crain's cleveland business

By DAN [email protected]

The unions are coming! Theunions are coming!

That’s the cry from pro-manage-ment voices in response to NationalLabor Relations Board recommen-dations for changes to its rules that dramatically would speed theprocess for union certification elec-

tions once a union has re-ceived enough signed peti-tion cards from employeesin favor of union represen-tation.

“It is unquestionablythe biggest change to laborlaw in half a century, and it’s goingto have a profound effect,” said labor lawyer Peter Kirsanow of theBenesch law firm in Cleveland. “It’s

By DAN [email protected]

The aerospace industry, itturns out, is a roomy first-class cabin that is carryinglocal companies ranging

from paint-maker Sherwin-WilliamsCo. to small high-tech manufacturers,which say they’re enjoying a sweetride on the sector’s strength.

Some companies supply tradi-tional parts while others are offeringnew, innovative components theythink will require them to grow sub-stantially here. And one — NextantAerospace, based at Cuyahoga CountyAirport in Richmond Heights — isabout to introduce a new aircraft tothe market, sort of. It’s taking usedBeechcraft 400 jets and turning

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 companiesare choosing the latest smart phone technologies andmoving away from the BlackBerry.

Find out what benefits those phones provide to companies beyond what the BlackBerry offered byreading Chuck Soder’s story on Page 3.

going to significantly spikethe number of employerswho are unionized.”

Mr. Kirsanow, a formerRepublican appointee tothe NLRB, was in Wash-ington last week testifyingon behalf of the NationalAssociation of Manufac-turers against the proposed

changes. The recommendations aresubject to public comments untilAug. 22, Mr. Kirsanow said.

Sometime after Sept. 5, the NLRB

will decide whether to adopt thechanges. Mr. Kirsanow expects theywill be approved by the board,which is controlled by appointeesof President Barack Obama.

The biggest change to comeabout if the changes are adopted isthat companies would have far lesstime to communicate with employeesabout the possible negative effectsof union representation, said Mr.Kirsanow and others who testifiedbefore the NLRB in opposition tothe changes.

Here in Cleveland, the GreaterCleveland Partnership said it wasnot yet sufficiently aware of theproposed changes to comment onthem, but other pro-business groupsaround the country have been voicingtheir opposition to the amendments.

Arnold Perl, a lawyer representingthe Tennessee Chamber of Com-merce, said the changes not onlywould put employers at a disadvan-tage, but also run contrary to thegoals of the NLRB.

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Vol. 32, No. 30

07447001032

630 SPECIAL SECTION

HIGHER EDUCATIONSchools expand their research facilities to drawtop talent and federal dollars ■■ 1PLUS: ENROLLMENTS ■■ CULINARY CURRICULA ■■ & MORE

NEW

SPAP

ER

Team NEO backto its roots inJobsOhio roleCentral economic development duties wouldresemble group’s original responsibilitiesBy JAY [email protected]

With planning under way to serve its role as one of six regionaleconomic development offices underthe JobsOhio nonprofit created byGov. John Kasich, Team NEO iscoming full circle.

Team NEO’s proposal to be the Northeast Ohio job-creationcontractor operating the JobsOhio regional office was due last Friday,July 22, and the acceptance of thatproposal won’t be announced untilsome time in August. But the non-profit appears positioned to playthe central role in a collaborativeeconomic development effort that

was envisioned for it by its foundersnearly a decade ago.

The plan is for the Cleveland-basednonprofit to oversee economic development for 18 counties, onlyslightly more than was planned forthe original Team NEO.

It was never able to play that central role because local politiciansand economic development offi-cials were reluctant to share respon-sibility — and credit — for bringingjobs and industry to their particularcorners of the state.

Now, they may have no choice.JobsOhio is Gov. John Kasich’s

vehicle for channeling state incen-tives to induce businesses to invest

Management groups fearful of proposal speeding union electionsNLRB changes would have ‘profound effect’

Kirsanow

See NLRB Page 4

See ROOTS Page 20

See FLYING Page 21

MARC GOLUB

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

AEROSPACE FLIES HIGHIndustry’s strength and quick recovery has

Northeast Ohio companies along for the ride INSIDE

20110725-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 7/22/2011 4:21 PM Page 1

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22 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM JULY 25 - 31, 2011

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COMING NEXT WEEK

Certain parts of Euclid Avenueare teeming with new life,while other areas, such as EastNinth to East 12th streets, arechallenged with vacancy. Weexplore the corridor’s develop-ment in our Real Estate section.

Road to prosperity

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Workers Current In constant

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2005 103,201 647 334

Year (in thousands) dollars (1982-84 dollars)

MARCHING IN PLACEMedian weekly earnings of the nation’s 100.4 million full-time wage and salaryworkers 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 inthe Consumer Price Index during the same period. Data from the BLS show median second-quarter wages, in constant dollars, are strikingly flat over thelast 10 years, and the U.S. work force is smaller than it used to be.

Work on the Residences at 668 hassince been completed.


JULY 25 - 31, 2011 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 3

INSIGHT

THE WEEK IN QUOTES“Companies likeParker Hannifin,Alcoa, Goodrich … allhave strong relation-ships with Airbus andthe dollar-exchangerate makes doingbusiness with the U.S.favorable for Airbus.”— Mike Heil, president of theOhio Aerospace Institute inCleveland. Page One

“It is unquestionablythe biggest change tolabor law in half acentury, and it’s goingto have a profound effect. It’s going to sig-nificantly spike thenumber of employerswho are unionized.”— Peter Kirsanow, lawyer, Benesch. Page One

“When you have state-of-the-art facilities,you attract the topminds. ... Those peopleare the ones who generate the most innovative, provoca-tive and compellinggrant proposals.”— Suzanne Rivera, Case WesternReserve University’s associatevice president for research. Page 11

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

Avenue District dispute winds downDeveloper, lenders working to untangledowntown condo tower from foreclosureBy STAN [email protected]

Lenders and developer NathanZaremba are sliding into the legalequivalent of a barber’s chair to seehow much of a haircut each gets asthey seek to end a foreclosure caseensnaring the 10-story condo tower

Mr. Zaremba’s company built indowntown Cleveland.

In an effort to bring the foreclo-sure case to a close, an unidentifiedinvestor has joined with a groupformed by Mr. Zaremba, his brothers,Walter and Tim, and contractorPanzica Cos. to acquire the troubledAvenue District property at 1211 St.

Clair Ave. Huntington Bank also hasagreed to help finance the purchaseof the tower, which would becomea rental property instead of condos.

Those revelations came aslawyers for the banks and the devel-oper agreed to private mediation ina hearing last Wednesday, July 20, inJudge John P. O’Donnell’s courtroomin Cuyahoga County Common PleasCourt.

Panzica 17 months ago filed toforeclose on the 62-unit condo towerto recoup $2 million in disputed

construction bills. That action trig-gered foreclosure filings by KeyCorpand PNC Bank and others thatloaned more than $21 million to themuch-touted residential construc-tion project.

Judge O’Donnell ordered the par-ties to hold the private mediationhearing by Sept. 9. To ensure themediation process is productive, healso told them to share their dis-parate appraisals of the tower’s value.

Although lender attorneys

Port seeksto becomesteward ofriver, lake Agency expands reachunder its strategic planBy JAY [email protected]

A second regional governmentis going through a makeover.

Just as Cuyahoga County gov-ernment has been remaking itselfunder new County Executive EdFitzGerald after a major corrup-tion scandal, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authorityis coming clean and rebrandingitself under its president of oneyear, William Friedman.

Last week, in unveiling a newstrategic plan, the Port Authorityofficially signaled it was aban-doning its ambitions to be a realestate developer on port land. Instead, it wants to be seen as agreen agency that’s protectingthe Cuyahoga River even as it refocuses on its business role as adock operator on the Great Lakes.

In short, it’s positioning itselfto be the steward of the lakefrontand the Cuyahoga.

The changes come after a planto move the docks to East 55th

Street proved to be financiallyunachievable — or, as a new policystatement explains in a mea culpa,“overly ambitious.”

The agency is refashioning itself a year before it must goback to voters to renew, and pos-sibly increase, the small, 0.13-mill property tax levy that cur-rently covers about 40% of theagency’s annual revenue, whichtotaled $7.9 million in 2010.

“The Port Authority believespreserving the river channel andmaritime industries are criticalresponsibilities,” Mr. Friedmanreported to his board of directorslast Wednesday, July 20. “We areprepared to lead that effort.”

Later that day, in a meetingwith the Crain’s editorial board,Mr. Friedman said the needs of thelakefront and the river channel areso great it could take $250 millionover the next decade or longer torestore the waterfront infrastruc-ture.

See PORT Page 7

TOSSING OUT THE BLACKBERRY

Some businesses eschew the cumbersomesmart phone for iPhone, Droid

By CHUCK [email protected]

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 intotheir private computer systems, and somesmall businesses are going so far as to replaceall their BlackBerrys.

Arhaus Furniture is among the businessesopening their internal computer networks toother smart phones. About a year ago, theWalton Hills company started allowing employees who are eligible for a new mobilephone to select either an iPhone or a Black-Berry. Since then, about 12% of employeeswho use company smart phones have madethe switch to the iPhone, said Ron Kerensky,chief information officer for Arhaus.

See MOBILE Page 17

T

The troubled Avenue District propertyat 1211 St. Clair Ave.See AVENUE Page 22

LAUREN RAFFERTY PHOTO ILLUSTRATION


put forth by, among others, ScottPedigo, president of a Utilities WorkersUnion of America local in West Virginia and a union organizer.

Mr. Pedigo told the board that, inhis experience, employers have knownfor months about unionization effortsby the time petition signatures havebeen gathered. They use that timeand more to cajole and intimidateemployees into voting against theunion if they can, he said.

“Our last campaign took over ayear to get the support needed towin an election,” Mr. Pedigo told theNLRB. “Our employer always knewwithin a matter of a few weeks thatwe were actively pursuing unioniza-tion. All of our campaigns were con-ducted in the light of day for monthsbefore filing for the election, and the company held many anti-unionmeetings. … There is no ambush ofemployees or employers.”

According to Mr. Pedigo, companieshe has organized used the time before the election “to ramp up theiranti-union campaign, and with evenmore mandatory meetings, toppedoff with one-on-one or two-on-onebrow beating sessions, designed tointimidate (employees). … The addi-tional time provided by the presentrules greatly increases the employer’schance of success simply by workingthe system.”

‘Old mo’ swings to laborThat last point might be the only

one on which people on both sidesof the argument agree. Mr. Kirsanowpredicts that if the rule is adopted in September, after the public comment period closes, unions willbegin organizing more companiesand winning a greater percentage ofelections.

They already have momentum intheir favor, he said.

“Unions are winning 68% of electionscurrently. When I was on the (NLRB)four years ago, they were winningabout 56%,” Mr. Kirsanow said.

As for the NLRB siding with busi-ness, Mr. Kirsanow said he doesn’thave much hope. He noted that theboard held hearings for only twodays — far less time than it has spentdebating less momentous decisionsin the past.

But, he said, if it does adopt the so-called quickie elections amendments,business likely will challenge them.

“Management groups are not go-ing to simply rest once it’s adopted,”Mr. Kirsanow said. “Managementgroups are going to, I think, do what-ever they can to get Congress toweigh in to either blunt the rules,stop implementation of the rules ornot fund the rules.” ■

“(Ten days) is not enoughtime for a company tocommunicate its side ofthe story.” – Peter Kirsanow, labor lawyer,Benesch

“The current rules for the conductof representation elections, in ourview, do not build in unnecessarydelays,” Mr. Perl told the NLRB.“The proposed rules for quickieelections will prevent or impede afree and reasoned choice by theelectorate, which goes against whatthe board has sought to do with itshigh standards.”

A matter of timingAt present, it takes an average of

38 days between the time a unioncollects enough signatures from theemployees it intends to organize andwhen a secret-ballot election is heldto determine whether the union willrepresent those employees. If the

NLRB’s proposed rules go into effect,Mr. Kirsanow said, that time framecould be shortened to as few as 10days.

“That’s not enough time for acompany to communicate its sideof the story,” Mr. Kirsanow contends.

Mr. Kirsanow told the NLRB asmuch, testifying that even under thecurrent median of 38 days, “manyemployers have a difficult time effectively communicating vital information to their employees regarding their rights and the effectof unionization.”

Backers of organized labor, though,contend that the current system allows employers too much time tointimidate employees into votingagainst a union. Their position was


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Volume 32, Number 30 Crain’s Cleveland Busi-ness (ISSN 0197-2375) is published weekly, exceptfor combined issues on the fourth week of May andfifth week of May, the fourth week of June and firstweek of July, the third week of December and fourthweek of December at 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite310, Cleveland, OH 44113-1230. Copyright © 2011by Crain Communications Inc. Periodicals postagepaid at Cleveland, Ohio, and at additional mailing of-fices. Price per copy: $2.00. POSTMASTER: Sendaddress changes to Crain’s Cleveland Business,Circulation Department, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit,Michigan 48207-2912. 1-877-824-9373.

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continued from PAGE 1

NLRB: Organizers say there is ‘no ambush’


40 employees to its existing 170 and$5.5 million in annual commissionrevenue to its $30 million. Mr. Sher-man said Dawson paid “a marketcompetitive price” for the company,but would not state the price.

Dawson’s mid-Atlantic expansionis to begin in Virginia and expand toother states, Mr. Sherman said. Bythe end of 2012, Dawson officialsaim to have two more hubs: one inNew England and one in the South-east, perhaps in the Carolinas, Mr.Sherman said.

It then plans to acquireoffices to be served bythose hubs. How manywill depend on the opportunities that arise,he noted.

“Acquisition is a majorpart of our strategy,” Mr.Sherman said, in partbecause it affords the acquirer an existing clientand employee base.

“The larger you are,the more markets you’reable to represent, the more insur-ance solutions you’re able to provideto your clients,” he said.

