

8,909

Insurance and financial company

Glenn M. Renwick president, CEO

Summa Health System(2) 525 E. Market St., Akron 44304 (330) 375-3000/www.summahealth.org

8,000

0.0%

8,000

Health care provider

Thomas J. Strauss president, CEO

Cuyahoga County 1219 Ontario St., Cleveland 44113 (216) 443-7220/www.cuyahogacounty.us

7,859

8,036

(2.2%)

7,859

County government

Edward FitzGerald county executive

State of Ohio 30 E. Broad St., Columbus 43215 (614) 466-2000/www.ohio.gov

7,792

7,296

6.8%

57,295

State government

John R. Kasich governor

U.S. Postal Service 2200 Orange Ave., Cleveland 44101 (800) 275-8777/www.usps.com

7,362

7,641

(3.7%)

U.S. postal service

Todd Hawkins district manager, Northern Ohio District

Group Management Services Inc. 3296 Columbia Road, Suite 101, Richfield 44286 (800) 456-2885/www.groupmgmt.com

7,242

6,541

10.7%

11,246

Professional employer organization

Michael Kahoe president

City of Cleveland 601 Lakeside Ave., Cleveland 44114 (216) 664-2406/www.city.cleveland.oh.us

7,089

7,580

(6.5%)

7,089

Municipal government

Frank G. Jackson mayor

General Motors Co. P.O. Box 33170, Detroit 48232-5170 (313) 556-5000/www.gm.com

5,975

4,500

32.8%

10,000

Automotive manufacturing

Robert Parcell, plant manager, Lordstown; Al McLaughlin, plant manager, Parma

KeyCorp 127 Public Square, Cleveland 44114 (216) 689-6300/www.key.com

5,827

5,553

4.9%

6,985

Bank holding company

Beth E. Mooney chairman, president, CEO

MetroHealth System 2500 MetroHealth Drive, Cleveland 44109 (216) 778-7800/www.metrohealth.org

5,558

5,408

2.8%

6,442

Health care provider

Mark J. Moran president, CEO

FirstEnergy Corp. 76 S. Main St., Akron 44308 (800) 646-0400/www.firstenergycorp.com

5,465

5,367

1.8%

7,717

Electric utility holding company

Anthony J. Alexander president, CEO

Kent State University P.O. Box 5190, Kent 44242 (330) 672-3000/www.kent.edu

5,040

5,030

0.2%

6,311

Higher education

Lester A. Lefton president

Timken Co. 1835 Dueber Ave., S.W., Canton 44706 (330) 438-3000/www.timken.com

4,700

3,700

27.0%

5,000

Friction management and power transmission products and services

James W. Griffith president, CEO

Case Western Reserve University 10900 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 44106 (216) 368-2000/www.case.edu

4,620

4,449

3.8%

4,620

Higher education

Barbara R. Snyder president

Akron General Health System 400 Wabash Ave., Akron 44307 (330) 344-6000/www.akrongeneral.org

4,002

4,151

(3.6%)

4,002

Integrated health care delivery system

Vincent J. McCorkle president, CEO

Summit County 175 S. Main St., Akron 44308 (330) 643-2500/www.co.summit.oh.us

3,665

3,788

(3.2%)

4,090

County government

Russell M. Pry county executive

Swagelok Co. 29500 Solon Road, Solon 44139 (440) 248-4600/www.swagelok.com

3,600

0.0%

3,600

Designer and manufacturer of industrial fluid Arthur F. Anton system components president, CEO

Ford Motor Co. One American Road, Dearborn 48126 (800) 392-3673/www.ford.com

3,550

3,500

1.4%

4,150

Automobile manufacturer

Akron Children's Hospital One Perkins Square, Akron 44308 (330) 543-1000/www.akronchildrens.org

3,452

3,179

8.6%

4,321

Pediatric health system

William H. Considine president

Sherwin-Williams Co. 101 W. Prospect Ave., Cleveland 44115 (216) 566-2000/www.sherwin-williams.com

3,035

3,058

(0.8%)

3,660

Coatings and related products

Christopher M. Connor chairman, CEO

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. 1144 E. Market St., Akron 44316 (330) 796-2121/www.goodyear.com

3,000

0.0%

3,000

Tire manufacturer

Richard J. Kramer chairman, president, CEO

Akron Public Schools 70 N. Broadway, Akron 44308 (330) 761-1661/www.akronschools.com

2,994

3,076

(2.7%)

2,994

Public school district

David W. James superintendent

See LIST Page 18

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CRAINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Mobile: Touchscreen technology a draw continued from PAGE 3

Though some employees still like the familiarity of the BlackBerry as well as its physical keyboard, Mr. Kerensky said he expects the number of iPhone users to keep rising. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eventually most people are going to move away from the BlackBerry,â&#x20AC;? he said. Arhaus â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the name by which Homeworks Inc. does business â&#x20AC;&#x201D; was one of several companies contacted by Crainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that noted how both Appleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s iPhone and phones that run Googleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Android operating system at this point have enough security features to make them viable options for businesses. BlackBerry still maintains an edge in security, but, for businesses such as Arhaus, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not enough to outweigh the benefits of the iPhone, the Droid and other touchscreen smart phones that Mr. Kerensky said are better for surfing the Internet. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m always going to go for more functionality,â&#x20AC;? he said. Roughly 80% of companies that Vox Mobile LLC works with use at least a few non-BlackBerry smart phones for business purposes, said Kris Snyder, CEO of the Valley View company, which helps businesses manage their mobile devices. Two years ago, that number was 20%, he estimated. Many of those non-BlackBerry smart phones are used by high-level executives, though Mr. Snyder noted that some companies let employees choose from a variety of phones. And more companies are joining them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We expect a major shift in 2012,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Snyder said.

