Mid-Year Report 2021: Momentum Endures

Team NEO Performance and Impact Report

As the easing of COVID-related restrictions continue and business begins to rebound, Team NEO – along with the economic development network of public and private, local and state entities – is driving job creation and new capital investment in Northeast Ohio by connecting companies with resources to help them thrive.

The trajectory of Northeast Ohio’s economy is on an upward swing, as evident from Moody’s Analytics showing improvements over previous projections.*

This report illustrates highlights from the progress made through the first half of 2021. Simply put, momentum is building and confidence is growing stronger.

* Team NEO Report: Post-pandemic economic projections as of March 2021

We Strengthen a Better Coordinated Regional Network to Make New Business Happen

As one of only six network partners for JobsOhio, we connect companies across the 18 counties of Northeast Ohio to state resources for job creation and retention, regional investments, and business growth.

In the first half of 2021, Team NEO, JobsOhio and the Northeast Ohio Region Economic Development Network worked with companies on projects that will generate:

New Jobs

$ 0

Million in Annual Payroll

$ 0

Billion in Capital Investments

Projects Include

ORGANIZATION

COUNTY

INDUSTRY

AML RightSource LLC

Ardagh Metal Beverage USA Inc.

Avery Dennison Corporation

B D G Wrap-Tite, Inc.

Bang Printing of Ohio, Inc

Breakwall Analytics, LLC

CSA America Testing & Certification LLC

Charter Manufacturing Company, Inc.

Cleveland Cyclewerks, LLC

Coastal Pet Products, Inc.

CrossCountry Mortgage, LLC

Dana White Machining & Welding, Inc.

Duraflow Industries, Inc.

Edge Plastics, Inc.

Great Lakes Power Products, Inc.

Grimco, Inc. K.E. McCartney & Associates, Inc.

K.E. McCartney & Associates, Inc.

Kyotocooling – North America, LLC

Lloyd Rebar Company, LLC

Lordstown Motors Co.

MIM Software Inc.

Macy’s Corporate Services, LLC

Mark-All Enterprises, LLC

McBee Supply Corporation

Mid-West Materials, Inc.

N2Y LLC

Novagard Solutions, Inc.

Oldcastle Lawn & Garden, Inc.

Petit Auto Wash, Inc.

Remesh Inc.

SC Strategic Solutions, LLC

Skylift, Inc.

Special Power Sources, LLC

Superior Roll Forming LLC

Sta-Warm Electric Company

Symba & Snap Gourmet Foods, Inc.

The Chef’s Garden, Inc.

The Cleveland Clinic Foundation

The Simplay3 Company

Thomas Steel Strip Corporation

Valley Foods Incorporated

Cuyahoga

Erie

Lake

Cuyahoga

Portage

Cuyahoga

Stark

Cuyahoga

Ashland

Huron

Richland

Lake

Summit

Richland

Summit

Richland

Trumbull

Cuyahoga

Mahoning

Summit

Cuyahoga

Lake

Erie

Cuyahoga

Portage

Summit

Cuyahoga

Huron

Lorain

Stark

Portage

Medina

Cuyahoga

Erie

Cuyahoga

Portage

Trumbull

Financial Services

Advanced Manufacturing

Shale Energy and Petrochemicals

Advanced Manufacturing

Other

Information Services & Software

Advanced Manufacturing

Automotive

Advanced Manufacturing

Financial Services

Advanced Manufacturing

Other

Advanced Manufacturing

Automotive

Healthcare

Logistics and Distribution

Advanced Manufacturing

Automotive

Advanced Manufacturing

Information Services and Software

Shale Energy and Petrochemicals

Advanced Manufacturing

Food Sciences & Agriculture

Advanced Manufacturing

Information Services and Software

Advanced Manufacturing

Shale Energy and Petrochemicals

Advanced Manufacturing

Agriculture

Healthcare

Advanced Manufacturing

Food Sciences and Agriculture

Feature Project

Ardagh Group Purchases Facility to Grow its Business in Huron

Ardagh Group, a global leader in infinitely recyclable metal and glass packaging solutions, has purchased a facility in Huron, Ohio.

Project Details

Ardagh is converting the space into a manufacturing plant producing infinitely recyclable beverage cans and ends. The facility will begin production in late-2021 and provide more than 200 local jobs.