A different eraInsurance brokerage consolida-

tion is nothing new; it’s occurred fordecades.

As an industry that sells a productmuch of the population is requiredto buy, its deals are perceived as extremely stable relative to otherfields, said John M. Wepler, presi-dent of MarshBerry, a Willoughbymerger and acquisition advisory

and management consulting firmfor insurance brokerages.

Plus, the account retention rate isat least 85% for most, Mr. Weplernoted.

Today, however, is a “differentera of mergers and acquisitions,” andcompanies are careful to buy whataffords them synergies and specialtylines of business, not just whatmakes them bigger, according toConning Research’s Mr. Theodorou.

Oswald’s acquisition of Selvaggiois a reflection of that trend. Oswald

was attracted to Selvag-gio because of its spe-cialization in serving architects and engi-neers, said Marc Byrnes,Oswald chairman andCEO. Still, he empha-sized, Oswald is focusedmore on organic growth.

Another driving forcein the industry’s consol-idation, Mr. Sherman hasfound, is owners’ age.

According to Marsh-Berry research, there were morethan 28,300 insurance brokerages in2010. The firm projects that numberwill drop by roughly 3,000 by 2015.

Mr. Theodorou expects the con-solidation rate of a couple hundredfirms a year to continue. Such a ratereally doesn’t limit the consumers’choice, considering the number ofbrokerages in the United States, Mr.Theodorou said.

“What’s good is you have moreexpertise, you have firms that havegot bench strength in specializedareas,” he said. ■

“The larger youare ... the moreinsurance solu-tions you’reable to provideto your clients.” – D. Michael Sherman, chairmanand CEO, DawsonCos.


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URGE TO MERGE

Rocky River insurance broker to grow by acquisitionA look at merger-and-acquisition activityamong U.S. insurance brokerages andagencies.

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

Dawson Cos. buys Virginia peer, seeks to fillin footprint between offices in Ohio, Florida

By MICHELLE [email protected]

There’s lots of open space betweenOhio and Florida, and Dawson Cos.plans to fill it.

Like many in its industry, the insurance broker-agent based inRocky River is achieving growth bybuying it: This month, it acquired afirm based in Richmond, Va., in adeal that marked its 12th acquisitionor merger since 2001.

And more acquisitions are coming,said D. Michael Sherman, chairmanand CEO.

The office of the acquired firm,Tabb, Brockenbrough & Ragland,now is the hub for Dawson’s mid-Atlantic expansion. Dawson, whichhas offices in Ohio and Florida,wants to fill in its eastern footprint,Mr. Sherman said.

It is one of many brokerages optingto grow via acquisition. Cleveland-based Oswald Cos. in January acquired Selvaggio, Teske + Associ-ates of Beachwood, and Herbruck,Alder & Co. of Cleveland was sold to

publicly traded Chicago-basedArthur J. Gallagher & Co. in Decem-ber.

Mergers and acquisitions havepicked up substantially in the insur-ance brokerage business since late2010, industry insiders say.

Ninety-three occurred during thefirst quarter of this year, comparedwith 57 during the first quarter of2010, said Jerry Theodorou, vicepresident of research and consultingfor Conning Research & Consulting,an insurance research and consultingfirm in Hartford, Conn.

The uptick follows a dive in M&Aactivity in 2009 and is driven by improved valuations and dimin-ished internal growth opportunitiestoday, Mr. Theodorou said. The value of what’s insured is down, hesaid, and insurance rates are lowand dropping further.

“Organic growth is more difficultto achieve,” agreed R.C. Moore III,who was managing principal atTabb, Brockenbrough & Raglandand now presides over Dawson’snew Virginia hub. The market has

shrunk, Mr. Moore said, becausefewer businesses are forming and existing businesses often have lessrisk exposure as they consolidate assets.

All part of the planFounded in Ohio in 1931, Dawson

now has three hubs: the newest inVirginia; its corporate office in RockyRiver, which serves five Ohio offices;and one in Naples, Fla., which servestwo Florida offices.

Its acquisition of Tabb, Brocken-brough & Ragland adds more than


That investment is needed to protect what the strategic plan calculates are 17,832 jobs and $1.81billion in annual economic activitytied to Port of Cleveland docks andto private berths along the river.

It’s likely the Port Authority wouldseek state and federal money to coveras much of the cost of this work aspossible, though Mr. Friedman toldthe Crain’s editorial board the agencyalso could use its tax receipts.

“The port’s tax levy is a pretty logical place to look,” he said.

Mr. Friedman said money fromthe Port Authority’s levy could beused to support a long-term bond issue.

But first, the Port Authority mustbeef up its cargo operations, whichnow are losing money and are subsi-dized in part by the tax levy.

Oh, CanadaThe new strategic plan calls for

pursuing various avenues for cargogrowth. Mr. Friedman said he believes interest is developingamong shippers for a new containercargo route that would bring goodschiefly shipped from northern Europe to Cleveland via Montreal.

He also said he is pursuing a cargoferry that would shuttle from a Cana-dian port on Lake Erie to Cleveland.This ferry would be in addition to aplanned passenger ferry service thePort Authority is negotiating with local Ontario officials in Port Stanley.

Beyond those measures, the PortAuthority master plan sees potential forcargo from the wind energy industryand even an increase in steel andother traditional lake cargo as theport pursues business from shippers.

Bradley Hull, associate professorof management and business logis-tics at John Carroll University, saidhe believes the cargo business canbe built. Dr. Hull worked as a consul-tant to the Port Authority earlier thisdecade and surveyed local companiesfor their interest in shipping containersthrough the Port of Cleveland.

“There were probably about 20 bigcompanies in Cleveland that wereinterested in it,” he said. “They never said, ‘Yes I would do this,’ butthere weren’t any steamship compa-nies interested in coming to Cleve-land at the time.”

Dr. Hull said he believes there ismore than enough business for aonce-a-week container ship shuttlebetween Cleveland and Montreal.

Arnie de la Porte, honorary consulfor the Netherlands, likewise believesthis new cargo plan makes sense.Netherlands shipping lines call fre-quently at the Port of Cleveland.

“One of the biggest problems wehad at the port was uncertainty —they talked about moving, about taking away certain things — andeveryone (in the shipping community)became nervous,” Mr. de la Porte said.“This strategic plan makes sense.”

Dibs on the CuyahogaThe Port Authority also is looking

to broaden its domain and its rele-vance by positioning itself as thekeeper of the Cuyahoga. It makes thecase that maintaining the river as anavigable channel for shippers whobring bulk cargo up the river — suchas the iron ore that is vital to theArcelorMittal steel mill in the Flats —is a key factor in maintaining thehealth of the port.

“I feel strongly that it is the rightthing for the Port Authority as a matterof public policy to address the needs ofthe river,” Mr. Friedman said.


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SOLDPort: New strategy addresses prioritiescontinued from PAGE 3 Sections of the bulkhead that pre-

vent the erosion of the riverbank arecrumbling. In one section, this ero-sion has caused the closure ofRiverbed Road because its base hasshifted downhill. A landslide thatbreached the bulkhead could closethe river to navigation.

Out with the old …The new strategic plan formalizes

a significant shift from the directionthe port had been heading last decade.

Five years ago the Port Authoritywas making headlines as a real estate wheeler and dealer, as it embarked on a bold plan to remakethe waterfront east from the Cuya-hoga River. It even went a step further and offered its development

financing know-how to rebuildNASA Glenn Research Center.

In part, the port’s real estate bentreflected the temperment of boardchairman John Carney, a real estatedeveloper who had seen the trans-formation of the Spanish port of Bil-boa — an Atlantic port city smallerthan Cleveland — while on a vaca-tion/fact-gathering trip. He saw asimilar opportunity in Cleveland.

But the port’s vision collapsed asnewly appointed board membersbalked at the growing expense of aballooning staff and questioned thePort Authority’s ability to affordnew, larger docks, forcing theabrupt resignation in November2009 of Port Authority presidentAdam Wasserman. ■


Remember that time during theearly ’90s when Cleveland wasthe envy of the nation’s oldercities? Led by a public-private

partnership that was a model for othercities, Cleveland opened a new ballparkand arena in the heart of its downtown.Along the lakefront, we built a new foot-ball stadium, adjacent to theGreat Lakes Science Center andthe Rock and Roll Hall of Fameand Museum.

The public-private partnershipdoesn’t seem to be as prominentin town these days since the dis-banding of Cleveland Tomorrow,the novel, CEO-led economic development body. Thoughmany business leaders continueto play prominent roles in redevelopment efforts, there are fewer ofthem here now, and some pass along thatduty to other senior executives.

That’s why it was heartening to read inour newspaper last week the tale of JimMarra and his firm, Blue Point CapitalPartners. They have created an innova-tive arrangement that will enable Jim to

continue his business development dutiesfor his company while also taking overfundraising and advocacy for BreakthroughSchools, perhaps our area’s most shiningexample of charter schools that succeed.One of those schools is EntrepreneurshipPreparatory Academy, an outstandingmiddle school that has proven wrong all

the assumptions about urbaneducation.

At E Prep, as it’s called, anystudent whose family can guar-antee that he or she will get toschool — with extra days andlonger hours — will be accepted.The central requirement is thatthe boy or girl has the disciplineto behave respectfully and thedesire to do the work necessary.

Jim knows the challengesfacing Breakthrough Schools, but is en-ergized by the promise they hold. So nowbegins another grand experiment, with adevelopment executive who is commit-ted to the cause while still on the lookoutfor private equity deals for Blue Point. Heknows he’ll feel a pinch in the pocketbook,but adds, “This is for love, not the money.”

Our hats are off to Jim and otherscommitted to expanding the educationoptions of inner-city youth.

* * * * IT FEELS AS IF change is coming to

Cleveland and our region at the righttime and pace.

The city has a mayor who is committedto innovative ways to improve his schoolsystem. Construction cranes are appearingon our skyline. The HealthLine, a train-like bus service connecting Public Squareto University Circle, is succeeding at drivingredevelopment along Euclid Avenue.Cleveland State University dramaticallyhas transformed its downtown campus.After a few years of fits and starts, the FlatsEast Bank project is under construction.

Now, we all must do what we can toreverse the thinking that has paralyzedour city and region for so many years. Nolonger should our loudest advocates bethose who move here from other parts ofthe country and globe. We all need to beproud of where Greater Cleveland andNortheast Ohio are headed, and we musttell anyone who will listen: Cleveland isback, baby. ■


Rush jobT

he National Labor Relations Board is in ahurry to do what Congress would not —namely, accelerate the process of stagingunion representation elections. It is a rush

job by a board majority that seems intent on doing thepresident and his political party a favor by tilting thetable in favor of Democrats’ campaign fundraisingallies — labor unions — in their efforts to organizeemployees in the workplace.

Like a summer storm that comes up quickly on LakeErie and catches boaters off guard, the NLRB sur-prised many employers with its June 21 announce-ment that it was proposing a series of amendmentsto the procedures that govern union representationelections. According to the NLRB, the proposedamendments “are designed to fix flaws in theBoard’s current procedures that build in unneces-sary delays, allow wasteful litigation, and fail to takeadvantage of modern communication technolo-gies.” And, in truth, some changes make sense.

For example, one amendment would allow for theelectronic 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 towardputting elections on such a fast track that theywould give employers little time to make their casesfor why union representation may not be in the bestinterest of their employees.

Under the proposed amendments, an NLRB regional director who has determined that a unionpetition has enough employee support to merit arepresentation election would inform the employerand union of that finding and would set a hearingfor seven days later. By the hearing date, the em-ployer 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 ruleswould not permit the employer to litigate later anyissue it did not identify in its statement of position.

It’s a stretch to think an employer could put together an ironclad, all-encompassing positionstatement in just seven days. There’s also a steam-roller feel to a push to consolidate all election-relatedlitigation or appeals into a single post-election appeals process. But those changes, and others, arewhat 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 BarackObama, formerly was associate general counsel tothe Service Employees International Union and theAFL-CIO. Mark Pearce, another Obama appointee,is a founding partner of a union-side labor law firmin Buffalo, N.Y. And board chair Wilma Liebman in the1980s served as legal counsel with the Teamsters.

The sole “no” vote on the changes came from BrianHayes, who wrote in his dissenting opinion, “Intruth, the ‘problem’ which my colleagues seek toaddress through these rules revisions is not that therepresentation election process generally takes toolong. It is that unions are not winning more elections.”

The public comment period on the proposedamendments is now, and it lasts only until Aug. 22.Employers must rally to shout down these changes.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

PERSONAL VIEW

BRIANTUCKER

Positive signs of a city on the move

Warehouse District has staying power By JOSEPH MARINUCCI

In the July 11, Page 1 story, “Don’tstick a fork in the Warehouse Districtjust yet,” Crain’s suggests that theHistoric Warehouse District, a thriving

mixed-use neighborhood that is home tomore than 3,000 residents, businesses(including Crain’s Cleveland Business)and high-end restaurants, could meetthe same fate as Cleveland’s Flats. Theheadline and the sensational graphic,however, almost declare a predestinedfailure.

The Historic Warehouse District is notthe Flats. Why should a thoughtfullyplanned, mixed-use neighborhood haveto pay for the sins of an adjacent enter-tainment district?

More than a quarter of a century ago,

city leaders and community organiza-tions came together to design a plan forthe development of a mixed-use neigh-borhood in what was once the commer-cial and wholesale center of Cleveland.Unlike the first iteration of the Flats,which put rapid growth ahead of buildinginfrastructure, the Historic WarehouseDistrict was carefully designed to be asustainable model.

The district, often referred to as “a 25-year overnight success story,” actuallyserved as a model for other flourishingdowntown projects such as the GatewayDistrict and the development of EastFourth Street. It demonstrated that urban neighborhoods can thrive when

they create a balance of businesses, res-idents and restaurants.