An option at Eaton Among the larger companies making the transition is Eaton Corp. The Cleveland-based manufacturing giant recently started allowing U.S. employees with company phone plans to buy iPhones or higherpriced BlackBerrys if they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want a standard-issue BlackBerry, said chief information officer Bill Blausey. About 10% of employees with phone plans have taken advantage of the option, which the company implemented as a benefit to employees, Mr. Blausey said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll give them more choice as we sanction other platforms,â&#x20AC;? he said. Some small businesses have

stopped using the BlackBerry entirely. For instance, after three of the five BlackBerry users at C4Polymers Inc. bought other smart phones, the Chagrin Falls plastics recycling firm in June decided to buy iPhones for the other two, said Andy Linden, a plastics broker with C4 Polymers. The move allowed the company to get rid of its BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which is used to connect BlackBerry phones to a businessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s computer network. Mr. Linden said the company with the change was able to avoid technical problems it had with the server, and now it no longer must pay monthly server fees to BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., which is based in Waterloo, Ontario. Mr. Linden, one of the last two employees to make the switch, said he was happy to do so. His iPhone is quicker and easier to use than the BlackBerry, he said, noting that he used BlackBerrys for five years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The misconception is that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perfect for the business world,â&#x20AC;? he said of the BlackBerry.

It pays to avoid trouble Another reason C4 Polymers made the switch was because business services firm Skoda Minotti, which provides IT services to the company, helped cover the cost of the new phones. Skoda Minotti has helped two clients buy smart phones to replace their BlackBerrys, said Brian Rosenfelt, a principal with the firmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technology services division. Skoda Minotti also would consider helping clients cover the cost of opting out of their BlackBerry contracts, he said. Why? Companies that use BlackBerrys often require more IT support, Mr. Rosenfelt said. The iPhone, he said, is easier to use, so individuals tend to have fewer problems that require help from Skoda Minotti. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ever a problem (with a BlackBerry), we have a whole â&#x20AC;&#x2122;nother layer to troubleshoot,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Rosenfelt said. The transition at metal stamping firm Talan Products Inc. in Cleveland was less formal. Two years ago, the 10 or so people who use smart phones for business purposes all had BlackBerrys. Now most of them use Droids or iPhones, including CEO Steve Peplin.

The switch was â&#x20AC;&#x153;more than a little frustratingâ&#x20AC;? at first, Mr. Peplin said, noting that software connecting the smart phones to Talanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s email server failed several times when it was implemented. It works well now, he added, saying heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a â&#x20AC;&#x153;huge fanâ&#x20AC;? of his Droid. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can look at drawings. I can look at spreadsheets. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s usable,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Dominance slips away Small companies have been shedding BlackBerry licenses faster than large companies, which tend to care more about security and less about fees related to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, said research analyst Anil Doradla, who covers Research In Motion for William Blair & Co. Even at larger firms, however, the iPhone and the Android have been â&#x20AC;&#x153;slowly and steadilyâ&#x20AC;? chipping away at the BlackBerryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dominance, Mr. Doradla said. He estimates Research In Motion has more than 60% of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;enterpriseâ&#x20AC;? market, which consists mainly of large and midsize businesses. That figure will be â&#x20AC;&#x153;substantially lowerâ&#x20AC;? in three years, unless the struggling company revamps its business. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a company in a tight spot,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Doradla said. â&#x2013;

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20110725-NEWS--18-NAT-CCI-CL_--

7/22/2011

2:19 PM

Page 1

CRAINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM

JULY 25 - 31, 2011

100 LARGEST NORTHEAST OHIO EMPLOYERS RANKED BY FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT LOCAL EMPLOYEES(1) Full-time equivalent local employees

Rank

Company Address Phone/Web site

6/30/2011

6/30/2010

% change

2,679

2,323

15.3%

Sterling Jewelers Inc. 375 Ghent Road, Akron 44333 (330) 668-5000/www.sterlingjewelers.com

Lincoln Electric Co. 22801 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland 44117 (216) 481-8100/www.lincolnelectric.com

2,600

2,418

7.5%

University of Akron 302 Buchtel Common, Akron 44325 (330) 972-7111/www.uakron.edu

2,591

2,573

InfoCision Management Corp. 325 Springside Drive, Akron 44333 (330) 668-1400/www.infocision.com

2,400

J.C. Penney Co. 7900 Day Drive, Parma 44129 (440) 845-4802/www.jcpenney.com

Total number of employees in Ohio Type of business

Top local executive Title

Retail jewelry

Mark Light president, CEO

2,600

Manufacturer of arc welding products

John M. Stropki, chairman, president, CEO; George D. Blankenship, sr. vice president, president, Lincoln Electric North America

0.7%

2,591

Higher education

Luis M. Proenza president

1,875

28.0%

3,509

Inbound and outbound call center provider

Carl Albright president, CEO

2,265

2,323

(2.5%)

Department store

Travis Julian district manager

Parker Hannifin Corp. 6035 Parkland Blvd., Cleveland 44124 (216) 896-3000/www.parker.com

2,265

2,100

7.9%

3,555

Fluid power systems, electromechanical controls

Donald E. Washkewicz chairman, CEO, president

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority 1240 W. Sixth St., Cleveland 44113 (216) 566-5100/www.riderta.com

2,232

2,477

(9.9%)

2,232

Public transportation

Joseph A. Calabrese CEO, general manager, secretary/ treasurer

Cuyahoga Community College 700 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland 44115 (800) 954-8742/www.tri-c.edu

2,210

2,165

2.1%

3,124

Higher education

Jerry Sue Thornton president

The Babcock & Wilcox Co. 20 S. Van Buren Ave. and 91 Stirling Ave., Barberton 44203 (330) 753-4511/www.babcock.com

2,174

2,227

(2.4%)

2,514

Design, engineering, manufacturing and construction services for nuclear, renewable, fossil power, industrial and government customers

Richard L. Killion president, COO, Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc.

Lake Health 7590 Auburn Road, Concord Township 44077 (440) 375-8100/www.lakehealth.org

2,094

2,109

(0.7%)

2,771

Hospital

Cynthia Moore-Hardy president, CEO

American Greetings Corp. One American Road, Cleveland 44144 (216) 252-7300/www.americangreetings.com

2,061

2,098

(1.8%)

2,061

Greeting cards; character licensing

Zev Weiss CEO

Lubrizol Corp.(3) 29400 Lakeland Blvd., Wickliffe 44092 (440) 943-4200/www.lubrizol.com

2,041

2,072

(1.5%)

2,060

Specialty chemical company

James L. Hambrick chairman, president, CEO

Continental Airlines 5300 Riverside Drive, Cleveland 44135 (216) 501-5170/www.continental.com

2,008

2,086

(3.7%)

Airline

Rich Lisser managing director

Medical Mutual of Ohio 2060 E. Ninth St., Cleveland 44115 (216) 687-7000/www.medmutual.com

