Leadership

Kasich Set to Deliver Final State of the State

Governor John Kasich will deliver his eighth and final State of the State address to a joint session of the Ohio General Assembly on Tuesday, March 6 at 7:00 p.m.

Kasich has given the annual speech in various corners of Ohio in past years and chose his hometown of Westerville for his final address.

The governor’s speech is expected to address wide-ranging topics including opioid addiction, education and workforce development, economic development and access to firearms.

You can view the speech live at the Ohio Channel. 3/1/2018

Labor Fuels Ohio GOP Legislative Campaigns

From the Columbus Dispatch: “Continuing a trend that has grown more pronounced each election cycle, union money poured into Republican legislative campaigns in 2017. In fact, four of the GOP’s top five political action committee donors were unions: operating engineers ($502,600), affiliated construction trades ($264,800), laborers ($214,750), and plumbers and pipefitters ($196,000).

Add in carpenters, building and construction trades, and electrical workers unions, and they make up seven of the top 20 PAC donors to legislative Republicans.” 3/1/2018

Ohio Changing Driver License Process

In an effort to ensure greater security and identification protection for customers, and to comply with federal regulations, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles is introducing a single, central point of production for state driver licenses and identification cards, effective July 2, 2018.

Licenses and identification cards will no longer be produced while you wait at each of the more than 180 Deputy Registrar offices statewide. While customers will still go to a Deputy Registrar for license and card renewals or other transactions, they will receive their driver licenses and identification cards by mail rather than over the counter. Only a temporary proof of transaction will be issued at a Deputy Registrar location.

Read more here. 2/28/2018

House Passes Bill to Create Road Improvement Fund

This week the House passed House Bill 415, a bill that creates the Local Government Road Improvement Fund, to which one half of the state surplus revenue each fiscal year will be allocated.

The measure would supply funds to local governments for road improvement projects. The bill would prevent this or any future General Assembly from passing legislation that decreases the amount allocated to the Local Government Improvement Fund, which must be least 1.66 percent of the General Revenue Fund.

House Bill 415 also includes provisions to keep the Budget Stabilization Fund (BSF), otherwise known as the state’s “rainy day fund,” at a specific balance considered to be sufficient. Historically, surplus revenue from the General Revenue Fund has been deposited into the BSF. Beginning in fiscal year 2020, House Bill 415 would mandate that half of the surplus be moved to the Local Government Road Improvement Fund, and the other fifty percent placed in the BSF to maintain its required level (which is 8.5 percent of the General Revenue Fund).

The bill now moves to the Ohio Senate for action. 3/1/2018

2018 STEP Ahead Award Winners Announced

The Manufacturing Institute has announced the 2018 STEP Ahead Award Honorees and Emerging Leaders. These women have accomplished success within their companies and have proven to be leaders in the industry as a whole.

This year, the Institute has also chosen to recognize a select few for the Emerging Leaders category – representing young women who are the future of the industry and have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments at just the beginning of their careers.

These 130 women will be honored at the 2018 STEP Ahead Awards on April 10 in Washington, D.C.

Here are the Ohio-based honorees:

• Emerging Leader –Claire Castleman, Sustainability Program Manager, Eaton, Cleveland
• Emerging Leader – Brittany Kanz, Manager, Master Planning and Inventory, Aleris International, Inc., Beachwood
• Honoree Helene Lagace, Director, Technology, Aleris, Beachwood
• Honoree – Elia Lopez, Plant Manager, Procter & Gamble, Lima
• Honoree – Joyce Niedringhaus, Principal Research Engineer, AK Steel Corporation, Middletown
• Honoree – Angie Pitt, Global Business Process Leader, O-I, Perrysburg
• Honoree – Anne Roman, Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Findlay
• Honoree – Audrey Rossman, Director, Global External Supply Operations, Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati
• Emerging Leader – Ayesha Satija, Associate Process Engineer, AK Steel Corporation, Mansfield
• Honoree – Jennie Tinney, Materials Manager – ICM, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Akron

And here is a state by state listing of the honorees. 3/1/2018

MAGNET’S 2018 Northeast Ohio Manufacturing Survey Summary

The Ohio Manufacturing Extension Partnership organization known as MAGNET (Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network) recently surveyed 400 Northeast manufacturers across a broad range of subjects. It said: “The survey definitively shows that product innovation leads to more growth, while “grow your own workforce” strategies will be needed to fill the major labor shortages hampering small manufacturer growth. Emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, and digital manufacturing are beginning to enhance innovation and productivity, but still have significant room for adoption amongst Ohio’s small manufacturing businesses.”

Read a summary of the survey findings here. 3/1/2018

UPS Ground with Freight Pricing – Avoid lift-gate and floor minimum fees

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Click here to check GFP rates, service availability, and to save on your next shipment. Visit here or call 1-800-MEMBER (800-636-2377), M-F 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. EST. 2/18/2018

Economist Ned Hill on Ohio Manufacturing

Dr. Edward “Ned” Hill, who teaches economic development policy, public policy and public finance in both the Glenn College and the City and Regional Planning section in The Ohio State University’s College of Engineering’s Knowlton School of Architecture, was featured in Capitol Letter by Cleveland.com.

In the brief piece, Hill said this about Ohio manufacturing: “Ohio’s a manufacturing state. It’s 17 percent of employment, 19 or 20 percent of GDP… Our productivity rates are growing like crazy and I think we do it very well. But manufacturing like any industry, I don’t want straight out subsidies going into it. … So (it’s important for the state provide a) trained labor force, competitive energy markets, technical assistance to small and mid-sized firms.”

Hill is a good friend of the OMA and a past-recipient of OMA’s Legacy Award for his volunteer efforts in support of Ohio manufacturing. He also enjoys building wooden boats. 2/22/2018

Another One Bites the Dust

This week another Ohio gubernatorial candidate bowed out of the jam packed race. Former state representative Connie Pillich exited the democratic primary and endorsed her onetime opponent Richard Cordray for governor.

By exiting the race, she leaves current Lt. Governor Mary Taylor as the only female seeking a major party nomination to be Ohio’s next governor. 2/15/2018

Advanced Manufacturing Program Taking Proposals

Administered by the Ohio Development Services Agency the Advanced Manufacturing Program is now accepting proposals.

According to the department: “Advanced manufacturing projects supported through this Program must help Ohio firms to achieve: i) earlier entrance to market, ii) faster responses to changing customer needs, iii) higher quality or lower cost products or iv) improved efficiency, consistency and reliability.”

Projects must be one of two types:

Type 1 – Supply chain projects: This project type involves partnering with a large manufacturing firm to implement one or more related new technologies or processes across the small and medium sized manufacturers in a segment of the company’s supply chain.

Type 2 – Special projects in cyber-defense and internet-of-things: This project type involves the deployment of technologies to protect the manufacturing base from disruption by cyber-attack.

The Program is offering single awards in the amount of $100,000-$500,000. 2/13/2018