In 1982, Cleveland’s Historic Ware-house District was listed on the NationalRegister of Historic Places. Although sev-eral buildings were individually listed onthe register prior to the district’s listing,this designation allowed developers toleverage historic tax credits to transformindustrial warehouses into prime resi-dential spaces.

Currently, 19 different residentialbuildings in the district house more than3,000 residents. With downtown Cleve-land residential occupancy rates hoveringaround 94%, the largest concentration ofdowntown dwellers is in the HistoricWarehouse District.

The district’s strong base of residents

PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR:Brian D.Tucker ([email protected])

EDITOR:Mark Dodosh ([email protected])

MANAGING EDITOR:Scott Suttell ([email protected])

OPINION

See VIEW Page 9

Mr. Marinucci is president and CEO of theDowntown Cleveland Alliance.



ERNEST SZORADYCleveland “I’m not working anymore,but when I visit my girl-friend she’s constantly onthe little BlackBerry thinganymore. Even after hours... she’s getting calls fromher sales reps and puttingout fires and answeringemails.”

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

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

TOM WISKOWSKICleveland “Oh, yeah, I do. I’m checking my email fromhome. I just want to makesure I’m on top of every-thing.”

COLE WORLEYChagrin Falls“I don’t even have a week-end (laughs). … Some-times it’s late at night.Sometimes it’s Saturday. Itry to keep Sundays prettyfree.”

KEVIN SOLORIOCleveland “Nights and weekends …it’s just more time to workon Dreamkumo (a soft-ware project).”

FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE

SMALL BUSINESS

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Opening doors for Northeast Ohio minority-owned,women-owned, and small businesses.

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DOES OUR WORK MEAN MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

and visitors has more than a dozenhigh-end restaurants on theirdoorsteps. As the Crain’s storypoints out, there has been a consis-tent list of new restaurants waitingin the wings for space to open up in this area. The restaurant scene in the district is healthy, even without the presence of celebritychefs.

With an enticing combination ofrestaurants and residents, busi-nesses have sought space in theneighborhood. Today, office occu-pancy rates in the Historic Ware-

house District are around 80%.Many companies understand thevalue that an address in this neigh-borhood delivers.

The final piece to the puzzle, ofcourse, is safety. Last year, Down-town Cleveland Alliance workedwith the city of Cleveland, Council-man Joe Cimperman and the U.S.Department of Justice to imple-ment a Memorandum of Under-standing (MOU) among districtrestaurants, clubs and residentswho all share the district. The MOUwas nearly universally embracedand has been effective in managing

the late-night crowds when the barsclose.

Our downtown core is strongerthan at any point in recent history.Each of the neighborhoods thatmake up downtown Clevelandbrings something different to thetable.

It is wrong to presume that onedistrict must first die before anothercan prosper.

With more than $2 billion in investments flowing into down-town Cleveland, our backyard is bigenough to support many vibrantneighborhoods. ■

View: Downtown stronger than evercontinued from PAGE 8

LETTERS

Warehouse District story off base■ I never read Crain’s, but couldn’tpass up getting the July 11 issue toread the lead story, “Don’t stick afork in the Warehouse District justyet.” I found it amusing, but itmissed several key points and the reporter obviously had an agenda setbefore she started her work.

The residential component of thismixed-use neighborhood has neverbeen stronger. Rents are solid, occu-pancy is at record levels and tenantdelinquencies — a key barometer oftenant quality — are at an all-timelow. We all have waiting lists andsome are even charging a fee to goon a waiting list. I was in our rentaloffice last week and heard a prospectbeing told the next one-bedroomunit available was in October — andwe have over 250 units.

The key test of restaurant stabilityand profitability is staying power.Except for Crop, which left for largerspace, and Metropolitan and Water-street Grill, which got offers theycouldn’t refuse, only House of Cuesclosed for lack of business, and it hadbeen open since 1995.

Want to know why no “celebrity”chefs are here? They won’t pay therent. In my conversations with oneof them — looking at space then vacant — the deal they asked for wasabsurd: I pay for all the improve-ments and they pay rent if they makemoney. Our market is too strong to

Its various policies have led to weakjob growth, weak GDP growth and,of course, expanding deficits. Itscommitment to fairness has made itblind to the reality that taxing therich will not only not reduce thebudget deficit, but actually will makeit worse as it discourages domesticinvestment and dampens entrepre-neurial spirit.

The Democrats’ approach to dealingwith deficits will lock us into a low-growth, high-unemployment futurewith high energy costs, rationing of medical services and a gradualerosion of global leadership on allpolitical, economic and militaryfronts. We may have marginallycleaner air and water, but we will notbe a healthier country because wewon’t have the economic resourcesto pay for an acceptable level ofhealth care along with everythingelse we would like to pay for. Fur-thermore, the malaise and depres-sion of living in a low-opportunitywelfare state will take a toll on thewell-being of the population.

The Republicans are missing amajor opportunity by allowing theDemocrats to define them, as theyhave always done, as protecting therich. The Republicans should makethe case for job growth as the answerto budget deficits and a brighter,more prosperous future. The road to

even consider such a deal.Security? The Cleveland Police

had an issue here last year but thestepped-up presence and new tech-niques — closing West Sixth and occasionally St. Clair hill — have hadthe desired results. Sure it’s ayounger crowd after 10, but it’s acrowd that behaves better than I didat that age and time of night.

It was a clever cover and I’m suresold more Crain’s than usual (evengot me to buy one), but it’s just onemore sad example of the Clevelandmedia being Cleveland’s worst enemy.

Robert RainsPresidentLandmark RE Management LLC

An epic battle in D.C.■ Framing the debate over the budgetdeficit and debt ceiling as spendingcuts versus tax increases avoids confronting the underlying issue ofwhat kind of a society we want to livein. The choice, in only slightly exag-gerated terms, is between socialismand free-market capitalism.

The Obama administration isclearly trying to protect its prioritiesof income redistribution and biggovernment regulation of the economy. See LETTERS Page 10


robust job growth requires a pro-business attitude by the administra-tion, which is exactly the opposite ofwhat we currently have.

The EPA and the Energy Depart-ment are working in tandem to driveup the price of energy and keep usdependent on expensive importedoil. The Labor Department’s poli-cies are trying to benefit organizedlabor at the expense of businessgrowth and job growth. The Com-merce Department policies are re-ducing foreign investment in ourcountry and driving domestic capitalto offshore investments. The poli-cies of the Education Departmenthave created a generation of uned-ucated students who don’t have jobskills, the ability to think critically orthe knowledge to appreciate thestrengths and accomplishments ofour system of democracy. It is a per-fectly uneducated generation highlysusceptible to the siren song of socialism and more entitlementspaid for by other people.

Some Republican positions arenot exactly pro-growth, either. Immigration policy is denying thecountry the creativity and productivityof half of our engineering graduatesby forcing foreign nationals to re-turn home when they finish school.

A pro-business administrationwould reverse all of these policies.With pro-business and smaller gov-ernment policies in place, the econ-omy could support the higher taxesthat Democrats want. Higher taxesare not really the issue; people justdon’t want to pay more taxes into a

wasteful and unproductive system.Without pro-business policies, noamount of fine-tuning spending andtax policy will produce the growththat we need to reduce deficits.

A pro-business administrationwould make the case for the oppor-tunity, liberty and freedoms thathave been and still are our definingcharacteristics. In less than 200 yearsthis nation went from a tentative experiment that most elites expectedto fail to the most successful and pow-erful nation on earth. That is proofof our exceptionalism. We shouldunderstand it and be proud of it.

Our citizens are not better peoplethan the citizens of other countries;after all, we are nearly all immi-grants from all over the world. Ourexceptionalism is due to our systemof government; the underlying prin-ciples of individual rights, limitedgovernment; and the marvelousbalancing of powers both betweenthe states and the federal govern-ment and between the branches ofthe federal government.

The Democrats see only injus-tices to be remedied without regardto all that is right and good aboutour system. The Republicans needto stand for more than just not raisingtaxes. They need to sell the virtuesof our system and the pro-businesspolicies that will lead to job growth.That will produce a brighter futureand a better and stronger economyfor all of us and for the rest of theworld, too.

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LETTERS Casinos drain cities■ I know this letter is a bit late, but Iwas a bit late in reading the June 27issue and Mark Dodosh’s commen-tary, “A view from our hypocrite, Mr.Vegas,” regarding his concernsabout the pending arrival of casinogambling in Cleveland.

I lived in St. Louis when theybrought in the gambling boats. I wasjust a regular teenager and I sawwhat it did to the city. I saw the crimego up. I saw the poverty go up. I sawthe taxes go up to pay for the crimeand poverty.

Not only that, I saw families tornup. A hardworking dad would startto spend more and more of the pay-check at the tables and the kids suf-fered. Moms would gussy up andhang all over the arms of the bigspenders and that would tear fami-lies up, too. I saw brainiac kids that Iwent to school with sneak into theboats and pile up huge debts, virtu-ally ruining their lives before theyeven started.

The voters voted down the gam-bling boats three times. City officialsactually came out and said theywould make them vote over and overuntil they got the boats. Sounds kindof familiar.

Now, look at Detroit. Does gam-bling help its economy?

Look at Las Vegas — foreclosurecapital of the U.S.

I am just so sad to see the city Ilove succumb to the temptation ofthe tables. I’ve seen what it can doand I wish I would never have seen ithere.

Rebecca KlaubachGarfield Heights


INSIDE: A look at enrollment growth atarea schools since 2006. Page 12

HIGHER EDUCATIONI N S I D E

JULY 25 - 31, 2011 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 11

14 CULINARY EDUCATIONJOINS RECIPE ATAREA SCHOOLS.

Schools uncertain on continuation of rapidly rising enrollments

MARC GOLUB

Case Western Reserve University professor Jun Liu (top) and students Rosemary Bramante and Heather Lemire in theschool’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.

As economy, employment improve, completion rates could fall offBy MICHELLE [email protected]

For several Northeast Ohiocolleges and universities,student enrollment hasdone nothing but climb for

the past half decade. Recessions have a way of con-

vincing people to go to school, andtheir numbers appear to prove it.However, some of the schools project the increases will continue,while others expect numbers tolevel off.

In the words of Rick Bischoff,

uncertainty reigns.“As the economy has impacted

families, certainly it has becomemore challenging to predict exactlyhow families behave,” said Mr.Bischoff, vice president for enroll-ment management at Case WesternReserve University, which expectsto have 200 fewer undergraduatestudents 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 institutionsthat students enroll at,” Mr. Bischoffadded. “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 growthto level off. Tri-C projects 3% growththis year, far less than its double-digit growth in recent years.

“The question is, what’s doingthat?” said Pete Ross, vice presidentfor enrollment management forTri-C. “Is the economy that muchbetter, have people dropped offthe rolls and given up, are therepeople moving away?”

Bruce Johnson, president of the

Inter-University Council of Ohio, acouncil of the presidents of Ohio’s 14 public universities, expects thestatewide enrollment growth to continue because demand is there.

“It’s driven by both the fact thatthe economy is down and the realization that jobs in the future require a higher education,” he said.

What Mr. Johnson expects todrop are completion rates. Thosewho start school because they can’tfind a job are likely to stop attendingwhen they do, Mr. Johnson said. Heanticipates schools will grapple

with reduced completion rates inthe foreseeable future.

“That’s a natural phenomenon,”he said. “As the economy begins toimprove, people find the job that theywanted and drop out of school.”

Ups and downsNotre Dame College in South

Euclid correlates its growth to newacademic and extracurricular programs it has introduced, such asthe school’s nursing program andmarching band.

University of Akron officials attribute increases to a campustransformation and a redeveloped

See RISE Page 12

FEEDING THERESEARCH

BEASTArea universities upgrade facilities

in effort to land federal cash, top talent

By TIMOTHY [email protected]

Northeast Ohio’s universitiesare injecting millions of dollars into their researchspaces in order to better

compete for shrinking pots of federalresearch dollars and to attract promi-nent new hires.

Just like any business, universitiesare vying for the top talent and thetop payoff, and a robust research enterprise can bring both, universityofficials say. As such, the research facility building boom comes as nosurprise to Suzanne Rivera, CaseWestern Reserve University’s associatevice president for research.

“It feeds on itself,” she said. “Whenyou have state-of-the-art facilities,you attract the top minds who wantto work in those facilities. Those people are the ones who generate themost innovative, provocative andcompelling grant proposals.”

Over the last five years, Case WesternReserve University has invested morethan $28 million on research equipment.Additionally, the school has spentmore than $140 million on buildingand renovation projects, many ofwhich support research activities.

Similarly, Kent State, ClevelandState, the University of Akron andNortheast Ohio Medical University(NEOMED) all have heavily investedin their research enterprises — atrend that appears to transcendNortheast Ohio.

See BEAST Page 12


’06-’10 changeSchool 2010 2008 2006

Akron 18,871 16,263 14,379 31.2

scholarship strategy, which broadenswho’s eligible for aid.

Kent State University, meanwhile,is projecting its largest freshmanclass ever in fall 2011 — between4,100 and 4,250, according to T.David Garcia, associate vice presi-dent for enrollment management.The university has offered to release some 140 students fromtheir residence hall contracts tomake room on campus.

“Students, especially here inNortheast Ohio who thought theywere going out of state, whothought they were going far away,they’re realizing the cost and affordability factor, seeing whatoptions exist here,” he said, notingthat the school also has placed anemphasis on campus renovationsand financial aid.

Ursuline College has seen enrollment drop in recent years.First-time freshmen dropped to 83in fall 2010 from 124 in 2006, andthat’s a significant revenue loss,said Thandabantu Maceo, vicepresident for enrollment manage-ment. Still, the institution’s budgetremains balanced, he noted.

The college, which has seen applications increase but expectsenrollment to be flat this fall, wantsto reverse the trend while remaininga women-focused institution, Mr.Maceo said. One challenge, he noted, is that fewer women prefera women-focused institution.