1,950

1,948

0.1%

2,500

Cleveland-based mutual company providing health and life insurance, dental, vision products and TPA services

Richard A. Chiricosta president, CEO

Nestle USA in Solon (includes Nestle Prepared Foods and Baking) 30003 Bainbridge Road, Solon 44139 (440) 349-5757/www.nestleusa.com

1,947

1,626

19.7%

2,408

Manufacturer of Stouffer's and Lean Cuisine Frank Higgins prepared foods, Buitoni pasta and sauce, president, CEO, Nestle Prepared Hot Pockets and Lean Pockets Foods and Baking

ArcelorMittal 3060 Eggers Ave., Cleveland 44105 (216) 429-6000/www.arcelormittal.com

1,916

1,612

18.9%

2,701

Steel manufacturer

Eric Hauge vice president, general manager, ArcelorMittal Cleveland

Lorain County 226 Middle Ave., Elyria 44035 (440) 329-5000/www.loraincounty.us

1,902

1,956

(2.8%)

2,252

County government

Board of Commissioners

Mercy Medical Center 1320 Mercy Drive N.W., Canton 44708 (330) 489-1000/www.cantonmercy.org

1,890

1,850

2.2%

2,556

Health care provider

Thomas E. Cecconi president, CEO

Diebold Inc. 5995 Mayfair Road, North Canton 44720 (330) 490-4000/www.diebold.com

1,860

1,826

1.9%

2,050

Integrated self-service delivery systems and Thomas W. Swidarski services president, CEO

Eaton Corp. 1111 Superior Ave., Cleveland 44114 (216) 523-5000/www.eaton.com

1,833

1,715

6.9%

3,211

Electrical, hydraulic, aerospace, truck and automotive products

Alexander M. Cutler chairman, CEO

Southwest General Health Center 18697 Bagley Road, Middleburg Heights 44130 (440) 816-8000/www.swgeneral.com

1,805

1,814

(0.5%)

2,674

Private, not-for-profit 354-bed top 100 hospital with a 90-year history

Thomas A. Selden president, CEO

City of Akron 166 S. High St., Akron 44308 (330) 375-2330/www.ci.akron.oh.us

1,788

1,931

(7.4%)

1,788

Municipal government

Donald L. Plusquellic mayor

Kaiser Permanente of Ohio 1001 Lakeside Ave., Suite 1200, Cleveland 44114 (800) 524-7371/www.kp.org

1,753

1,465

19.7%

1,753

Health care provider and insurance company

Patricia D. Kennedy-Scott regional president

JPMorgan Chase & Co. 1300 E. Ninth St., Cleveland 44114 (877) 302-4273 /www.chase.com

1,750

1,200

45.8%

20,500

Financial services

James M. Malz, president, Ohio market and head, middle market commercial banking

Bridgestone Americas Inc. 1200 Firestone Parkway, Akron 44317 (330) 379-7000/www.bridgestoneamericas.com

1,725

1,715

0.6%

2,314

Tire manufacturer

Hank Hara, chief technology officer, vp, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations

Mercy 3700 Kolbe Road, Lorain 44053 (440) 960-4000/www.mercyonline.org

1,605

1,612

(0.4%)

1,605

Health care provider

Edwin Oley president, CEO

Avery Dennison 8080 Norton Parkway, Mentor 44060 (440) 534-6000/www.averydennison.com

1,585

1,512

4.8%

1,585

Manufacturer of pressure sensitive paper, Donald Nolan film and foil, graphic materials and specialty group vice president, tapes Roll Materials Worldwide

Lake County 105 Main St., Painesville 44077 (440) 350-2745/www.lakecountyohio.org

1,581

1,635

(3.3%)

2,037

County government

3,343

Board of Commissioners

20110725-NEWS--19-NAT-CCI-CL_--

7/22/2011

2:20 PM

Page 1

JULY 25 - 31, 2011

CRAINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM

Full-time equivalent local employees Rank

Company Address Phone/Web site

6/30/2011

6/30/2010

% change

Total number of employees in Ohio Type of business

Top local executive Title

Cleveland State University 2121 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 44115 (216) 687-2000/www.csuohio.edu

1,575

1,681

(6.3%)

1,575

Higher education

Ronald Berkman president

Rockwell Automation Inc. 1 Allen-Bradley Drive, Mayfield Heights 44124 (440) 646-5000/www.rockwellautomation.com

1,561

1,794

(13.0%)

1,988

Global provider of industrial automation control and information solutions

Steven A. Eisenbrown senior vice president, architecture and software

Discount Drug Mart Inc. 211 Commerce Drive, Medina 44256 (330) 725-2340/www.discount-drugmart.com

1,553

1,598

(2.8%)

3,259

Retail drugstore

Parviz Boodjeh chairman

Republic Engineered Products Inc. 2633 Eighth St., NE, Canton 44704 (800) 232-7157/www.republicengineered.com

1,504

1,310

14.8%

1,504

Manufacturer of special bar quality steel

Jaime Vigil president, CEO

Mahoning County 21 W. Boardman St., Suite 200, Youngstown 44503 (330) 740-2130/www.mahoningcountyoh.gov

1,482

1,616

(8.3%)

1,482

Local government

Board of Commissioners

Fred W. Albrecht Grocery Co. 2700 Gilchrist Road, Akron 44305 (330) 733-2263/www.acmestores.com

1,477

1,435

2.9%

1,946

Retail grocery and pharmacy stores

Steve Albrecht president

EMH Healthcare 630 E. River St., Elyria 44035 (440) 329-7500/www.emh-healthcare.org

1,473

1,389

6.0%

1,798

Health care provider

Donald Sheldon, MD president, CEO

Parma Community General Hospital 7007 Powers Blvd., Parma 44129 (440) 743-3000/www.parmahospital.org

1,461

1,491

(2.0%)

1,461

Hospital

Terrence G. Deis president, CEO

Westfield Insurance One Park Circle, Westfield Center 44251 (330) 887-0101/www.westfieldgrp.com

1,418

1,414

0.3%

1,599

Insurance, banking and related financial services

Robert J. Joyce executive chair, Westfield Group

Dominion East Ohio 1201 E. 55th St., Cleveland 44103 (800) 362-7557/www.dom.com

1,402

1,480

(5.3%)