The City of Huron, Erie County Economic Development Corporation, Ohio Development Services Agency, JobsOhio and Team NEO collaborated with Ardagh in support of the project. This economic development team provided a variety of resources and insights to help bring the project to Northeast Ohio versus other locations in the Mid- and Southwest that were under consideration.

Feature Project

Breeze Airways Launches Flights from Akron-Canton Airport

Breeze Airways brought new travel options to the Northeast Ohio Region in June by inaugurating service out of the Akron-Canton Airport (CAK). Team NEO played a critical regional network connection point between local teams in Summit and Stark Counties with JobsOhio in our collective efforts to attract more air service to the region.

A Quote from the President & CEO, Akron-Canton Airport

“The partnership with Team NEO provided Akron-Canton Airport a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to land Breeze Airways for the benefit of Northeast Ohio’s community. With this new air service, we have a chance to improve our quality of life by providing nonstop, point to point connections with plans for future growth.”

“Thank you, Team NEO!”

Renato Camacho, AAE, PE, PTOE
President & CEO, Akron-Canton Airport

Feature Project

Macy’s Corporate Services to Bring 417 Jobs to North Jackson

Macy’s Corporate Services LLC, operating as a distribution and logistics center for Macy’s Inc. in North Jackson, has announced plans to expand at the facility to operate a fulfillment center. Macy’s will add 417 new jobs and retain 55 employees.

Project Details

The project will include a $29.9 million capital investment to accommodate this growth. While corporate decision-makers evaluated other established distribution and logistics centers, they chose to leverage North Jackson’s logistical excellence and access to skilled employees.

Following Macy’s initial inquiry to Team NEO, a strong partnership was formed with JobsOhio, the Western Reserve Port Authority, the Youngstown/ Warren Regional Chamber and the Ohio Development Services Agency. This team worked with Macy’s corporate management to provide the information, insights and resources that ensured they chose North Jackson for this expansion project.

The North Jackson/Lordstown corridor has generated impressive wins over the past several years with seven companies committing to create more than 5,200 new jobs.

Coastal Pet Products Plans Expansion in Alliance

Coastal Pet Products, a leading manufacturer of pet collars, leashes, harnesses and other products, plans to expand as the company continues to stay at the forefront of the pet industry. In addition to adding 74 new hires, Coastal Pet Products will retain 450 employees at its Alliance location, where the company was founded.

Project Details

Stark Economic Development Board, in partnership with Team NEO, conducts regular calls with businesses to uncover opportunities. It was during one of these touch points with the executive team of Coastal Pet Products that an opportunity for the company to expand in Stark County was discovered.

Company executives worked with an economic development team comprised of the city of Alliance, Alliance Area Development, Stark Economic Development Board, JobsOhio and Team NEO. They received a JobsOhio Workforce Grant for employee development and training programs to create efficiencies to remain competitive in the marketplace.

We Advance Technology Adoption to make our economy more productive, resilient and globally competitive.

In June, the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET) launched “Make It Better: A Blueprint for Manufacturing in Northeast Ohio.”

It encourages manufacturers, economic development organizations, philanthropy, and public sector leaders to embrace Northeast Ohio’s opportunity to invest in talent, technology transformation, innovation, and leadership strategies to drive greater manufacturing excellence throughout the region. The Blueprint offers a vision of our region as a world leader in smart manufacturing.

The Smart Manufacturing Cluster of Northeast Ohio, facilitated by Team NEO, will serve as a platform to help engage and inform manufacturers about the Manufacturing Blueprint. Team NEO’s enhanced Smart Manufacturing website aligns with the Blueprint. Team NEO was proud to work in close collaboration with MAGNET in this effort.

Because of Team NEO’s history of cultivating strong industry networks and clusters, we are able to help companies access resources to help navigate the current supply chain challenges.

When Lumitex, a lighting system design and development firm based in Strongsville and manufacturer of their breakthrough infant jaundice medical device BiliSoft, experienced critical shortages in their existing supply chain, they turned to Team NEO for assistance. Team NEO was able to connect Lumitex with the commercial leadership at Avient, a global provider of specialty and sustainable materials, headquartered in Avon Lake. Avient responded quickly across their global operational network and secured the specific polymer solution that was in extremely short supply worldwide. Avient not only provided the immediate material supply needed to manufacture this crucial medical device, but they also were able to provide longer-term commitment for continuity of supply for the special formulation.

A dynamic inventory of readily available sites is necessary to attract new business to the region.