Baldwin-Wallace College, too,expects its freshman class this yearto be 650, which is concerning because it’s less than the 700 forwhich it budgets, said SusanDileno, vice president of enrollmentmanagement. As a result, vicepresidents have been asked to trimoperating budgets.

Though B-W is “fairly affordable”— it costs $35,000 a year, includingbooks, tuition and room and board— more families have need, Ms.Dileno said.

“I think when the recession firsthit, people believed it was short-lived,” Ms. Dileno said. “Now,we’re into our third year, and peo-ple are not so optimistic. They’rewilling to make an investment, butthey’re only willing to do so much.”

Growing isn’t all the rageSome institutions are not inter-

ested in growing enrollment.Oberlin College aims to reduce

its enrollment by about 100 studentsto 2,850 over the next five years,said Debra Chermonte, dean of admissions and financial aid. Thecollege’s desire to keep class sizesdown is one reason, she noted.

If Kent State reaches its projec-tion of 4,250 freshmen, it will beright at, or near, capacity, and it isnot seeking to grow significantlybeyond that, Mr. Garcia explained.In fact, it closed applications forfall 2011 about a month ago; thelast time the university shut downapplications was in 2002.

The University of Akron, too,backed up its application deadline,in a sense, deferring those studentswho may be less certain about theirpotential success at college, saidMike Sherman, senior vice presi-dent, provost and chief operating officer. It projects an enrollmentincrease of at least 3.5% this fall.

As the number of applicantsclimbs, the type of student admittedchanges.

“We’re going to have to becomemore selective,” Kent State’s Mr.Garcia said. said. “That meansstudents will have to have higherGPAs, higher test scores.” ■

The amount of science and engi-neering research space at collegesand universities across the countryexpanded 4% between 2007 and2009, according a recent study fromthe National Science Foundation.The increase nearly triples thegrowth between 2005 and 2007 andfollows a period of slowing growth.

“We will never probably getback to funding levels when federalgrant budgets were doubling,” saidWalter Horton, vice president forresearch at NEOMED, formerly theNortheastern Ohio UniversitiesColleges of Medicine and Pharmacy.“If you focus on your strengths, recruit scientists and have aproven track record, you can stillbe successful in this environment.”

Need for new digsOver about the last six years,

NEOMED has ramped up signifi-cantly its research mission with ahost of construction projects and asteadily growing pipeline of researchdollars flowing into the university.Faculty attracted more than $10million in research funding in 2010and 2009 — more than doublingthe amount received in 2008.

Also, in May, the universitybroke ground on a $42 million research complex — an 80,000-square-foot structure situated onthe northwest corner of the Roots-town campus. It will house biomedical research labs, facultyoffices and teaching space.

“We’ve just seen this growthhappening in our strategic researchvisioning and, frankly, we neededto expand,” Dr. Horton said. “Weneed more space.”

Likewise, Kent State is investingheavily in its main campus with a$250 million overhaul that willtouch more than 30 academicbuildings and other facilities. Partof the project will redevelop thecampus “science corridor” to expandeducational and research opportu-nities in science, technology, engi-neering, mathematics and medicine.

Kent State also recently invested$1.5 million to renovate a portionof the facility that houses the LiquidCrystal Institute and reorganizedits leadership.

The projects come on the heelsof Kent State president Lester Lefton’s charge to faculty to bringin more than $100 million a year inresearch funding. In 2010, facultybrought in just about $36 million.

“We see ourselves as a public research university,” Kent Stateprovost Robert Frank said. “Wewant our faculty to be successfulin the research game. It’s a moredifficult time than it’s ever been.”

A collaborative approachIn May, Case Western Reserve

University opened its $1.8 millionMaterials for Opto/ElectronicResearch and Education Center,which offers research opportunitiesacross several academic disciplines — an increasingly popular component of many newresearch facilities in the region.

The cross-pollination of facultyis a central driver in the develop-ment of several of Northeast Ohiouniversities’ plans for constructionbecause interdisciplinary researchhas become an attractive elementto grant-making bodies, accordingto university administrators.

The University of Akron plans toinvest $20 million over the next 10 years to hire 200 new faculty members who would be appoint-ed to two or more academic de-partments to facilitate more of aninterdisciplinary approach.

“On one hand, you’re generatingresearch that enhances knowledgethat can be applied to elementsrelevant to the region, and at thesame time you’re focusing ongraduating individuals who canwork in business and industry whoutilize that knowledge generation todevelop new devices and products,”said Michael Sherman, the univer-sity’s provost.

University administrators arequick to say that while researchcan elevate a university’s level ofprestige, it’s important to note thatthe same efforts also are essential indriving the economic resurgenceof the region.

Cleveland State University,which has pushed to increase itsresearch profile since presidentRonald Berkman’s arrival in 2009,houses the Center for 21st CenturyHealth Professions, which focuseson health career preparation andbiomedical research. Given the region’s strong focus on healthcare, it makes sense that the uni-versity would flourish in this area,according to Jerzy Sawicki, theuniversity’s associate vice presi-dent for research.

“We are serving a metropolitanarea and the Northeast Ohio re-gion,” Dr. Sawicki said. “Increas-ing our research enterprise willpromote our educational missionand drive our region’s economicdevelopment.” ■


www.kent.edu

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

• 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

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Beast: Research seen as economic driver

HIGHER EDUCATION

Rise: Some schools at or approaching capacity

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

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


An increasing obese andolder population and agrowing incidence ofchronic illnesses are straining our health caresystem. With the increase inexpected lifespan and theshift of once-deadly dis-eases becoming chronic

illness, the need for nursing servicescontinues to expand.

Our challenge is enhanced by aglobal nursing shortage that is esti-mated to rise to 800,000 nurses bythe year 2020. As the average age ofU.S. nurses increases, schools ofnursing are being called upon tomeet the projected need in an increasingly widening gap in thenursing work force.

This gap did not come from a lackof interest in the profession, butrather from inadequate numbers ofqualified faculty. In 2010, over 65,000qualified students were refused admission to nursing schools dueto inadequate resources and num-bers of faculty to educate them.

The challenges of technologysurround our everyday existence,from wireless access to informationto innovations in nanotechnology.These advances change the way weview and communicate with ourworld and thus impact the waynurses assess and deliver health care.

Q How must institutions of higherlearning respond to the challenges?

A Academic institutions must adaptto these ever-changing developmentsthrough innovations in nursingpractice, research and health care

By AMY ANN [email protected]

For Mary Kerr, taking over thedeanship of Case WesternReserve University’s FrancesPayne Bolton School of

Nursing is a homecoming of sorts.“When this came up, I thought,

‘Perfect,’” said Dr. Kerr, who earnedher doctorate in nursing from CWRUin 1991. “To have the opportunity togo there and lead was amazing to me.”

Dr. Kerr, who officially took overthe post last Monday, July 18, mostrecently worked as deputy directorfor the National Institute of NursingResearch, a component of the National Institutes of Health.

The new dean recently took thetime — amid preparing to make themove to Ohio from Bethesda, Md.— to answer several questions fromCrain’s Cleveland Business.

Q What are some of the greatestchallenges facing the nursing profession today?

A As a profession at the forefront ofchange and innovation, nursing hasmet and overcome countless chal-lenges over the decades. It now facesseveral challenges: our increasingdiverse and aging population withits associated chronic illnesses, thenursing shortage and technologicaldependence.


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THEINTERVIEWMARY E. KERRDeanFrances Payne Bolton Schoolof Nursing, Case Western Reserve University

Schools respond to need for health care IT expertsDemand is rising at area hospitals and other health care providers for people

who have both clinical experience and intimate knowledge of electronic medicalrecord systems.

For more details, read Chuck Soder’s story at www.CrainsCleveland.com/healthcareit.

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delivery. A report by the AmericanAcademy of Colleges of Nursingcalls for nursing schools to stronglyencourage faculty to integrate allaspects of nursing — practice,teaching, research and service —into the curriculum.

The landmark 2010 report fromthe Institute of Medicine and theRobert Wood Johnson Foundation,“The Future of Nursing: LeadingChange, Advancing Health,” rec-ommended that nurses be allowedto practice to the full scope of theireducation, achieve higher levels ofeducation and be leaders and fullpartners with other health and policy professionals in redesigningour health care system.

The Frances Payne Bolton Schoolof Nursing utilizes novel approaches,encourages dynamic and collabora-tive partnerships, applies innovativetechnologies and designs interven-tions that improve health care deliv-ery while meeting the health needsof individuals, families and commu-nities. Bolstering nursing educationattracts more students and preparesgraduates as expert scientists andclinicians who can design and teststrategies that improve health andhealth care.

Q How has nursing changed over

the past several decades?

A Caring has always been nursing’scentral mission, and nursing’s historic leader, Florence Nightin-gale, used data to demonstrate the impact of clinical practice on patient outcomes.

Since that time, practice is increasingly supported by evidencegenerated by nurse scientists, andthe National Institute of NursingResearch at the National Institutesof Health provides key researchfunding. Interdisciplinary cliniciansand scientists work to incorporatetheory-based approaches andmethodologies to better under-stand the problems that patientsand families present.

The shift continues from hospital-based diploma programs to acade-mic-based programs that empha-size the importance of advancededucation and life-long learning.Improvements in clinical skills anddecision-making have expandedadvanced practice across the entire health care spectrum, fromprimary care to acute and end-of-life care. A multidisciplinary teamapproach facilitates the develop-ment of innovative programs or interventions that promote health,prevent illness and improve the

lives of individuals all over the globe.

Q What do you see as some of thegrowth areas and specialties fortoday’s nursing professionals?

A With over 3.1 million in the U.S.,nurses touch every aspect of healthcare practice. They are increasinglydiverse in age, ethnicity and gender and quickly adopt the latesthealth care trends, which may encompass technology, genetics,community-based participationprograms, developments in researchmethodology and much more.

More and more professionals areextending their careers to nursing orare nurses who wish to enhance theireducation. They are discovering thata graduate education provides themgreater autonomy and leadership opportunities. At FPB, some of ourmost popular advanced clinical specialties include nurse anesthesia,public health, midwifery, psychiatric/mental health and nurse practitioner programs in flight nursing, familyand acute care. Our Ph.D. programprovides research opportunities utilizing advances in scientificmethodologies. Specialties such asgenetics, informatics and nanotech-nology present potential collabora-tive opportunities.



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More schools put foodcurricula on the menu‘We know there’s a demand,’ Lakeland official saysBy KATHY AMES [email protected]

Saad Toor in a previous lifewas a law clerk for a down-town firm, but his true callingsummoned him to the culi-

nary field. With about 1½ years left before

he earns an associate of appliedbusiness degree with a concentra-tion in culinary arts from CuyahogaCommunity College, Mr. Toor, 25,already has an offer from down-town’s Pura Vida to become a chef.

“Indeed, this has been a fantasticprivilege,” Mr. Toor said during abreak from the restaurant at whichhe regularly works, located next toTri-C’s new Hospitality ManagementCenter on Public Square, where hetakes classes. “I work with out-standing faculty and students, andit’s a complete joy also being ableto work at Pura Vida, right here inthe industry.”

Mr. Toor’s experience is just oneof many available to NortheastOhioans who are looking to become seasoned professionals inthe food and beverage industry asmore community college culinaryprograms come online.

Tri-C’s downtown HospitalityManagement Center opened inOctober 2010, and the location iscontributing to a rise in the pro-gram’s visibility and enrollment,which is spread out among Tri-C’sMetropolitan campus — includingthe downtown center — and itsBeachwood location, said GregoryForte, dean and general manager.

About 300 students are enrolledin the culinary arts program. Thehospitality management program’stotal enrollment is 455, divided between culinary arts, restaurant/food service management and thelodging/tourism managementtracts, and it has grown from about248 in spring 2010.

Mr. Forte said the college is aiming by 2013 to boost programenrollment to 600, with about 400estimated to be culinary arts students.

“Based on the way things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if wehit that by the end of next year,”Mr. Forte said.

Simmering needsLakeland Community College

this fall will begin offering an asso-ciate of technical studies in culi-nary arts in partnership with Inter-national Culinary Arts andSciences Institute in Chesterland.

Steven Oluic, dean of social sciences and public service tech-nologies at Lakeland, said thecommunity college until threeyears ago had a program with theAuburn Career Center in ConcordTownship, but the location didn’tpan out.

“We’ve been getting questionsabout why we don’t have a culinaryprogram, and we knew it was timeto revive it,” he said.

Enrollment is too early to project,he said, but “we know there’s a demand, both from the communityand from students in the region,”he said.

Students will be able to takegeneral education courses at Lake-land, and the culinary classes atthe educational institute, about a10-minute drive from Lakeland’scampus.

Similarly, Lorain County Community College in fall 2010launched its associate of appliedbusiness with a concentration inculinary arts and is planning toopen by fall 2012 an $11 millionCulinary and Convergent DigitalArts building to accommodate thenew program, said Robert Young,dean of the business division.

The 44,671-square-foot facilitywill include three teachingkitchens and classrooms thatcould be converted into a fourthteaching kitchen.

Until then, the school will be offering culinary classes at Vermilion-based Laurel Run Cooking School.

Even though initial enrollmentlikely will be modest — perhapsonly a handful of students — thefacility could handle “severaldozen students,” Mr. Young said.

“It’s been a long-term goal,” hesaid. “We’ve been talking culinaryfor 10, 15 years.

“Our feeling is, between CedarPoint to the old Geauga Lake andacross the city of Cleveland, there’sbeen a lot of restaurant activity,”Mr. Young said.

Indeed, growth in accommoda-tion and food services sector employment in the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor metropolitan statis-tical area is expected to be 6.7%between 2006 and 2016 — nearlydouble the expected 3.5% growthin the overall job market.

Lawrence Gilpatric, chairman ofthe business technology departmentand professor of hospitality man-agement at the University of Akron,said enrollment in that school’sculinary program is about maxedout, at 110 students each year.