1,535

Natural gas distribution

Anne E. Bomar senior vice president, general manager

J.M. Smucker Co.(4) 1 Strawberry Lane, Orrville 44667 330-682-3000/www.smuckers.com

1,400

1,200

16.7%

Fruit spreads, retail packaged coffee, peanut butter, shortening and oils

Timothy P. Smucker, chairman, coCEO; Richard K. Smucker, executive chairman, president, coCEO

Invacare Corp. One Invacare Way, Elyria 44035 (440) 329-6000/www.invacare.com

1,369

1,297

5.6%

1,369

Home health care equipment

Gerald B. Blouch president, CEO

Ben Venue Laboratories Inc. 300 Northfield Road, Bedford 44146 (440) 232-3320/www.benvenue.com

1,303

1,297

0.5%

1,303

Manufacturer of sterile injectable pharmaceutical products

Thomas J. Murphy president, CEO

Philips Healthcare 595 Miner Road, Highland Heights 44143 (440) 483-3000/www.philips.com/healthcare

1,250

0.0%

1,250

Manufacturer of medical diagnostic equipment

James Mazelsky general manager, CT and nuclear medicine

Alcoa 1600 Harvard Ave., Cleveland 44105 (216) 641-3600/www.alcoa.com

1,245

0.0%

Aluminum forgings for aerospace, automotive and commercial transportation markets

Olivier M. Jarrault exec. vp-Alcoa; group president, Engineered Products and Solutions

The Scott Fetzer Co. 28800 Clemens Road, Westlake 44145 (440) 892-3000/www.berkshirehathaway.com

1,238

1,386

(10.7%)

1,732

Diversified manufacturer

Kenneth J. Semelsberger chairman

Ernst & Young LLP 925 Euclid Ave., Suite 1300, Cleveland 44115 (216) 861-5000/www.ey.com

1,195

977

22.3%

1,684

Assurance, advisory, tax and transaction advisory services

Donald T. Misheff Northeast Ohio managing partner

Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities 1275 Lakeside Ave. East, Cleveland 44114 (216) 241-8230/www.cuyahogabdd.org

1,187

1,177

0.8%

1,187

Education, vocational training and M. Ryan residential services for infants, children and Terrence superintendent adults with developmental disabilities

Oberlin College 101 N. Professor St., Oberlin 44074 (440) 775-8400/www.oberlin.edu

1,078

1,082

(0.4%)

1,079

Higher education

Marvin Krislov president

Delphi Packard Electrical/Electronic Architecture 5725 Delphi Drive, Troy 48098 (248) 813-2000/www.delphi.com

1,070

1,100

(2.7%)

1,070

Global supplier of electronics and technologies for automotive, commercial vehicle and other market segments

James A. Spencer, vice president and president, Delphi Packard Electrical/Electronic Architecture and president, Delphi Latin America

Geauga County 470 Center St., Chardon 44024 (440) 285-2222/www.co.geauga.oh.us

1,055

1,085

(2.8%)

1,055

County government

Board of Commissioners

Pepsi Beverages Co. 1999 Enterprise Parkway, Twinsburg 44087 (330) 963-5300/www.pepsiamericas.com

1,049

1,055

(0.6%)

1,049

Manufacturer, seller and distributor of PepsiCo beverages

Dan Hungerman vice president, general manager, Ohio Market Unit

Medina County 144 N. Broadway St., Medina 44256 (330) 723-3641/www.co.medina.oh.us

1,041

1,064

(2.2%)

1,041

Political subdivision

Board of Commissioners

GE Lighting (unit of GE Appliances & Lighting) 1975 Noble Road, East Cleveland 44112 (216) 266-2222/www.gelighting.com

1,035

1,000

3.5%

2,050

A global manufacturer and marketer of lighting products

Maryrose Sylvester president, CEO, GE Lighting

Ohio Savings Bank, A Division of New York Community Bank 1801 E. Ninth St., Cleveland 44114 (216) 588-4100/www.amtrust.com

1,033

1,106

(6.6%)

1,033

Financial institution/bank

Robert J. Tolomer executive vice president, officer-in-charge

Huntington National Bank 917 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 44115 (800) 480-2265/www.huntington.com

1,017

980

3.8%

8,507

Financial services

Daniel P. Walsh Jr. president, Greater Cleveland region

RG Steel LLC 999 Pine Ave. SE, Warren 44483 (330) 841-8218/www.rg-steel.com

1,000

800

25.0%

1,000

Produces custom steels including high carbon and alloy flat rolled products

Thomas J. Cera vice president, general manager

Robinson Memorial Hospital 6847 N. Chestnut St., Ravenna 44266 (330) 297-0811/www.robinsonmemorial.org

999

1,106

(9.7%)

1,362

150-staffed-bed hospital

Stephen Colecchi president, CEO

Portage County 449 S. Meridian St., Ravenna 44266 (330) 297-3600/www.co.portage.oh.us

989

1,052

(6.0%)

989

County government

Board of Commissioners

Mentor Public Schools 6451 Center St., Mentor 44060 (440) 255-4444/www.mentorschools.net

987

1,015

(2.8%)

987

Public school district

Jacqueline A. Hoynes superintendent

Hyland Software Inc. 28500 Clemens Road, Westlake 44145 (440) 788-5000/www.hyland.com

969

802

20.8%

972

Independent software vendor; developer of A.J. Hyland the OnBase enterprise content management president, CEO software suite

See LIST Page 20

20110725-NEWS--20-NAT-CCI-CL_--

7/22/2011

3:13 PM

Page 1

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM

JULY 25 - 31, 2011

100 LARGEST NORTHEAST OHIO EMPLOYERS RANKED BY FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT LOCAL EMPLOYEES(1) Full-time equivalent local employees Rank

Company Address Phone/Web site

Total number of employees in Ohio Type of business

Top local executive Title

6/30/2011

6/30/2010

% change

Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools 37047 Ridge Road, Willoughby 44094 (440) 956-5000/www.weschools.org

942

925

1.8%

942

Public school district

Stephen Thompson superintendent

Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District 2155 Miramar Blvd., University Heights 44118 (216) 371-7171/www.chuh.org

908

918

(1.1%)

908

Public school district

Douglas G. Heuer superintendent

Saint Gobain Corp. 750 E. Swedesford Road, Valley Forge 19482 (610) 341-7000/www.saint-gobain-corporation.com