When making important investment decisions in a community, companies value site alternatives with a full complement of infrastructure attributes, transportation access, mobility options, and other attributes that help drive investment returns as quickly as possible. Having a robust inventory of readily marketable sites enables our region to compete more effectively for the most competitive business expansion and attraction opportunities. Team NEO is focused on building a robust inventory of 40 readily available sites by the end of 2022.

In collaboration with Team NEO’s RightSites Council, we identified and reviewed 20 of the most competitive sites in the region, and now have 9 sites on our landing page. We are on target to add 11 more to our landing page.

In the first half of the year, Team NEO identified the first four Job Hub Priority Sites: two in Barberton and two in Stark County. In partnership with the Fund for Our Economic Future and our local economic development partners, this strategic effort identifies and completes thorough analysis for highly competitive sites in job hubs, in addition to deploying targeted BRE outreach to companies within the job hubs to help attract investment to the area. We launched a landing page to showcase the job hub priority sites and we developed marketing sheets for promotional purposes.

2020 – 2021 NEO Ohio Site Inventory Program Offers Made/In Process

We are on track to add two additional sites in Barberton and two in Stark County to the landing page by the end of 2021.

Team NEO leveraged JobsOhio Ohio Site Inventory Program (OSIP), which offers grants and low-interest loans for speculative site and building development projects to fill the gaps in Ohio’s real estate inventory. Team NEO helped secure the most speculative development projects and funding of all regions in the state for the 2020-2021 funding cycle. Six speculative development projects, in six different counties across the Northeast Ohio Region, represent 1.7M square feet of new and renovated speculative space and $89M of private investment. Additionally, Team NEO helped to secure OSIP funding for due diligence analysis at six highly competitive sites going through the SiteOhio Authentication process. As a new funding cycle opens July 1, 2021, Team NEO looks to support developers during the second round of applications beginning this summer.

Seasons Business Center 5

This new construction in Stow is supported by OSIP and features 247,000 square foot new high bay space, with 32′ clear height, ESFR sprinklers, 8″ reinforced concrete, and abundant parking. A great location for business expansion and attraction!

We address the talent supply/demand gap by focusing on talent availability to attract new business investment

Success in attracting new business investment is directly related to our region’s talent availability – and Team NEO is working to ensure our region’s talent pool is ready to take on the opportunities of tomorrow.

One way we do this is by informing and influencing the talent ecosystem – including secondary and higher education institutions, workforce development organizations and business leaders – with data insights.

In May, Team NEO released Lost Opportunities, our latest economic research report examining the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on working women. The Lost Opportunities virtual launch event was attended by more than 200 participants. The report is a supplement to Team NEO’s annual Aligning Opportunities report, which provides a clear assessment of in-demand jobs, the availability of trained workers to meet demand and a picture of what skills and training our workforce needs to fill them. Lost Opportunities complements Team NEO’s Misaligned Opportunities report, a supplement released last year that took a deeper look at racial equity as it relates to labor force opportunities.

To have a vibrant regional economy we must have a talented workforce that is inclusive. Our goal with this new supplement is to bring awareness to the opportunities and strengths of women in the region’s workforce, inspire conversation and explore creative solutions to create a more women-friendly work environment.

In 2021, the Talent Development Council continues to align opportunities through a series of conversations focused on: Pipeline, policy (to leverage state programs), pilots (to scale local programs), performance (reviewing data over time), participation (ensuring inclusiveness), and promotion.

Corporate Investors

Visionary Partners & Above

Economic Development Partner Investors

Philanthropic Investors

For a complete list of investors, visit teamneo.org/investors. To join Team NEO as an investor partner and help drive the next wave of economic growth in our region, connect with Dawn Southard, Vice President, Investor Relations at 440.476.0476 or [email protected].

We're here for you

Whether you have questions or concerns about your business, or would like to be connected with helpful resources, Team NEO can help. Fill out the form below or contact us at 216-363-5400.

Stay Informed

Economic development partners across 18 counties of the Northeast Ohio Region

Ashland Area Economic Development
Columbiana County Port Authority
Erie County Economic Development Corporation
Geauga Growth Partnership, Inc.
Greater Akron Chamber
Greater Cleveland Partnership
Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County
Huron County Development Council
Lake County Ohio Port & Economic Development Authority

Medina County Economic Development Corporation
Portage Development Board
Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development
Stark Economic Development Board, Inc.
Tuscarawas Economic Development Corporation
Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber
Wayne Economic Development Council