“There have been talks aboutmoving to a new, larger facility orexpanding the hospitality manage-ment program into a bachelor’sdegree, but nothing’s been decidedor is concrete,” said Mr. Gilpatric,who also is certified executive chef.

Mr. Gilpatric and other commu-nity college officials say theirschools’ two-year culinary pro-grams are springboards into a variety of careers that include becoming a chef, managing arestaurant, operating a cateringcompany or working as a nutri-tionist.

As for Tri-C’s Mr. Toor, he’ll likelycontinue juggling his courseworkwith his current duties of preppingand cooking at Pura Vida until he isable to secure a higher position atchef Brandt Evans’ establishment.

Mr. Evans also is executive chefand partner of Blue CanyonKitchen & Tavern in Twinsburg andplans to open more restaurants inNortheast Ohio.

“This all started when I’m doingcatering next door (at Tri-C’s Hospitality Management Center)and this guy I don’t know just startshelping me, and I keep giving himmore things to do,” Mr. Evans said.■

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GOING PLACES

FergusonMooneyKinsella

JOB CHANGES

EDUCATIONCLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART:Mike Kinsella to director, annual giving and alumni relations. CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY:Sajit Zachariah to dean, College ofEducation and Human Services.

FINANCIAL SERVICEBARNES WENDLING: Laurie A.Gatten to director. CORRIGAN KRAUSE: Dennis M.Dlugosz to manager.OHIO CATHOLIC FEDERAL CREDITUNION: Brian Mooney to CFO.

HEALTH CAREHOPE MEDICAL SERVICES:Sarah Ferguson to data entry.PRIORITY HOME HEALTH CAREINC.: Sherry Arnett and TyronePatton to client service representa-tives.

MANUFACTURINGROLL-KRAFT: Patrick Hopkinsto account manager; Brad Lazar toregrind engineer; Ivan Pereira totooling engineer; Tim Jerew to tool-ing designer, Tube & Pipe.

MARKETINGBTZ BRAND: Kathy Dawson to director, Advertising Speciality Division.MARCUS THOMAS LLC: ToddMorgano to senior vice president, director of public relations.

NONPROFITELIZA JENNINGS SENIOR CARENETWORK: Sheryl L. Sereda tochief development officer. NORTH RIDGEVILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Dayle Noll to president, CEO.

REAL ESTATEGENDRON REALTY: Anita Fergusonto senior commercial and residentialassociate.MMPI: Mark Falanga to president.

RETAILEZ ENERGY USA INC.: MichaelPaull to vice president, CFO; Charlotte

Fornal to manager of treasury services; Aaron Taylor to marketingcategory manager; Jim Mitchellto dealer operations manager; TinaMcDonough to support center admin-istrative assistant.

SPORTSTHISTLEDOWN: Laura Tibbs tomanager of human resources.

TECHNOLOGYBLUEBRIDGE NETWORKS: PetarBojovic to director of operations; Jason Munsell and Rick Rohlketo sales executives; Scott Lee to general manager; David Kuchler tosenior engineer; Jeremy Dodge tonetwork administrator.

BOARDSCITIZENS LEAGUE OF GREATERCLEVELAND: James Dixon to chair;Jay Carson to vice chair; EdwardBlakemore to secretary. CITY CLUB OF CLEVELAND: HughE. McKay (Porter, Wright, Morris andArthur) to president; Hewitt B. Shawto vice president; Robert Littmanto treasurer; Barbara Danforth tosecretary. JUNIOR LEAGUE OF CLEVELANDINC.: Hermione Malone (UniversityHospitals) to president; Lindsay Doerr to secretary; Penny Cassel-man to treasurer. MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARYART CLEVELAND: Scott Mueller(Dealer Tire) to chairman; Mary Ann Stropkay to president; TobyDevan Lewis and Char Fowler tovice presidents; Scott Bogard totreasurer. NORTH RIDGEVILLE CHAMBER OFCOMMERCE: Julie Cantrell (LorainCounty Community College) to chair-person; Jason Jacobs to first vicechair; Sara Markle to second vicechair; Chris Teater to third vicechair; Jack Smith to treasurer; TimSherman to assistant treasurer.

SOCIETY OF FINANCIAL SERVICEPROFESSIONALS OF CLEVELAND:James O. Judd to president;Charles F. Adler III to president-elect; David A. Kucharski to vicepresident; Arthur P. Ward Jr. to secretary/treasurer; James S.Aussem to immediate past president.

AWARDSAMERICAN CARBON SOCIETY:Julian Norley (GrafTech International)was selected for the 2012 George D.Graffin Lectureship in Carbon Scienceand Engineering.

AMERICAN ORTHOPAEDIC SOCIETY FOR SPORTS MEDICINE:Dr. John Bergfeld (Cleveland Clinic)received the 2011 Thomas A. BradyCommunity Service Award.

CLEVELAND METROPOLITAN BARASSOCIATION: The HonorableWilliam K. Thomas ProfessionalismAward was presented posthumously toThomas S. Kilbane; Steven E.Wolkin received the Volunteer of theYear Award; Hugh E. McKay (PorterWright Morris & Arthur LLP) receivedthe President’s Award.

KOINONIA: Dr. Anna Koo (ClevelandClinic) received the 2011 RecognitionAward.

Send information for Going Places [email protected].



100 LARGEST NORTHEAST OHIO EMPLOYERSRANKED BY FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT LOCAL EMPLOYEES(1)

Full-time equivalent localemployees

Rank

CompanyAddressPhone/Web site 6/30/2011 6/30/2010 % change

Total number ofemployees in Ohio Type of business

Top local executiveTitle

1Cleveland Clinic9500 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 44195(216) 444-2200/www.clevelandclinic.org

34,000 34,000 0.0% 39,000 Health care provider Delos M. "Toby" Cosgrovepresident, CEO

2U.S. Office of Personnel Management1900 E St., NW, Washington 20415(202) 606-1800/www.opm.gov

15,095 15,207 (0.7%) 50,965 Federal governmentC. Frank Figliuzzichair, Cleveland Federal ExecutiveBoard

3University Hospitals11100 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 44106(216) 844-1000/www.uhhospitals.org

13,726 13,224 3.8% 15,834Nationally recognized, integrated healthcare system comprised of hospitals andoutpatient health centers

Thomas F. Zenty IIICEO

4Giant Eagle Inc.5300 Richmond Road, Bedford Heights 44146(216) 292-7000/www.gianteagle.com

10,311 10,010 3.0% 13,643 Grocery store chainBill Artmanvice president, Cleveland operatingdivision

5Progressive 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. Renwickpresident, CEO

6Summa Health System(2)525 E. Market St., Akron 44304(330) 375-3000/www.summahealth.org

8,000 8,000 0.0% 8,000 Health care provider Thomas J. Strausspresident, CEO

7Cuyahoga County1219 Ontario St., Cleveland 44113(216) 443-7220/www.cuyahogacounty.us

7,859 8,036 (2.2%) 7,859 County government Edward FitzGeraldcounty executive

8State of Ohio30 E. Broad St., Columbus 43215(614) 466-2000/www.ohio.gov

7,792 7,296 6.8% 57,295 State government John R. Kasichgovernor

9U.S. Postal Service2200 Orange Ave., Cleveland 44101(800) 275-8777/www.usps.com

7,362 7,641 (3.7%) NA U.S. postal serviceTodd Hawkinsdistrict manager,Northern Ohio District

10Group 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 Kahoepresident

11City of Cleveland601 Lakeside Ave., Cleveland 44114(216) 664-2406/www.city.cleveland.oh.us

7,089 7,580 (6.5%) 7,089 Municipal government Frank G. Jacksonmayor

12General Motors Co.P.O. Box 33170, Detroit 48232-5170(313) 556-5000/www.gm.com

5,975 4,500 32.8% 10,000 Automotive manufacturingRobert Parcell, plant manager,Lordstown; Al McLaughlin, plantmanager, Parma

13KeyCorp127 Public Square, Cleveland 44114(216) 689-6300/www.key.com

5,827 5,553 4.9% 6,985 Bank holding company Beth E. Mooneychairman, president, CEO

14MetroHealth System2500 MetroHealth Drive, Cleveland 44109(216) 778-7800/www.metrohealth.org

5,558 5,408 2.8% 6,442 Health care provider Mark J. Moranpresident, CEO

15FirstEnergy 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. Alexanderpresident, CEO

16Kent State UniversityP.O. Box 5190, Kent 44242(330) 672-3000/www.kent.edu

5,040 5,030 0.2% 6,311 Higher education Lester A. Leftonpresident

17Timken 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 powertransmission products and services

James W. Griffithpresident, CEO

18Case Western Reserve University10900 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 44106(216) 368-2000/www.case.edu

4,620 4,449 3.8% 4,620 Higher education Barbara R. Snyderpresident

19Akron General Health System400 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. McCorklepresident, CEO

20Summit County175 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. Prycounty executive

21Swagelok Co.29500 Solon Road, Solon 44139(440) 248-4600/www.swagelok.com

3,600 3,600 0.0% 3,600 Designer and manufacturer of industrial fluidsystem components

Arthur F. Antonpresident, CEO

22Ford Motor Co.One American Road, Dearborn 48126(800) 392-3673/www.ford.com

3,550 3,500 1.4% 4,150 Automobile manufacturer NA

23Akron Children's HospitalOne Perkins Square, Akron 44308(330) 543-1000/www.akronchildrens.org

3,452 3,179 8.6% 4,321 Pediatric health system William H. Considinepresident

24Sherwin-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. Connorchairman, CEO

25Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.1144 E. Market St., Akron 44316(330) 796-2121/www.goodyear.com

3,000 3,000 0.0% 3,000 Tire manufacturer Richard J. Kramerchairman, president, CEO

26Akron Public Schools70 N. Broadway, Akron 44308(330) 761-1661/www.akronschools.com

2,994 3,076 (2.7%) 2,994 Public school district David W. Jamessuperintendent

See LIST Page 18


Though some employees still likethe familiarity of the BlackBerry aswell as its physical keyboard, Mr.Kerensky said he expects the numberof iPhone users to keep rising.

“Eventually most people are going to move away from the Black-Berry,” he said.

Arhaus — the name by whichHomeworks Inc. does business —was one of several companies con-tacted by Crain’s that noted howboth Apple’s iPhone and phonesthat run Google’s Android operatingsystem at this point have enoughsecurity features to make them viable options for businesses.

BlackBerry still maintains anedge in security, but, for businessessuch as Arhaus, that’s not enough tooutweigh the benefits of the iPhone,the Droid and other touchscreensmart phones that Mr. Kerensky saidare better for surfing the Internet.

“I’m always going to go for morefunctionality,” he said.

Roughly 80% of companies thatVox Mobile LLC works with use atleast a few non-BlackBerry smartphones for business purposes, saidKris Snyder, CEO of the Valley Viewcompany, which helps businessesmanage their mobile devices.

Two years ago, that number was20%, he estimated. Many of thosenon-BlackBerry smart phones areused by high-level executives,though Mr. Snyder noted that somecompanies let employees choosefrom a variety of phones. And morecompanies are joining them.

“We expect a major shift in 2012,”Mr. Snyder said.

An option at Eaton Among the larger companies

making the transition is Eaton Corp.The Cleveland-based manufacturinggiant recently started allowing U.S.employees with company phoneplans to buy iPhones or higher-priced BlackBerrys if they didn’twant a standard-issue BlackBerry,said chief information officer BillBlausey. About 10% of employeeswith phone plans have taken advan-tage of the option, which the com-pany implemented as a benefit toemployees, Mr. Blausey said.

“We’ll give them more choice as wesanction other platforms,” he said.

Some small businesses have

stopped using the BlackBerry en-tirely. For instance, after three of thefive BlackBerry users at C4PolymersInc. bought other smart phones, theChagrin Falls plastics recycling firmin June decided to buy iPhones forthe other two, said Andy Linden, aplastics broker with C4 Polymers.

The move allowed the companyto get rid of its BlackBerry Enter-prise Server, which is used to connect BlackBerry phones to abusiness’s computer network. Mr.Linden said the company with thechange was able to avoid technicalproblems it had with the server, andnow it no longer must pay monthlyserver fees to BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., which isbased in Waterloo, Ontario.

Mr. Linden, one of the last twoemployees to make the switch, saidhe was happy to do so. His iPhone isquicker and easier to use than theBlackBerry, he said, noting that heused BlackBerrys for five years.

“The misconception is that it’sperfect for the business world,” hesaid of the BlackBerry.

It pays to avoid troubleAnother reason C4 Polymers

made the switch was because busi-ness services firm Skoda Minotti,which provides IT services to thecompany, helped cover the cost ofthe new phones.

Skoda Minotti has helped twoclients buy smart phones to replacetheir BlackBerrys, said Brian Rosen-felt, a principal with the firm’s tech-nology services division. SkodaMinotti also would consider helpingclients cover the cost of opting outof their BlackBerry contracts, he said.

Why? Companies that use Black-Berrys often require more IT support,Mr. Rosenfelt said. The iPhone, hesaid, is easier to use, so individualstend to have fewer problems thatrequire help from Skoda Minotti.

“If there’s ever a problem (with aBlackBerry), we have a whole’nother layer to troubleshoot,” Mr.Rosenfelt said.

The transition at metal stampingfirm Talan Products Inc. in Cleve-land was less formal. Two years ago,the 10 or so people who use smartphones for business purposes allhad BlackBerrys. Now most of themuse Droids or iPhones, includingCEO Steve Peplin.


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Mobile: Touchscreen technology a drawThe switch was “more than a little

frustrating” at first, Mr. Peplin said,noting that software connecting thesmart phones to Talan’s email serverfailed several times when it was implemented. It works well now, headded, saying he’s a “huge fan” of hisDroid.

“I can look at drawings. I can look atspreadsheets. It’s usable,” he said.

