'Tis the Season for STEM Learning

Thanksgiving family gatherings are a time to reflect on the year behind us and the year ahead. Join me in putting our holiday gatherings to work with a double purpose this year.  Enjoy time together but, also, persuade those gathered to stay in Ohio or return to Ohio.  STEM jobs in manufacturing are at the heart of that convincing.  

Try a little word association with your family and friends.

STEM is the acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math.  Make these holidays the season for STEM learning.

S  is for stuffing.  It’s also for science. 

Life sciences, in particular, have made huge gains in Central Ohio.  Amgen makes its medicines in new fill lines here in Western Licking County.  Pharmavite’s Nature Made brand gummy vitamins are made right here too.  [Note: It was a homesick Ohioan CEO who brought the new plant here.]

OhioMeansJobs.com shows nearly 50 job openings with these two companies among over 300 chemistry jobs within commuting time of Columbus. Science is indeed a career path in Ohio and a reason to return to a job here.

T is for turkey.  Technology is the T in STEM.

That delicious bird is the star of the season’s family dinner and technology is the star in STEM learning.  While all the technology talk for the last three years has been about Intel, the real story is that the same technology skills that a semiconductor manufacturer needs—fabrication, mechanical, industrial maintenance, and material handling—are, today, needed by growing Central Ohio manufacturers.

In our Port Authority park, manufacturing jobs have increased by 150% in the last ten years.  Reshoring of manufacturing is real and technology skills are behind every one of those new jobs.  One estimate has over 1,800 manufacturers and 89,000 jobs in manufacturing in the Columbus region.  Ohio is the third largest manufacturing state with nearly 700,000 jobs in manufacturing.

E is for that edible cranberry thing.  E is for engineering too.

Grandma brought that cranberry mold again.  Yes, it is edible.  To make that thing hold up, she put her engineering skills to work for sure.  Engineering skills are in demand and manufacturing is where it’s most in demand in Central Ohio. 

Unique engineered products are a standout in our region.  Covestro in Hebron can turn an idea at 9 into a new product line and a bag of material to make it by 5. Anduril needs both mechanical and software engineers for their products to be made in Pickaway County. A job search in Newark shows more than 8,000 jobs open with “engineering” in the title.

M is for mashed potatoes.  In STEM, it’s math.

Math is an essential part of every manufacturer’s day.  Plaskolite couldn’t deal in volumes and tolerances of its plastic sheets without math skills at its core.  Ariel compressors rely on multiple decimal points after zero levels of accuracy.  Boeing’s missile guidance systems miss their mark without precision math.

Enjoy your STEM dinner.  Partake of STEM learning talk too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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This column was submitted as a regular development column for The Dispatch and The Advocate.

The March Madness of STEM Learning Hit Licking County

 

March Madness is upon us.  From my point of view, it’s already hit Licking County.  Three days of STEMfest! at The Works recently took place in downtown Newark and really brought a spotlight to how much STEM learning is part of our day to day.

STEMfest! has always been the science equivalent of a basketball tournament. Fueled by the energy of our kids learning about the value of science, technology, engineering, and math skills in a hands-on way, the 2024 edition didn’t disappoint.

Over 1,000 people went through the doors at The Works coupled with demonstrations by a dozen local manufacturers.  There were 100 teams from four counties, including students from public and private schools from most of Licking County’s school districts competing in industry challenges.

Our Licking County version of STEM learning has the greatest value because of local relevance.  There are places to learn STEM skills and there are places to work that need those STEM skills. 

Our industries crave STEM skills.  I’m glad to share just three examples on the Port Authority campus in Heath how STEM ties into their day, though it was really hard to stop at just three. 

Kaiser Aluminum’s hot rolled aluminum is a niche process that provides the strength essential to aircraft.  The metallurgical science involved is unique to Kaiser in Heath.

MISTRAS Group sees all of the metal for Space X rockets stream through their doors. Ultrasound, submersion, and x-ray techniques are the technologies behind their material testing processes.

Boeing inertial guidance systems require the precision ability to hit the equivalent accuracy of a pencil point on a football field.  Engineering aided by decimal point levels of math is what make their gyroscopes work.

STEM learning is what makes STEM careers happen.

Though inspiration for a STEM career can come from just about anywhere—that next door neighbor who tinkers in his garage to that aunt who leads a local manufacturer--it’s the school experience that counts. 

That’s why I’m impressed by Newark City Schools and their approach.  For more than a dozen years, Newark has embraced STEM in all grades.  Pre-engineering and robotics hit middle schools 10 years ago.  Advanced classes in engineering, math, computer science, and physics are now commonplace.  Newark’s STEM summer camp offerings are icing on the curriculum cake. 

Par Excellence STEM Academy is all-in on STEM too.  The school rebranded with STEM in a big way this school year.  Par has embraced engineering and project-based learning approaches that are already gathering attention.  National attention.  Later this month, Par’s elementary school students will meet one of our local company leaders to learn about brain tissue research.  Yes, brain tissue research is happening in Licking County and, now, it’s being demonstrated to fourth graders.

It’s important we keep introducing the next generation to the value of STEM learning and STEM careers.  The Works STEMfest! is a vehicle for that and has been for 15 years.