904

839

7.7%

904

Construction products, high-performance materials, glass containers

John Crowe president, CEO

Elyria Schools 42101 Griswold Road, Elyria 44035 (440) 284-8000/www.elyriaschools.org

862

907

(5.0%)

862

Public school district

Paul M. Rigda superintendent

Safeguard Properties LLC 7887 Safeguard Circle, Valley View 44125 (216) 739-2900/www.safeguardproperties.com

860

699

23.0%

860

Inspection and maintenance of defaulted and foreclosed properties nationally

Alan Jaffa CEO

Menorah Park Center for Senior Living 27100 Cedar Road, Beachwood 44122 (216) 831-6500/www.menorahpark.org

854

876

(2.5%)

1,131

Full continuum of care for seniors including residential and community services

Steven Raichilson executive director

Steris Corp. 5960 Heisley Road, Mentor 44060 (440) 354-2600/www.steris.com

852

787

8.3%

913

Maker of sterile processing and infection prevention systems

Walter M. Rosebrough Jr. president, CEO

Myers Industries Inc. 1293 S. Main St., Akron 44301 (330) 253-5592/www.myersindustries.com

849

863

(1.6%)

1,015

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland 1455 E. Sixth St., Cleveland 44114 (216) 579-2000/www.clevelandfed.org

847

873

(3.0%)

979

U.S. Central Bank

Sandra Pianalto president, CEO

RPM International Inc. P.O. Box 777, Medina 44258 (330) 273-5090/www.rpminc.com

825

901

(8.4%)

982

Specialty coatings for industrial and consumer markets

Frank C. Sullivan chairman, CEO

Lakewood City School District 1470 Warren Road, Lakewood 44107 (216) 529-4092/www.lakewoodcityschools.org

803

816

(1.6%)

803

Public school system

Jeffrey Patterson superintendent

Luk USA LLC 3401 Old Airport Road, Wooster 44691 (330) 264-4383/www.lukusa.com

800

0.0%

800

Clutch systems and torque converters for the automotive industry

Marc McGrath president

Ohio CAT 3993 E. Royalton Road, Broadview Heights 44147 (440) 526-6200/www.ohiocat.com

775

740

4.7%

775

Caterpillar engine and equipment distributor Kenneth E. Taylor in Ohio, Northern Kentucky and president Southeastern Indiana

St. Vincent Charity Medical Center 2351 E. 22nd St., Cleveland 44115 (216) 861-6200/www.stvincentcharity.com

772

1,003

(23.0%)

1,250

Health care provider

Dr. David F. Perse president

Goodrich Landing Gear 8000 Marble Ave., Cleveland 44105 (216) 341-1700/www.goodrich.com

761

890

(14.5%)

1,503

Aerospace technology systems

Mike Brand president

100

Polymer and metal products; equipment for John C. Orr tire service president, CEO

Source: PNC does not report local employees; the Cleveland Municipal School District and Jo-Ann Stores Inc. did not submit information. Information is supplied by the companies unless footnoted. Crain's Cleveland Business does not independently verify the information and there is no guarantee these listings are complete or accurate. We welcome all responses to our lists and will include omitted information or clarifications in coming issues. Individual lists and The Book of Lists are available to purchase at www.crainscleveland.com. (1) Employees working in Ashland, Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull and Wayne counties. Number of employees in Ohio may include full-time and part-time employees, not FTEs. (2) Information is from the 2010 100 Largest Northeast Ohio Employers list. (3) Lubrizol Corp. has agreed to be acquired by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2011. (4) 2011 employee number from Wayne Economic Development Council; 2010 employee number from The Daily Record, Oct. 23, 2009.

Roots: State still will have final say on incentives continued from PAGE 1

The starting line

in Ohio. It eventually will get as much as $100 million annually from state liquor profits to invest in job creation. Under the plan outlined by a JobsOhio solicitation for proposals, six regional organizations would contract with JobsOhio to run offices that would be the economic development organization’s primary eyes and ears. Those offices would replace a network of 12 regional economic development directors, or REDDs, who worked for the governor and the state Department of Development. The state would provide as much as $2.5 million in startup administrative seed money to each of the six organizations. In the past, a mayor or county economic development director would call the REDD, who would join negotiations and bring in state dealmakers to put together an incentive package that might include loans or tax credits. Now, however, the regional groups would be the dealmakers.

JobsOhio is still in its formative stage, and few details are available about how it will operate. So, it’s hard for those entities that likely will run the regional offices to talk about how they might work. “You’re going to find us a little reluctant to (speak) very much because there are just a lot of things in process,” said Team NEO president Tom Waltermire, who was putting the last touches on his group’s response to the state’s call for proposals when contacted by Crain’s last Thursday, July 21. “Over the next month not only will a lot of things be fleshed out at the state of Ohio level, but also inside the region,” he said. But Mr. Waltermire did want to make clear that Team NEO will continue to work collaboratively with communities and chambers of commerce in its JobsOhio role. Kristi Tanner, an assistant director of the Department of Development who is leading the transition to JobsOhio, said the change will

make for “a flatter organization.” Ms. Tanner said Team NEO and its counterparts in the other regions will be empowered to advise companies and local development officials on what kind of deals the state might be willing to offer. But a state agency or financing board will need to sign off on any incentive packages that include tax credits or state loans or grants. Edward Hill, dean of the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, sees a similarity to the bank business in how the new setup will work. “The analogy I have is branch banking,” because the regional offices will have limits on what they can authorize, Mr. Hill said.