Dominance slips awaySmall companies have been shed-

ding BlackBerry licenses faster thanlarge companies, which tend to caremore about security and less aboutfees related to the BlackBerry Enter-prise Server, said research analystAnil Doradla, who covers ResearchIn Motion for William Blair & Co.

Even at larger firms, however, theiPhone and the Android have been“slowly and steadily” chipping awayat the BlackBerry’s dominance, Mr.Doradla said. He estimates ResearchIn Motion has more than 60% of the“enterprise” market, which consistsmainly of large and midsize busi-nesses. That figure will be “substan-tially lower” in three years, unlessthe struggling company revamps itsbusiness.

“It’s a company in a tight spot,”Mr. Doradla said. ■





Rank




27Sterling Jewelers Inc.375 Ghent Road, Akron 44333(330) 668-5000/www.sterlingjewelers.com

2,679 2,323 15.3% 3,343 Retail jewelry Mark Lightpresident, CEO

28Lincoln Electric Co.22801 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland 44117(216) 481-8100/www.lincolnelectric.com

2,600 2,418 7.5% 2,600 Manufacturer of arc welding products

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

29University of Akron302 Buchtel Common, Akron 44325(330) 972-7111/www.uakron.edu

2,591 2,573 0.7% 2,591 Higher education Luis M. Proenzapresident

30InfoCision Management Corp.325 Springside Drive, Akron 44333(330) 668-1400/www.infocision.com

2,400 1,875 28.0% 3,509 Inbound and outbound call center provider Carl Albrightpresident, CEO

31J.C. Penney Co.7900 Day Drive, Parma 44129(440) 845-4802/www.jcpenney.com

2,265 2,323 (2.5%) NA Department store Travis Juliandistrict manager

31Parker Hannifin Corp.6035 Parkland Blvd., Cleveland 44124(216) 896-3000/www.parker.com

2,265 2,100 7.9% 3,555 Fluid power systems, electromechanicalcontrols

Donald E. Washkewiczchairman, CEO, president

33Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority1240 W. Sixth St., Cleveland 44113(216) 566-5100/www.riderta.com

2,232 2,477 (9.9%) 2,232 Public transportationJoseph A. CalabreseCEO, general manager, secretary/treasurer

34Cuyahoga Community College700 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland 44115(800) 954-8742/www.tri-c.edu

2,210 2,165 2.1% 3,124 Higher education Jerry Sue Thorntonpresident

35The 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%) 2,514Design, engineering, manufacturing andconstruction services for nuclear,renewable, fossil power, industrial andgovernment customers

Richard L. Killionpresident, COO, Babcock & WilcoxPower Generation Group Inc.

36Lake Health7590 Auburn Road, Concord Township 44077(440) 375-8100/www.lakehealth.org

2,094 2,109 (0.7%) 2,771 Hospital Cynthia Moore-Hardypresident, CEO

37American 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 WeissCEO

38Lubrizol 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. Hambrickchairman, president, CEO

39Continental Airlines5300 Riverside Drive, Cleveland 44135(216) 501-5170/www.continental.com

2,008 2,086 (3.7%) NA Airline Rich Lissermanaging director

40Medical Mutual of Ohio2060 E. Ninth St., Cleveland 44115(216) 687-7000/www.medmutual.com

1,950 1,948 0.1% 2,500Cleveland-based mutual company providinghealth and life insurance, dental, visionproducts and TPA services

Richard A. Chiricostapresident, CEO

41Nestle 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% 2,408Manufacturer of Stouffer's and Lean Cuisineprepared foods, Buitoni pasta and sauce,Hot Pockets and Lean Pockets

Frank Higginspresident, CEO, Nestle PreparedFoods and Baking

42ArcelorMittal3060 Eggers Ave., Cleveland 44105(216) 429-6000/www.arcelormittal.com

1,916 1,612 18.9% 2,701 Steel manufacturerEric Haugevice president, general manager,ArcelorMittal Cleveland

43Lorain County226 Middle Ave., Elyria 44035(440) 329-5000/www.loraincounty.us

1,902 1,956 (2.8%) 2,252 County government Board of Commissioners

44Mercy Medical Center1320 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. Cecconipresident, CEO

45Diebold 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 andservices

Thomas W. Swidarskipresident, CEO

46Eaton Corp.1111 Superior Ave., Cleveland 44114(216) 523-5000/www.eaton.com

1,833 1,715 6.9% 3,211 Electrical, hydraulic, aerospace, truck andautomotive products

Alexander M. Cutlerchairman, CEO

47Southwest General Health Center18697 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 100hospital with a 90-year history

Thomas A. Seldenpresident, CEO

48City of Akron166 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. Plusquellicmayor

49Kaiser Permanente of Ohio1001 Lakeside Ave., Suite 1200, Cleveland 44114(800) 524-7371/www.kp.org

1,753 1,465 19.7% 1,753 Health care provider and insurancecompany

Patricia D. Kennedy-Scottregional president

50JPMorgan Chase & Co.1300 E. Ninth St., Cleveland 44114(877) 302-4273 /www.chase.com

1,750 1,200 45.8% 20,500 Financial servicesJames M. Malz, president, Ohiomarket and head, middle marketcommercial banking

51Bridgestone Americas Inc.1200 Firestone Parkway, Akron 44317(330) 379-7000/www.bridgestoneamericas.com

1,725 1,715 0.6% 2,314 Tire manufacturerHank Hara, chief technology officer,vp, Bridgestone Americas TireOperations

52Mercy3700 Kolbe Road, Lorain 44053(440) 960-4000/www.mercyonline.org

1,605 1,612 (0.4%) 1,605 Health care provider Edwin Oleypresident, CEO

53Avery Dennison8080 Norton Parkway, Mentor 44060(440) 534-6000/www.averydennison.com

1,585 1,512 4.8% 1,585Manufacturer of pressure sensitive paper,film and foil, graphic materials and specialtytapes

Donald Nolangroup vice president,Roll Materials Worldwide

54Lake County105 Main St., Painesville 44077(440) 350-2745/www.lakecountyohio.org





Rank




55Cleveland State University2121 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 44115(216) 687-2000/www.csuohio.edu

1,575 1,681 (6.3%) 1,575 Higher education Ronald Berkmanpresident

56Rockwell 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 automationcontrol and information solutions

Steven A. Eisenbrownsenior vice president,architecture and software

57Discount 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 Boodjehchairman

58Republic 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 Vigilpresident, CEO

59Mahoning County21 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

60Fred 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 Albrechtpresident

61EMH Healthcare630 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, MDpresident, CEO

62Parma Community General Hospital7007 Powers Blvd., Parma 44129(440) 743-3000/www.parmahospital.org

1,461 1,491 (2.0%) 1,461 Hospital Terrence G. Deispresident, CEO

63Westfield InsuranceOne Park Circle, Westfield Center 44251(330) 887-0101/www.westfieldgrp.com

1,418 1,414 0.3% 1,599 Insurance, banking and related financialservices

Robert J. Joyceexecutive chair,Westfield Group

64Dominion East Ohio1201 E. 55th St., Cleveland 44103(800) 362-7557/www.dom.com

1,402 1,480 (5.3%) 1,535 Natural gas distributionAnne E. Bomarsenior vice president,general manager

65J.M. Smucker Co.(4)1 Strawberry Lane, Orrville 44667330-682-3000/www.smuckers.com

1,400 1,200 16.7% NA Fruit spreads, retail packaged coffee,peanut butter, shortening and oils

Timothy P. Smucker, chairman, co-CEO; Richard K. Smucker,executive chairman, president, co-CEO

66Invacare 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. Blouchpresident, CEO

67Ben 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 injectablepharmaceutical products

Thomas J. Murphypresident, CEO

68Philips Healthcare595 Miner Road, Highland Heights 44143(440) 483-3000/www.philips.com/healthcare

1,250 1,250 0.0% 1,250 Manufacturer of medical diagnosticequipment

James Mazelskygeneral manager,CT and nuclear medicine

69Alcoa1600 Harvard Ave., Cleveland 44105(216) 641-3600/www.alcoa.com

1,245 1,245 0.0% NAAluminum forgings for aerospace,automotive and commercial transportationmarkets

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

70The 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. Semelsbergerchairman

71Ernst & Young LLP925 Euclid Ave., Suite 1300, Cleveland 44115(216) 861-5000/www.ey.com

1,195 977 22.3% 1,684 Assurance, advisory, tax and transactionadvisory services

Donald T. MisheffNortheast Ohio managing partner

72Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities1275 Lakeside Ave. East, Cleveland 44114(216) 241-8230/www.cuyahogabdd.org

1,187 1,177 0.8% 1,187Education, vocational training andresidential services for infants, children andadults with developmental disabilities

Terrence M. Ryansuperintendent

73Oberlin College101 N. Professor St., Oberlin 44074(440) 775-8400/www.oberlin.edu

1,078 1,082 (0.4%) 1,079 Higher education Marvin Krislovpresident

74Delphi Packard Electrical/Electronic Architecture5725 Delphi Drive, Troy 48098(248) 813-2000/www.delphi.com

1,070 1,100 (2.7%) 1,070Global supplier of electronics andtechnologies for automotive, commercialvehicle and other market segments

James A. Spencer, vice presidentand president, Delphi PackardElectrical/Electronic Architectureand president, Delphi Latin America

75Geauga County470 Center St., Chardon 44024(440) 285-2222/www.co.geauga.oh.us


76Pepsi 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 ofPepsiCo beverages

Dan Hungermanvice president, general manager,Ohio Market Unit

77Medina County144 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

78GE 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 oflighting products

Maryrose Sylvesterpresident, CEO, GE Lighting

79Ohio Savings Bank, A Division of New York Community Bank1801 E. Ninth St., Cleveland 44114(216) 588-4100/www.amtrust.com

1,033 1,106 (6.6%) 1,033 Financial institution/bankRobert J. Tolomerexecutive vice president,officer-in-charge

80Huntington National Bank917 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 44115(800) 480-2265/www.huntington.com

1,017 980 3.8% 8,507 Financial servicesDaniel P. Walsh Jr.president,Greater Cleveland region

81RG Steel LLC999 Pine Ave. SE, Warren 44483(330) 841-8218/www.rg-steel.com

1,000 800 25.0% 1,000 Produces custom steels including highcarbon and alloy flat rolled products

Thomas J. Ceravice president, general manager

82Robinson Memorial Hospital6847 N. Chestnut St., Ravenna 44266(330) 297-0811/www.robinsonmemorial.org

999 1,106 (9.7%) 1,362 150-staffed-bed hospital Stephen Colecchipresident, CEO

83Portage County449 S. Meridian St., Ravenna 44266(330) 297-3600/www.co.portage.oh.us

989 1,052 (6.0%) 989 County government Board of Commissioners

84Mentor Public Schools6451 Center St., Mentor 44060(440) 255-4444/www.mentorschools.net

987 1,015 (2.8%) 987 Public school district Jacqueline A. Hoynessuperintendent

85Hyland Software Inc.28500 Clemens Road, Westlake 44145(440) 788-5000/www.hyland.com

969 802 20.8% 972Independent software vendor; developer ofthe OnBase enterprise content managementsoftware suite

A.J. Hylandpresident, CEO

See LIST Page 20


in Ohio. It eventually will get asmuch as $100 million annuallyfrom state liquor profits to invest injob creation.

Under the plan outlined by a Jobs-Ohio solicitation for proposals, sixregional organizations would con-tract with JobsOhio to run officesthat would be the economic devel-opment organization’s primaryeyes and ears. Those offices wouldreplace a network of 12 regionaleconomic development directors,or REDDs, who worked for the gov-ernor and the state Department ofDevelopment.

The state would provide as muchas $2.5 million in startup adminis-trative seed money to each of thesix organizations.

In the past, a mayor or countyeconomic development directorwould call the REDD, who would joinnegotiations and bring in state deal-makers to put together an incentivepackage that might include loans ortax credits.

Now, however, the regionalgroups would be the dealmakers.

The starting line

JobsOhio is still in its formativestage, and few details are availableabout how it will operate. So, it’shard for those entities that likelywill run the regional offices to talkabout how they might work.

“You’re going to find us a little reluctant to (speak) very much because there are just a lot of thingsin process,” said Team NEO presi-dent Tom Waltermire, who wasputting the last touches on hisgroup’s response to the state’s callfor proposals when contacted byCrain’s last Thursday, July 21.

“Over the next month not onlywill a lot of things be fleshed out atthe state of Ohio level, but also inside the region,” he said.

But Mr. Waltermire did want tomake clear that Team NEO willcontinue to work collaborativelywith communities and chambers ofcommerce in its JobsOhio role.

Kristi Tanner, an assistant directorof the Department of Developmentwho 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 regionswill be empowered to advise companies and local developmentofficials on what kind of deals thestate might be willing to offer. But astate agency or financing board willneed to sign off on any incentivepackages that include tax credits orstate loans or grants.

Edward Hill, dean of the MaxineGoodman Levin College of UrbanAffairs at Cleveland State University,sees a similarity to the bank businessin how the new setup will work.

“The analogy I have is branchbanking,” because the regional offices will have limits on what theycan authorize, Mr. Hill said.

Original intentNine years ago, regional business

leaders, led by the late H. PeterBurg, then chairman and CEO ofFirstEnergy Corp., began talkingabout creating a nonprofit thatwould bring together the spectrumof economic development efforts inNortheast Ohio into a grand collab-

oration. The goal was to do a betterjob of stimulating business devel-opment in the region than thecities, counties and chambers ofcommerce could do on their own.

But it didn’t work out that way.Despite public expressions of supportfrom chamber of commerce andeconomic development officials,not everyone was willing to let anew regional organization sharetheir stage. “It was passive aggres-siveness done in a beautiful fash-ion,” Mr. Hill said.

