20120730-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_--
7/27/2012
4:24 PM
Page 1
$2.00/JULY 30 - AUGUST 5, 2012
Auto suppliers on spending spree They’re gobbling up equipment to keep up with healthy demand By DAN SHINGLER dshingler@crain.com
The economy, by many accounts, is slowing. However, Northeast Ohio auto suppliers say their business is still brisk — so much so that many are investing in expensive new equipment to keep up with demand.
Fate of print schedule at Plain Dealer a hot topic
“There’s now an eight- to 12month lead time if I want to order another new press,” said Bill Adler, president of Stripmatic Products in Cuyahoga Heights, a stamper for the automotive industry. So when Mr. Adler got the chance recently, he says he jumped on the opportunity to buy a 300-ton press — the last that his dealer had in
inventory. Welcome to Bizzaro World right here in Northeast Ohio. For decades, area auto parts manufacturers Adler seemed to be sources of job losses as much as they were sources of parts for brakes, engines and other automotive systems. Even
Local choices continue to expand, though skeptics wonder if the popularity eventually will wane
MORE CUPCAKE SHOPS POPPING UP
The May 24 announcement shook media observers nationwide. The publisher of The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune said the 175-yearold daily newspaper in September would end seven-day-a-week delivery. Instead, it would print newspapers three days a week and would shift its news delivery emphasis to Nola.com, the paper’s companion website. At the same time, the newspaper’s owner, Advance Publications Inc., a division of the Newhouse family media empire — and owner of The Plain Dealer — said it would take the same steps in three markets in Alabama. That announcement turned heads in Cleveland toward East 18th Street and Superior Avenue, The Plain Dealer’s downtown home; even PD staffers are asking the same questions others in the community are asking. Will The PD follow its New Orleans cousin and end printing of newspapers on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays? Or will it continue to print and deliver a newspaper seven days a week? If not, how will the newspaper stop the revenue and circulation tailspin it’s been in for
MMPI shows off With about a year before the planned opening of Cleveland’s new convention center, the developer is offering tours of the progress it’s made on the site. PAGE 3 PLUS: ■ Pro sports teams’ corporate sponsors are shifting away from previously desired exclusivity within their industry. PAGE 7 ■ Is your boss arrogant? An Akron dean can tell. PAGE 19
See SUPPLIERS Page 12
CLE’S CRAZY FOR CUPCAKES
Owner cuts production at sister publications By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com
those with strong market share often lamented their positions, longing to swap their auto business for defense work or contracts to make medical devices. Today, that same automotive business is a source of strength in the economy. Mr. Adler, for one, is in the process of spending $1.6 million
INSIDE
Tracking the number of Cleveland-area shops selling cupcakes to open the last seven years:
ON THE WEB: See how readers judged
By MICHELLE PARK mpark@crain.com
A
rising number of local entrepreneurs have developed a taste for the cupcake business, despite speculation that it’s a trend with a limited shelf life. Cupcake shops abound in big cities such as New York, but have taken off here only recently. A search for cupcake shops in Northeast Ohio rounds up no fewer than 20, nearly half of which opened in 2011 and 2012. Though it doesn’t appear anyone tracks the number of cupcake shops nationwide, a popular cupcake blog links
area cupcakes in Crain’s Cupcake Taste Test. www.CrainsCleveland.com/Cupcake to more than 400 shops. Some, such as Main Street Cupcakes, with its flagship store in Hudson, have expanded from one to multiple locations, while others are home-based bakeries. Bob Derrington is skeptical that all will survive. A restaurant analyst for Northcoast Research in Cleveland and a restaurant franchisee before that, Mr. Derrington compares today’s cupcake craze to the rapid proliferation of bagel chains and See CUPCAKES Page 9
29
See PD Page 6
0
NEWSPAPER
74470 83781
7
SPECIAL SECTION
HIGHER EDUCATION Region’s colleges continue efforts to improve upon tech transfer efforts ■ Page 13 PLUS: CURRICULUM DEBATE ■ UNIVERSITY PRESSES ■ & MORE
Entire contents © 2012 by Crain Communications Inc. Vol. 33, No. 29