Original intent Nine years ago, regional business leaders, led by the late H. Peter Burg, then chairman and CEO of FirstEnergy Corp., began talking about creating a nonprofit that would bring together the spectrum of economic development efforts in Northeast Ohio into a grand collab-

oration. The goal was to do a better job of stimulating business development in the region than the cities, counties and chambers of commerce could do on their own. But it didn’t work out that way. Despite public expressions of support from chamber of commerce and economic development officials, not everyone was willing to let a new regional organization share their stage. “It was passive aggressiveness done in a beautiful fashion,” Mr. Hill said. By 2006, when Mr. Waltermire was hired, the organization’s ambitions had been scaled back, and it worked exclusively on attracting new business to the region. Business retention and expansion were left in the hands of local officials. But JobsOhio now will be putting those programs back in Team NEO’s portfolio. Regional economic development officials representing private-sector interests who were contacted last week sounded eager to work in the new system. “Team NEO has been around for

RESEARCHED BY Deborah W. Hillyer

a while and a lot us have had a chance to put that together,” said Tom Humphries, president and CEO of the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce. “So the collaboration is automatic.” Bob Bowman, deputy mayor of Akron for economic development, is more skeptical. Partly that’s a result of not yet knowing how the JobsOhio Network will work. “I understand the idea of making it businesslike,” Mr. Bowman said. “I don’t know how somebody from the private sector puts together a public deal.” He conceded that a major issue for political leaders was, “Who gets the credit? “The state always wants credit, and now the region will want credit, which was not involved until now, and there’s also the local level and all the people in between,” he said. That concern may not be warranted. Mr. Waltermire said the JobsOhio regional office will work independently of his group’s business attraction operation. “Somewhere, Pete Burg is smiling,” said Brad Whitehead, president of the Fund for Our Economic Future, which has helped nurture Team NEO and other regional economic development collaborations. ■

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them into new planes by installing more powerful and fuel-efficient engines, new cockpits and controls and new interiors. Mike Heil, president of the Ohio Aerospace Institute in Cleveland, said the aviation industry came out of the recession faster and stronger than most sectors of the economy and has plenty of fuel for growth, especially overseas. “You’re picking up on the fact that aerospace is pulling out of the recession here. And the recession never really hit in the East, in China and India, so we continue to have a pickup in business,” Mr. Heil said. China, Mr. Heil said, quickly is opening its airspace to more commercial airliners. Since the industry essentially is starting from scratch in much of that nation, the Chinese still need about 20,000 commercial aircraft and will buy many of them from the United States, he said. Here at home, airlines also are expanding, as evidenced last week when American Airlines announced plans to spend $38 billion to buy about 460 new aircraft. Eyebrows were raised when American also said it would buy more than half those planes from Europe’s Airbus rather than its longtime sole supplier, Boeing — but that doesn’t hurt Ohio’s aerospace contractors, Mr. Heil said. “Ohio is Airbus’ top supplier of any state in the union. The last figure I saw was $4.5 billion (in parts and components) that they buy from Ohio companies every year,” Mr. Heil said. Ohio is only the No. 2 state in terms of selling to Boeing — but when either of the companies receives a contract, Ohio wins, Mr. Heil said. “It ends up being good news, because Ohio companies like Parker Hannifin, Alcoa, Goodrich … all have strong relationships with Airbus and the dollar-exchange rate makes doing business with the U.S. favorable for Airbus,” Mr. Heil said. The benefits to Ohio should only increase going forward, he predicts. “Airbus wants to do more business in Ohio. The CEO of Airbus (North America) has been to Ohio a few times,” Mr. Heil said. “They’ve been working with Sen. Sherrod Brown’s staff trying to figure out how to expand Airbus in Ohio.”

Now seating all rows Mr. Heil’s optimism is reflected in reports from other aerospace-related companies in and around Cleveland. Near Cleveland Hopkins Airport, Aero-Instruments has been buying product lines from other instrument makers, while continuing to develop its own line of Pitot sensors — critical components used to determine an aircraft’s speed. It’s heading both east and west for its sales. Aero-Instruments’ sensors recently were approved for use in China’s C919 aircraft, and the nation intends to build 2,400 of the aircraft, president Dan Pappano said. Aero-Instruments also hopes the sensors soon will be approved for use in Europe, which will mean it can sell them to Airbus, Mr. Pappano said. In Euclid, Tect Power got its 12,000-ton mechanical press fixed and online early this year, just in time to take advantage of growth it, too, is seeing in the aerospace sector, general manager Pat Burke said.

forecasts it looks like a steady increase at least though June 2012,” said Fredon customer service manager Joan Liston-Russell in an email shared with Crain’s by company president Roger Sustar.

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The cockpit of a redone Beechcraft 400 jet, which Nextant sells for $4 million as its Nextant 400XT. The press, one of the biggest of its kind in the world, forges turbine blades for jet engines from glowinghot titanium blanks. Aerospace is not the company’s only business, but it is its biggest, and engine makers around the world rely on it for blades and other titanium components. “Our business is really strong right now,” said Mr. Burke, who added that his biggest challenge at the moment is finding about 10 new employees to add to his current staff of about 100. Mr. Burke said Tect held on to existing customers after its press went down because it was able to scramble and keep them supplied with parts, even when it had to turn to other vendors to get them. “Not a single customer missed an engine build,” Mr. Burke says with no small amount of pride — even though the press was down from December 2009 until January of this year. Now, Tect has gained market share and its customers have gained momentum, Mr. Burke said. For example, one of its customers, Pratt & Whitney, recently had its engine approved for the new U.S. F35 Fighter plane.

In on the B-52 Other shops are benefitting as well. In Willoughby, Astro Manufacturing and Design — as a supplier to Nextant Aerospace and other, larger aircraft companies — says its aerospace business is up. The shop employs about 280 people and aerospace is its second-biggest business, behind medical devices, Astro vice president Rich Peterson said. “We’ve got 280 people, only because I can’t find any more right now,” Mr. Peterson said. Mr. Peterson said he’s gaining aerospace business from a variety of customers, from Lockheed Martin in Georgia to a North Carolina aerospace company that recently has been scouting Ohio for new suppliers. “We even just got a contract for the B-52 bomber, believe it or not, and we should get another one soon,” Mr. Peterson said. Down the road in Mentor, Fredon Manufacturing also said its aerospace business is growing again, after slowing a bit earlier this year when some aircraft production was postponed. “From what I can see of the

Then there is Nextant Aerospace, which hopes to have FAA approval of its Nextant 400XT this summer and to begin selling the wholly transformed Beechcraft 400 jets for about $4 million apiece thereafter. If the plan works — and plenty of customers already have put down deposits and placed orders for more than 40 planes, company officials say — Nextant plans to grow until it is churning out a plane a week with a work force of about 200 people at the airport. Nextant says it can sell its plane for less than half of what a similar plane costs new. And, with about 600 used versions of the jet already in circulation, the company figures it will have no shortage of platforms it can rebuild. Besides, Nextant vice president of manufacturing Jerry Bemis said, the company already is working on choosing the plane it will use as the platform for its next offering — though, for now, that’s a secret. The point, though, is that Nextant is up and running because it, its investors and its fleet-operating customers believe in the future of aviation and the revenues it will produce for them. The company is receiving orders from fractional jet ownership companies in the United States and also from Europe and other parts of the world, where personal and corporate jet ownership has yet to take off the way it has in this country.