By 2006, when Mr. Waltermirewas hired, the organization’s ambi-tions had been scaled back, and itworked exclusively on attractingnew business to the region. Busi-ness retention and expansion wereleft in the hands of local officials.But JobsOhio now will be puttingthose programs back in TeamNEO’s portfolio.

Regional economic developmentofficials representing private-sectorinterests who were contacted lastweek sounded eager to work in thenew system.

“Team NEO has been around for




Rank




86Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools37047 Ridge Road, Willoughby 44094(440) 956-5000/www.weschools.org

942 925 1.8% 942 Public school district Stephen Thompsonsuperintendent

87Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District2155 Miramar Blvd., University Heights 44118(216) 371-7171/www.chuh.org

908 918 (1.1%) 908 Public school district Douglas G. Heuersuperintendent

88Saint 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-performancematerials, glass containers

John Crowepresident, CEO

89Elyria Schools42101 Griswold Road, Elyria 44035(440) 284-8000/www.elyriaschools.org

862 907 (5.0%) 862 Public school district Paul M. Rigdasuperintendent

90Safeguard Properties LLC7887 Safeguard Circle, Valley View 44125(216) 739-2900/www.safeguardproperties.com

860 699 23.0% 860 Inspection and maintenance of defaultedand foreclosed properties nationally

Alan JaffaCEO

91Menorah Park Center for Senior Living27100 Cedar Road, Beachwood 44122(216) 831-6500/www.menorahpark.org

854 876 (2.5%) 1,131 Full continuum of care for seniors includingresidential and community services

Steven Raichilsonexecutive director

92Steris Corp.5960 Heisley Road, Mentor 44060(440) 354-2600/www.steris.com

852 787 8.3% 913 Maker of sterile processing and infectionprevention systems

Walter M. Rosebrough Jr.president, CEO

93Myers Industries Inc.1293 S. Main St., Akron 44301(330) 253-5592/www.myersindustries.com

849 863 (1.6%) 1,015 Polymer and metal products; equipment fortire service

John C. Orrpresident, CEO

94Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland1455 E. Sixth St., Cleveland 44114(216) 579-2000/www.clevelandfed.org

847 873 (3.0%) 979 U.S. Central Bank Sandra Pianaltopresident, CEO

95RPM International Inc.P.O. Box 777, Medina 44258(330) 273-5090/www.rpminc.com

825 901 (8.4%) 982 Specialty coatings for industrial andconsumer markets

Frank C. Sullivanchairman, CEO

96Lakewood City School District1470 Warren Road, Lakewood 44107(216) 529-4092/www.lakewoodcityschools.org

803 816 (1.6%) 803 Public school system Jeffrey Pattersonsuperintendent

97Luk USA LLC3401 Old Airport Road, Wooster 44691(330) 264-4383/www.lukusa.com

800 800 0.0% 800 Clutch systems and torque converters forthe automotive industry

Marc McGrathpresident

98Ohio CAT3993 E. Royalton Road, Broadview Heights 44147(440) 526-6200/www.ohiocat.com

775 740 4.7% 775Caterpillar engine and equipment distributorin Ohio, Northern Kentucky andSoutheastern Indiana

Kenneth E. Taylorpresident

99St. Vincent Charity Medical Center2351 E. 22nd St., Cleveland 44115(216) 861-6200/www.stvincentcharity.com

772 1,003 (23.0%) 1,250 Health care provider Dr. David F. Persepresident

100Goodrich Landing Gear8000 Marble Ave., Cleveland 44105(216) 341-1700/www.goodrich.com

761 890 (14.5%) 1,503 Aerospace technology systems Mike Brandpresident

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 thecompanies unless footnoted. Crain's Cleveland Business does not independently verify the information and there is no guarantee these listings are complete or accurate. Wewelcome 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 atwww.crainscleveland.com.(1) Employees working in Ashland, Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull and Wayne counties. Numberof 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.

RESEARCHED BY Deborah W. Hillyer


Roots: State still will have final say on incentives a while and a lot us have had achance to put that together,” saidTom Humphries, president and CEOof the Youngstown Warren RegionalChamber of Commerce. “So the collaboration is automatic.”

Bob Bowman, deputy mayor ofAkron for economic development, ismore skeptical. Partly that’s a resultof not yet knowing how the JobsOhioNetwork will work.

“I understand the idea of makingit businesslike,” Mr. Bowman said. “Idon’t know how somebody from theprivate sector puts together a publicdeal.” He conceded that a major issue for political leaders was, “Whogets 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 allthe people in between,” he said.

That concern may not be warranted.Mr. Waltermire said the JobsOhio regional office will work indepen-dently of his group’s business attrac-tion operation.

“Somewhere, Pete Burg is smiling,”said Brad Whitehead, president ofthe Fund for Our Economic Future,which has helped nurture TeamNEO and other regional economicdevelopment collaborations. ■



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Flying: Industry presents ‘great opportunity’ them into new planes by installingmore powerful and fuel-efficientengines, new cockpits and con-trols and new interiors.

Mike Heil, president of the OhioAerospace Institute in Cleveland,said the aviation industry cameout of the recession faster andstronger than most sectors of theeconomy and has plenty of fuelfor growth, especially overseas.

“You’re picking up on the factthat aerospace is pulling out ofthe recession here. And the reces-sion never really hit in the East, inChina and India, so we continue tohave a pickup in business,” Mr.Heil said.

China, Mr. Heil said, quickly isopening its airspace to morecommercial airliners. Since theindustry essentially is startingfrom scratch in much of that nation, the Chinese still need about20,000 commercial aircraft and willbuy many of them from the UnitedStates, he said.

Here at home, airlines also are expanding, as evidenced last weekwhen American Airlines announcedplans to spend $38 billion to buyabout 460 new aircraft. Eyebrowswere raised when American also saidit would buy more than half thoseplanes from Europe’s Airbus ratherthan its longtime sole supplier, Boeing— but that doesn’t hurt Ohio’s aero-space contractors, Mr. Heil said.

“Ohio is Airbus’ top supplier ofany state in the union. The last figureI saw was $4.5 billion (in parts andcomponents) that they buy fromOhio companies every year,” Mr.Heil said.

Ohio is only the No. 2 state interms of selling to Boeing — butwhen either of the companies receivesa contract, Ohio wins, Mr. Heil said.

“It ends up being good news, because Ohio companies like ParkerHannifin, Alcoa, Goodrich … allhave strong relationships with Air-bus and the dollar-exchange ratemakes doing business with the U.S.favorable for Airbus,” Mr. Heil said.

The benefits to Ohio should onlyincrease going forward, he predicts.

“Airbus wants to do more businessin Ohio. The CEO of Airbus (NorthAmerica) has been to Ohio a fewtimes,” Mr. Heil said. “They’ve beenworking with Sen. Sherrod Brown’sstaff trying to figure out how to expand Airbus in Ohio.”

Now seating all rowsMr. Heil’s optimism is reflected in

reports from other aerospace-relatedcompanies in and around Cleveland.

Near Cleveland Hopkins Airport,Aero-Instruments has been buyingproduct lines from other instrumentmakers, while continuing to developits own line of Pitot sensors — criticalcomponents used to determine anaircraft’s speed. It’s heading botheast and west for its sales.

Aero-Instruments’ sensors recentlywere approved for use in China’sC919 aircraft, and the nation intendsto build 2,400 of the aircraft, presidentDan Pappano said. Aero-Instrumentsalso hopes the sensors soon will beapproved for use in Europe, whichwill mean it can sell them to Airbus,Mr. Pappano said.

In Euclid, Tect Power got its12,000-ton mechanical press fixedand online early this year, just intime to take advantage of growth it,too, is seeing in the aerospace sector,general manager Pat Burke said.


MARC GOLUB

The cockpit of a redone Beechcraft400 jet, which Nextant sells for $4 mil-lion as its Nextant 400XT.

The press, one of the biggest of itskind in the world, forges turbineblades for jet engines from glowing-hot titanium blanks. Aerospace isnot the company’s only business,but it is its biggest, and engine makersaround the world rely on it for bladesand other titanium components.

“Our business is really strong rightnow,” said Mr. Burke, who addedthat his biggest challenge at the moment is finding about 10 new employees to add to his current staffof about 100.

Mr. Burke said Tect held on to existing customers after its presswent down because it was able toscramble and keep them suppliedwith parts, even when it had to turnto other vendors to get them.

“Not a single customer missed anengine build,” Mr. Burke says withno small amount of pride — eventhough the press was down from December 2009 until January of thisyear.

Now, Tect has gained marketshare and its customers have gainedmomentum, Mr. Burke said. For example, one of its customers, Pratt& Whitney, recently had its engineapproved for the new U.S. F35 Fighterplane.

In on the B-52Other shops are benefitting as

well. In Willoughby, Astro Manufac-turing and Design — as a supplier toNextant Aerospace and other, largeraircraft companies — says its aero-space business is up. The shop employs about 280 people and aero-space is its second-biggest business,behind medical devices, Astro vicepresident Rich Peterson said.

“We’ve got 280 people, only because I can’t find any more rightnow,” Mr. Peterson said.

Mr. Peterson said he’s gainingaerospace business from a variety ofcustomers, from Lockheed Martin inGeorgia to a North Carolina aero-space company that recently hasbeen scouting Ohio for new suppliers.

“We even just got a contract forthe B-52 bomber, believe it or not,and we should get another onesoon,” Mr. Peterson said.

Down the road in Mentor, FredonManufacturing also said its aero-space business is growing again, after slowing a bit earlier this yearwhen some aircraft production waspostponed.

“From what I can see of the

forecasts it looks like a steady increase at least though June2012,” said Fredon customer ser-vice manager Joan Liston-Russellin an email shared with Crain’sby company president Roger Sustar.

What’s next at Nextant?Then there is Nextant Aero-

space, which hopes to have FAAapproval of its Nextant 400XT thissummer and to begin selling thewholly transformed Beechcraft400 jets for about $4 millionapiece thereafter. If the planworks — and plenty of customersalready have put down depositsand placed orders for more than40 planes, company officials say— Nextant plans to grow until it ischurning out a plane a week witha work force of about 200 peopleat the airport.

Nextant says it can sell its planefor less than half of what a similarplane costs new. And, with about 600used versions of the jet already in circulation, the company figures itwill have no shortage of platforms itcan rebuild. Besides, Nextant vicepresident of manufacturing Jerry Bemis said, the company already isworking on choosing the plane it willuse as the platform for its next offering— though, for now, that’s a secret.

The point, though, is that Nextantis up and running because it, its investors and its fleet-operating customers believe in the future ofaviation and the revenues it will produce for them. The company isreceiving orders from fractional jetownership companies in the UnitedStates and also from Europe andother parts of the world, where per-sonal and corporate jet ownershiphas yet to take off the way it has inthis country.

Paint for The DonaldBig, locally based companies also

are riding on the industry’s tailwinds,according to Mr. Heil, who said ParkerHannifin Corp., Eaton Corp. andothers with operations in other partsof Ohio and around the world areseeing their aerospace-related busi-ness improve.

Even Sherwin-Williams, for whichaerospace is just a small part of itstotal business, says the sector hasbeen a good one of late. After all,planes must be painted, saidspokesman Mike Conway. Its cus-tomers range from Donald Trump tothe U.S. military and companies thatmake 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 willcontinue for most companies involvedin the sector. U.S. airlines need to replace their fleets with more effi-cient planes, China and India stillneed thousands more aircraft, andother parts of the world, such asLatin America and the Middle East,will buy more when their economiespick up, he said.

Eventually, China will start tobuild more of its own planes, probablyat its own factories or possibly atnew companies it has yet to create,but even then Ohio companies likelywill participate in its supply chain,Mr. Heil said.

“Aerospace is our No. 1 export industry, for both the nation andstate,” Mr. Heil said. “I think it’s going to continue to grow and it offersgreat opportunities for the state ofOhio.” ■


protested at last Wednesday’s hearingthat they were not certain howmuch the condo tower would beworth, Judge O’Donnell said, “I’vegot to believe you have an idea whatthe market is for this property, evenif parties are not beating down thedoors to buy it.”

The judge indicated he wants theparties to seek a solution.

“We wouldn’t be here if (PNC)hadn’t forced Panzica to file theforeclosure case that brought youin,” Judge O’Donnell said. It was areference to Panzica stating in courtpapers that it had brought suit because PNC had told the contractor

it would lose its lien rights to collectits bill if it did not file to foreclose.

Under a proposal advanced byNathan Zaremba, whose ZarembaAvenue LLC constructed the condotower, 57 residential units would befinished and offered to the rentalmarket if the would-be buyer andlenders agree to terms for settlingthe lawsuit and selling the property.Five units were sold before the res-idential market entered its worstdownturn since the Great Depres-sion.

“We’ve had to move this ball along, long way to get here,” DanielLindner, Nathan Zaremba’s attor-ney, said during the hearing. “We

need to have a good negotiation between all the parties to advance.”He later declined comment on theproceedings.

High hopes remainResolving the multimillion-

dollar disputes and getting the con-dos rented “would be really goodnews for downtown if it works out,”said Michael Deemer, director ofnew business development at theDowntown Cleveland Alliance, agroup that oversees marketing, security and maintenance issuesdowntown.

“To see the Avenue tower unitsbecome available would be impor-

tant for downtown in the real worldsense as well as symbolically,” Mr.Deemer said. Downtown rentalsare at 94% occupancy, and tenantsare lined up on waiting lists, he noted.

According to Mr. Deemer, gettingthe condos rented and commercialspace leased on the building’s firstfloor would put in place on East 12th

the type of mixed-use developmentthat Downtown Cleveland Alliancehopes to use to revitalize East NinthStreet in the new NineTwelve Dis-trict. The plan is designed to com-bat the decline of East Ninth, where major buildings such as Hunting-ton, KeyBank Center and the for-mer East Ohio Gas Building have


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RECEIVER ORDERS SALEFormer Auto Dealership5 + Acres – Mentor Ave.$799,000 - Mentor, OH

Ag Real Estate Group, Inc.,Receiver

216-504-5000www.agrealestategroup.com

INDEPENDENCE CORPORATE CENTER7100 E. Pleasant Valley Rd.