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Paint for The Donald Big, locally based companies also are riding on the industry’s tailwinds, according to Mr. Heil, who said Parker Hannifin Corp., Eaton Corp. and others with operations in other parts of Ohio and around the world are seeing their aerospace-related business improve. Even Sherwin-Williams, for which aerospace is just a small part of its total business, says the sector has been a good one of late. After all, planes must be painted, said spokesman Mike Conway. Its customers range from Donald Trump to the U.S. military and companies that make aircraft for Asia. “It’s a growing segment for us,” Mr. Conway said. “It’s not gigantic, but it’s solid and growing.” Mr. Heil predicts the growth will continue for most companies involved in the sector. U.S. airlines need to replace their fleets with more efficient planes, China and India still need thousands more aircraft, and other parts of the world, such as Latin America and the Middle East, will buy more when their economies pick up, he said. Eventually, China will start to build more of its own planes, probably at its own factories or possibly at new companies it has yet to create, but even then Ohio companies likely will participate in its supply chain, Mr. Heil said. “Aerospace is our No. 1 export industry, for both the nation and state,” Mr. Heil said. “I think it’s going to continue to grow and it offers great opportunities for the state of Ohio.” ■

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Avenue: Mixed-use development enticing it would lose its lien rights to collect its bill if it did not file to foreclose. Under a proposal advanced by Nathan Zaremba, whose Zaremba Avenue LLC constructed the condo tower, 57 residential units would be finished and offered to the rental market if the would-be buyer and lenders agree to terms for settling the lawsuit and selling the property. Five units were sold before the residential market entered its worst downturn since the Great Depression. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had to move this ball a long, long way to get here,â&#x20AC;? Daniel Lindner, Nathan Zarembaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attorney, said during the hearing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We

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protested at last Wednesdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hearing that they were not certain how much the condo tower would be worth, Judge Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnell said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to believe you have an idea what the market is for this property, even if parties are not beating down the doors to buy it.â&#x20AC;? The judge indicated he wants the parties to seek a solution. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be here if (PNC) hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forced Panzica to file the foreclosure case that brought you in,â&#x20AC;? Judge Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnell said. It was a reference to Panzica stating in court papers that it had brought suit because PNC had told the contractor

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huge office vacancies with more are on the way. A lawyer not involved in the case who asked not to be identified said the mediation hearing will be a â&#x20AC;&#x153;cut up the pie session. But the discussion will be how much less everyone gets instead of how much more.â&#x20AC;? Spokeswomen for Key and PNC declined comment. The Avenue District plan was launched in 2006 as a plan to transform East 12th Street from Chester to Lakeside avenues as a new residential neighborhood. The plan was designed to launch development of hundreds of condos and townhouses on city-owned sites used as parking since. Only the condo tower and nearby townhouses were constructed before the mid-2000s real estate boom went bust. â&#x2013;

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THEWEEK JULY 18 - 24 The big story: Staff of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority presented to its board a 40-page draft report that lays out a new direction for the quasi-public agency that is less ambitious but likely more attainable than the plan it replaces. The plan re-establishes the Port Authority as primarily a manager of the waterfront and its docks, and it sets goals for expanding the maritime business. It also suggests the Port Authority expand its marine role by becoming the steward of the Cuyahoga River as well as the lakefront, taking responsibility for protecting the marine environment for commercial and recreational uses. See related story, Page 3.

Value shopping: Nordson Corp. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Value Plastics Inc., a producer of fittings and valves used in the medical field, in a deal valued at $250 million. The Westlake-based maker of automated spraying and dispensing equipment expects to finance the deal under an existing $400 million revolving credit line. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Nordson’s earnings in the first full year of acquisition.

That’s settled: FirstMerit Corp. said it settled for $10.5 million a lawsuit with the receiver for Joanne and Alan Schneider, developers who orchestrated a Ponzi scheme in the mid-2000s to fund real estate projects, including the failed Cornerstone development in Parma Heights. The Akron-based banking company said $9.9 million of the settlement with the receiver, Matthew L. Fornshell, will be covered by its insurer, while FirstMerit itself pays $600,000. The funds will be “distributed to the Schneider investors pursuant to the terms of the settlement agreement and further order of the court,” FirstMerit said.

REPORTERS’ NOTEBOOK BEHIND THE NEWS WITH CRAIN’S WRITERS

This is bad, girls, and that’s good ■ You don’t have to be bad. You do have to mean business. Bad Girl Ventures, a Cincinnati-based micro-finance organization that offers training, education and financial resources to women-owned startups, marked its expansion into Cleveland last Friday, July 22. This is Bad Girl’s third market, after its first in Cincinnati and its second in Oxford, home of Miami University. The organization deploys donations and grant dollars to business owners via low-interest loans. It opened its local office at Shaker LaunchHouse on Friday. Founded in March 2010, Bad Girl Ventures has received local support already: The city of Cleveland gave $7,000 toward $1,000 grants for businesses that locate in Cleveland, while the Cleveland and Business of Good foundations gave $25,000 apiece toward its operations. Its largest supporter thus far, KeyBank, gave $100,000. Its commitment will fund three $25,000 loans and $25,000 in operations. “I think they will fill a very unique niche of women entrepreneurs who have very small funding needs and don’t have a lot of connectivity to the business community,” said Maria C. Coyne, founder of Key4Women and head of Key’s business banking segment. The organization’s first Cleveland class begins Oct. 12. Classes take place for three hours one day a week for eight weeks and involve lessons and intensive coaching. Since its founding, Bad Girl Ventures has invested more than $310,000 in 18 businesses

WHAT’S NEW

Same old, same old: Home sales statewide in June fell nearly 17% from the like month a year ago, and Northeast Ohio fared even worse, with a 17.8% sales drop, according to data from the Ohio Association of Realtors. The group reported there were 10,009 homes sold statewide last month, down 16.6% from 12,000 in June 2010. The average sale price was $142,235, or 2.9% below the $146,536 average in the like month a year ago. A new journey: A publicly traded company from Waltham, Mass., acquired Trek Diagnostic Systems of Cleveland, a microbiology company that develops blood culture, identification and susceptibility technology. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. did not disclose what it paid for Trek, which was owned by Magellan Biosciences. Thermo Fisher said Trek has 150 employees and posted revenue of $34 million in 2010.

The price seems to be right ■ A law of real estate investing is to buy a property at the right price in order to position a deal for a profit. The recent purchase of the former Chrysler stamping plant in Twinsburg shows the first part of the tenet at work. Scannell Properties Inc. of Indianapolis and DiGeronimo Cos. of Valley View paid industrial equipment salvage firm Maynard Industries Inc. $9.1 million for the 2.2 million-square-foot plant on 167 acres, according to Summit County land records. Twinsburg Industrial Properties LLC, the venture Scannell and DiGeronimo formed for the project, also paid another $1.1 million for equipment, which is not taxed as property. Robert Garber, an industrial expert and principal at the Cresco real estate firm, said from a distance it looks like the buyers “got a hell of a deal.” He said unimproved industrial land in the high-demand Twinsburg market is worth at least $15,000 an acre. The joint venture said it plans to demolish 1.4 million square feet of the plant to yield sites for new construction; that also means

Sky-high law school tuition gets spread pretty far

COMPANY: AgraTronix, Streetsboro PRODUCT: Power Wizard 24000 Fence Charger Livestock in, predators out. That’s the philosophy behind this new product from AgraTronix. The company says its electric fence energizer uses proprietary Ultra low-impedance technology to contain cows, horses and other livestock through wet and heavy vegetation. “Our new Power Wizard electric fence charger meets the higher capacity needs of the larger ranch and farm owners that require electrical containment of their horses, cattle or exotic animals,” says James Falbo, vice president of engineering at AgraTronix. The newest addition to the company’s Power Wizard fence energizer line produces 24 Joule output to control up to 2,400 acres of fenced land. AgraTronix says the Power Wizard 24000 includes a color-coded, fence voltage indicator enabling farmers to determine immediately the voltage of their fences. A red light indicates a heavily loaded fence with a voltage between 2,000 to 3,000 volts. Yellow means the fence is moderately loaded, producing 4,000 to 5,000 volts, and the green lights indicate the fence is operating at 6,000 to more than 10,000 volts. For information, visit www.PowerWizardInc .com.

it will reap dollars for scrap steel and copper. It will retain 800,000 square feet of the complex as scarce crane-equipped space under a high roof. Twinsburg Mayor Katherine Procop said the city plans to seek state grants to aid the capital-intensive redevelopment process. — Stan Bullard

An apt app for patients ■ The Cleveland Clinic’s electronic medical records have gone mobile. The new iPhone app — an extension of the Clinic’s online portal, MyChart — went live last Tuesday, July 19, and by late last week had been downloaded more than 1,100 times by patients, according to Dr. C. Martin Harris, the Clinic’s chief information officer. The Clinic’s online MyChart portal has 300,000 active users. “This (app) really brings your health information into the context of your daily living as you’re making immediate decisions,” Dr. Harris said. The application is a scaled-down version of its online counterpart, but allows patients to access their prescription history, appointment reminders, messages from physicians, test results, allergies and other medical information. The free application can be downloaded through Apple’s iTunes store. — Timothy Magaw

BEST OF THE BLOGS Excerpts from recent blog entries on CrainsCleveland.com

New digs down the road: The ClevelandCuyahoga County Port Authority said it intends to buy a three-story building in Cleveland’s Warehouse District for $3.1 million in cash. The Port Authority, which now has offices at One Cleveland Center, expects to take as much as half the space in the 25,500-squarefoot building that overlooks its waterfront docks when its One Cleveland leases expire in 2013 and 2014. The building is at 1100 W. Ninth St., on the edge of the Warehouse District. The purchase could end up saving the Port Authority $270,000 a year from reduced costs for the organization’s office space and because revenue from continuing tenants largely will cover the operating cost of the building.

and provided education to 120. Companies are eligible if they are 51% owned and controlled by women and are 5 years old or younger. Applications are available at www.badgirlventures.com. — Michelle Park

■ Lawrence E. Mitchell, the new dean of the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, was among the experts quoted in a New York Times story about what the newspaper called “one of the academy’s open secrets” — the huge amount of cash law schools generate to subsidize other parts of universities’ operations. The Times said law schools “toss off so much cash they are sometimes required to hand over as much as 30% of their revenue to universities, to subsidize less profitable fields.” Mr. Mitchell already is experiencing this phenomenon. He told The Times, “If my president were to say ‘We’ll never take more than 10% of your revenue,’ I’d say ‘God bless you,’ and we’d never have to talk again. But having just come from a two-day meeting of new and current deans organized by the American Bar Association, I can tell you that some law schools pay 25% or even 30%.” The newspaper reported that among deans, the money surrendered to the administration is known informally as “the tax.” But here’s why it’s possible: The Times said that from 1989 to 2009, law school tuition shot up 317%.

If you need proof Cleveland sports fans have it tough … ■ While fearful of feeding Cleveland sports fans’ self-loathing, add “The Study” to the list of two-word catastrophes folks ’round

these parts recite upon request. A new formula from BizJournals.com — something called the Fan Difficulty Index — places the Browns as the second-most painful NFL team someone can follow; only Detroit is worse. (You can find the index at tinyurl.com/3qvk8p8.) The methodology is pretty straightforward — teams’ cumulative 10-season records and the number of seasons since three landmarks occurred — though you probably don’t need to look at it to know the lovable-loser Browns don’t stack up. The Indians, meanwhile, are the ninthmost-difficult baseball team to follow, according to BizJournals.com; the team’s ALCS run in 2007 certainly helped.

One of these things is not like the other ■ The Wall Street Journal included Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. in a story about the strongest U.S. stock market performers of the first half of the year. The newspaper highlighted five stellar stocks and noted that Cleveland-based Cliffs, an iron ore miner, “dug up gains for investors of close to 19% in the first half of 2011, due to a resurgent iron-ore market which boosted profit margins.” Shneur Gershuni, an analyst at UBS in New York, told The Journal that the stock should do even better in the second half of the year, as a boom in infrastructure building in Asia should drive up demand for steel and in turn push up the consumption of iron ore. Mr. Gershuni puts a price target of $123 on the stock, more than 25% above current levels. The four other companies highlighted were consumer-oriented: Netflix, Chipotle, Philip Morris International and Kraft Foods.

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