Premium First Floor Space Available up to 5,500 contiguous sq. ft.www.independencecorporatecenter.com

216-674-0525

SHOPPING PLAZAFully rented with a stong

anchor, ready for expansion.Seller retiring.

440-899-7887PRUDENTIAL LUCIEN & ASSOC.

Invest in AssistedLiving Facilities16-40 Bed Facility Investors

Wanted for NE Ohio Properties

Chris FoleyOreste Realty LLC(614) 915-8835

LLUUXXUURRYY PPRROOPPEERRTTIIEESS

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real estate here forgreat high-end exposure.

DDiissccoouunntt rraatteess aavvaaiillaabbllee..

Call (216) 771-5172

Come enjoy thegorgeous Lake Erie

sunsets from your own2006 built home.2 decks, hot tub, 4 Br's,

3+ baths, gourmet kitchen,1 BR apt. Exceptional Property!

$849,500.00

440-477-1967

EastlakeApproximately 7,000 and

30,000 square feet ofwarehouse space for rent.Will subdivide. Truck dock

available. Easy access to StateRoute 2. $2.50/square foot

including utilities.

Call 440-946-4767for details.

LOW COSTFLEX SPACE

Lease or BuyI-271 & Rt. 8 ramp.230 to 23,000 sq. ft.

1-800-447-2343

RREEAALLTTOORRSS::Now is a great time to promote your

Luxury Properties to high-end prospects

AND receive reduced rates on

your advertising.

Call 216.522.1383 for more details.

E-MAIL US YOUR [email protected]

CLASSIFIEDBUSINESS SERVICES

First Energy Rebates

Take advantageof HUGE

First Energyincentives

to reduce your lighting energy

costs by 50-70%!

FUNDS ARE LIMITED

Bob Taussig330-931-3905

[email protected]

FLYNNENVIRONMENTAL

For Assessments(800) 690-9409

www.flynnenvironmental.com

INVESTMENTOPPORTUNITY

(Accredited Investors Only)Cleveland based company is seeking

an equity capital investment, todevelop their new business model.Projected revenue, is a combination

of sales of our unique kitchenappliance and ad sales from major

food and beverage companies.Detailed business plans and

forecasts are available.

If interested, please call Rickat 440-821-5322 to learn more.

Indians Loge BoxShare our home plate

suite. At cost.

Jen 614-218-3884www.SuitePartners.com

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITYDance Studio/Martial Arts/Pilates/Yoga/Rehab Services

3000 sq.ft.suite, two separate studios with hardwood floors and waitingroom glass viewing, changing rooms, and office. Available immediatelyfor Fall Season. Located center of Solon, Ohio. Short or long term lease.

Call Dave at 440-220-0700 for more information

CCrraaiinn’’ss EExxeeccuuttiivvee RReeccrruuiitteerr

Director forGrants, Research and Development

Notre Dame College is seeking a Director for Grants, Research andDevelopment. The successful candidate will have a demonstratedability in successful researching and writing grant proposals; abasic knowledge of funding opportunities in higher education;creative program development skills; superior writing and editingskills; a basic knowledge of local foundations and program officerswho offer support to educational institutions.

www.notredamecollege.edu/about/employment

Human Resource Professional NeededThe Review Board, advising the Bishop of Cleveland on child sexualabuse, is seeking two volunteer members. One must be a humanresource professional. Applicants must have integrity, good judgment,Catholic perspective and time for this rewarding but demandingvolunteeer position. To apply, go to www.dioceseofcleveland.org

BUSINESSSERVICEOWNERS!Submit your

business card to promote yourservice and

receive aSUBSTANTIAL

DISCOUNToff your ad price.

To find out more,contact

Toni Coleman at216.522.1383

DON’TFORGET:

Crain’s Cleveland Businesson-line @

CrainsCleveland.comFor all the latest business

news...online

Employers:Reach the most qualified workforce.

Advertise your open positions inCrain’s Cleveland Business.

SPECIAL RATES AVAILABLE.

Avenue: Mixed-use development enticingcontinued from PAGE 3

huge office vacancies with more areon the way.

A lawyer not involved in the casewho asked not to be identified saidthe mediation hearing will be a “cutup the pie session. But the discus-sion will be how much less everyonegets instead of how much more.”

Spokeswomen for Key and PNCdeclined comment.

The Avenue District plan waslaunched in 2006 as a plan to trans-form East 12th Street from Chester toLakeside avenues as a new residen-tial neighborhood. The plan was designed to launch development ofhundreds of condos and townhouseson city-owned sites used as parkingsince. Only the condo tower andnearby townhouses were constructedbefore the mid-2000s real estateboom went bust. ■


This is bad, girls, and that’s good■ You don’t have to be bad. You do have tomean business.

Bad Girl Ventures, a Cincinnati-based micro-finance organization that offers training,education and financial resources towomen-owned startups, marked its expan-sion into Cleveland last Friday, July 22.

This is Bad Girl’s third market, after itsfirst in Cincinnati and its second in Oxford,home of Miami University. The organiza-tion deploys donations and grant dollars tobusiness owners via low-interest loans. Itopened its local office at Shaker Launch-House on Friday.

Founded in March 2010, Bad Girl Ven-tures has received local support already: Thecity of Cleveland gave $7,000 toward $1,000grants for businesses that locate in Cleve-land, while the Cleveland and Business ofGood 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 nicheof women entrepreneurs who have verysmall funding needs and don’t have a lot ofconnectivity to the business community,”said Maria C. Coyne, founder of Key4Womenand head of Key’s business banking segment.

The organization’s first Cleveland classbegins Oct. 12. Classes take place for threehours one day a week for eight weeks andinvolve lessons and intensive coaching.

Since its founding, Bad Girl Ventures hasinvested more than $310,000 in 18 businesses

and provided education to 120. Companiesare eligible if they are 51% owned and controlled by women and are 5 years old oryounger. Applications are available atwww.badgirlventures.com. — Michelle Park

The price seems to be right■ A law of real estate investing is to buy aproperty at the right price in order to posi-tion a deal for a profit. The recent purchaseof the former Chrysler stamping plant inTwinsburg shows the first part of the tenetat work.

Scannell Properties Inc. of Indianapolis and DiGeronimoCos. of Valley View paid industrialequipment salvage firm MaynardIndustries Inc. $9.1 million forthe 2.2 million-square-foot planton 167 acres, according to SummitCounty land records. TwinsburgIndustrial Properties LLC, theventure Scannell and DiGeronimoformed for the project, also paidanother $1.1 million for equip-ment, which is not taxed as prop-erty.

Robert Garber, an industrialexpert and principal at the Cresco real estatefirm, said from a distance it looks like thebuyers “got a hell of a deal.” He said unim-proved industrial land in the high-demandTwinsburg market is worth at least $15,000an acre.

The joint venture said it plans to demolish1.4 million square feet of the plant to yieldsites for new construction; that also means

it will reap dollars for scrap steel and copper.It will retain 800,000 square feet of the com-plex as scarce crane-equipped space undera high roof.

Twinsburg Mayor Katherine Procop saidthe city plans to seek state grants to aid thecapital-intensive redevelopment process. —Stan Bullard

An apt app for patients■ The Cleveland Clinic’s electronic medicalrecords have gone mobile.

The new iPhone app — an extension of the Clinic’s onlineportal, MyChart — went live lastTuesday, July 19, and by late lastweek had been downloaded morethan 1,100 times by patients, according to Dr. C. Martin Harris,the Clinic’s chief information officer.

The Clinic’s online MyChartportal has 300,000 active users.

“This (app) really brings yourhealth information into the con-text of your daily living as you’remaking immediate decisions,”Dr. Harris said.

The application is a scaled-down versionof its online counterpart, but allows patientsto access their prescription history, appoint-ment reminders, messages from physicians,test results, allergies and other medical information.

The free application can be downloadedthrough Apple’s iTunes store. — TimothyMagaw

WHAT’S NEW

COMPANY: AgraTronix, StreetsboroPRODUCT: Power Wizard 24000Fence Charger

Livestock in, predators out. That’s the phi-losophy behind this new product from Agra-Tronix.

The company says its electric fence ener-gizer uses proprietary Ultra low-impedancetechnology to contain cows, horses and otherlivestock through wet and heavy vegetation.

“Our new Power Wizard electric fencecharger meets the higher capacity needs ofthe 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’sPower Wizard fence energizer line produces24 Joule output to control up to 2,400 acresof fenced land. AgraTronix says the PowerWizard 24000 includes a color-coded, fencevoltage indicator enabling farmers to deter-mine immediately the voltage of their fences.

A red light indicates a heavily loaded fencewith a voltage between 2,000 to 3,000 volts.Yellow means the fence is moderatelyloaded, producing 4,000 to 5,000 volts, andthe green lights indicate the fence is operatingat 6,000 to more than 10,000 volts.

For information, visit www.PowerWizardInc.com.

REPORTERS’ NOTEBOOKBEHIND THE NEWS WITH CRAIN’S WRITERS

THEINSIDER

THEWEEK JULY 18 - 24

The big story: Staff of the Cleveland-Cuya-hoga County Port Authority presented to itsboard a 40-page draft report that lays out a newdirection for the quasi-public agency that is lessambitious but likely more attainable than theplan it replaces. The plan re-establishes the PortAuthority as primarily a manager of the water-front and its docks, and it sets goals for expandingthe maritime business. It also suggests the PortAuthority expand its marine role by becomingthe steward of the Cuyahoga River as well as thelakefront, taking responsibility for protecting themarine environment for commercial and recre-ational uses. See related story, Page 3.

Value shopping: Nordson Corp. entered intoa definitive agreement to acquire Value PlasticsInc., a producer of fittings and valves used in themedical field, in a deal valued at $250 million.The Westlake-based maker of automated sprayingand dispensing equipment expects to financethe deal under an existing $400 million revolvingcredit line. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Nordson’s earnings in the first fullyear of acquisition.

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

New digs down the road: The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority said it intendsto buy a three-story building in Cleveland’sWarehouse District for $3.1 million in cash. ThePort Authority, which now has offices at OneCleveland Center, expects to take as much as

half the space inthe 25,500-square-foot building thatoverlooks its water-front docks whenits One Clevelandleases expire in2013 and 2014.The building is at1100 W. Ninth St.,

on the edge of the Warehouse District. The pur-chase could end up saving the Port Authority$270,000 a year from reduced costs for the orga-nization’s office space and because revenuefrom continuing tenants largely will cover theoperating cost of the building.

Same old, same old: Home sales statewidein June fell nearly 17% from the like month a yearago, and Northeast Ohio fared even worse, witha 17.8% sales drop, according to data from theOhio Association of Realtors. The group reportedthere were 10,009 homes sold statewide lastmonth, 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 ayear ago.

A new journey: A publicly traded companyfrom Waltham, Mass., acquired Trek DiagnosticSystems of Cleveland, a microbiology companythat develops blood culture, identification andsusceptibility technology. Thermo Fisher Scien-tific Inc. did not disclose what it paid for Trek,which was owned by Magellan Biosciences.Thermo Fisher said Trek has 150 employees andposted revenue of $34 million in 2010.


BEST OF THE BLOGSExcerpts from recent blog entries onCrainsCleveland.com

Sky-high law school tuitiongets spread pretty far■ Lawrence E. Mitchell, the new dean of theCase Western Reserve University School ofLaw, was among the experts quoted in aNew York Times story about what the news-paper called “one of the academy’s open secrets” — the huge amount of cash lawschools generate to subsidize other parts ofuniversities’ operations.

The Times said law schools “toss off somuch cash they are sometimes required tohand over as much as 30% of their revenueto universities, to subsidize less profitablefields.”

Mr. Mitchell already is experiencing thisphenomenon.

He told The Times, “If my president wereto say ‘We’ll never take morethan 10% of your revenue,’ I’dsay ‘God bless you,’ and we’dnever have to talk again. Buthaving just come from a two-daymeeting of new and currentdeans organized by the AmericanBar Association, I can tell youthat some law schools pay 25%or even 30%.”

The newspaper reportedthat among deans, the money surrenderedto the administration is known informally as“the tax.” But here’s why it’s possible: TheTimes said that from 1989 to 2009, lawschool tuition shot up 317%.

If you need proof Clevelandsports fans have it tough …■ While fearful of feeding Cleveland sportsfans’ self-loathing, add “The Study” to thelist 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-mostpainful NFL team someone can follow; onlyDetroit is worse. (You can find the index attinyurl.com/3qvk8p8.)

The methodology is pretty straightfor-ward — teams’ cumulative 10-seasonrecords and the number of seasons sincethree landmarks occurred — though youprobably don’t need to look at it to know thelovable-loser Browns don’t stack up.

The Indians, meanwhile, are the ninth-most-difficult baseball team to follow, according to BizJournals.com; the team’sALCS run in 2007 certainly helped.

One of these thingsis not like the other■ The Wall Street Journal included Cliffs

Natural Resources Inc. in a storyabout the strongest U.S. stockmarket performers of the firsthalf of the year.

The newspaper highlightedfive stellar stocks and notedthat Cleveland-based Cliffs, aniron ore miner, “dug up gainsfor investors of close to 19% inthe first half of 2011, due to aresurgent iron-ore market

which boosted profit margins.”Shneur Gershuni, an analyst at UBS in

New York, told The Journal that the stockshould do even better in the second half of theyear, as a boom in infrastructure building inAsia should drive up demand for steel andin turn push up the consumption of iron ore.

Mr. Gershuni puts a price target of $123 onthe stock, more than 25% above current levels.

The four other companies highlightedwere consumer-oriented: Netflix, Chipotle,Philip Morris International and Kraft Foods.


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