March Madness has already come to Licking County.

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This column is a regular development column for the Newark Advocate.

What Do Organic Baby Formula and Latex Paint Have in Common? Made in Licking County

 

Bobbie, an organic infant formula company, recently acquired a Licking County manufacturing plant it called “the most innovative infant formula manufacturing facility in the U.S.”  Nature’s One, Bobbie’s July acquisition target, has been in Licking County for over three years and ramped up production during the baby formula crisis.  They are little known locally.

Licking County hosts manufacturers bringing a diverse array of products to the International stage.  Companies are focused on selling products to the world, and they have found it hard to grab the local spotlight.

The story of diverse manufacturing in Licking County is, often, a hidden story.  For the sake of inspiring a future generation to pursue the broad job opportunities that are here, we all benefit from knowing more about what’s right here in our backyards.

For almost ten years now, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s product development center has been the darling of the tire world.  Yet, few know that development of new tire innovations take place in Hebron.  A few parents and students may remember, Goodyear led a STEM competition at The Works one year to tell their story.

Screen Machine has been making giant, rock crushing machines in Etna from design to road ready for some time.  Their product has done its job on every continent but for, maybe, Antarctica. 

Neurxstem is conducting research to develop a test diagnosing brain tissue reactions.  Who knew? Only after Congressman Balderson visited and the generated front page story in The Advocate caught a Heath mom’s attention, did a local guy find out that his skills were needed in his hometown.                             

Where synthetic food additives are discouraged, as in the European Union, the pine tree extract manufactured at Arboris in Newark is in great demand as a cholesterol-lowering ingredient in many foods.  Soy crisps, an ingredient to give crunch and protein to popular protein bars, come out of the GB Food factory in Heath.  GB is a European-Asian joint venture that first set up their shingle in the U.S. in 2016.  Gathered Foods followed GB in 2017 and makes international headlines for their plant-based seafood products.  Locally known?  Not so much.

It’s also little known, but a fact that the first silicon products to come out of Licking County won’t be from Intel.  Momentive Performance manufactures silicon quartz tubing and crucibles consumed in making semiconductors and photovoltaic solar panels.  They’ve been in Union Township for decades.

Kaiser’s hot rolled aluminum line, Boeing’s missile guidance systems unit, the Air Force’s metrology labs, Owens Corning’s research campus, and Covestro’s product development center are just a few more of the unique-to-the-world capabilities right here in Licking County.

Soon, Behr Paint will begin manufacturing latex paint in their new facility in Heath.  Behr’s television commercials make the brand known around the U.S., but the large, new facility has gone quietly forward over the last two years practically unnoticed.  I’m hopeful Behr’s good news tale won’t get painted over when they open production early next year.

It’s the diversity of manufacturing that is one of the greatest strengths of our local economy, labor market, and tax base in Licking County.  This strength is to be celebrated!

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This column is a regular development column for The Newark Advocate.

 

Development News Predicts 2023 Opportunity

I’m a student of family history research.  I know that, in one branch of my family, my third great grandparents came to Ohio over 150 years ago from Germany.  Their granddaughter, my great grandmother, left the state but later came back.  In that same family branch, my grandfather left Ohio. He graduated high school and college on the West Coast but came back to Ohio 85 years ago.

Coming to Ohio, and coming back to Ohio, had a common reason among my ancestors.  The reason in every generation:  Opportunity.

I can’t help but think my personal family history trends could be a pattern for other families all over Ohio as the development announcement news of the last few years gets realized in job opportunities opening up. Ohio history has historical examples of windows of job opportunities that bring people to Ohio for the first time or homesick Ohioans back home for good. 

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine used his second inaugural remarks to call for legal immigrants and people interested in seizing opportunity to “come to Ohio.” The Governor is on to something. Use of his bully pulpit is spot on.

JobsOhio CEO J.P. Nauseef labels what we are experiencing in development announcements in Ohio as “generational opportunities.”  He’s right. 

2023 will be that year.  Licking County is at the heart of it.

New projects are getting more real.

Behr Paint will open a new building which will be the third largest on the Port Authority’s campus in Heath that boasts 80 years of manufacturing development.  The building will be ready this Summer.

Amgen’s building in Western Licking County is going up fast.  Little known fact:  Amgen is already hiring and quietly opened up in a new speculative-built industrial building in Heath last June.

Intel could start hiring in 2023, including internships with a promise of a permanent job when the facility is ready to open.  Follow Intel.com/Ohio. 

It’s a good bet that those of us in the development community are focused on helping ensure our existing industry has the chance to grow too.

Boeing is at its highest employment level in over 20 years.  They’re still hiring at jobs.Boeing.com.

Transcendia’s new building in Union Township looks great.  Jobs are there.

The list is long and wide in manufacturing in Licking County.

These now-emerging generational trends can continue as long as we continue to work, as a community and a state, to seize the opportunity before us. 

Let’s all make it our job.  Welcome homesick Ohioans back home. Welcome new Ohioans here. 

National author Joel Kotkin, who has been a frequent visitor to Ohio and Licking County, has his finger on the pulse of opportunity in manufacturing.  Kotkin recently wrote in a national column, “History is calling on North America, and the future depends on how we respond.” 

What a great time to be in Ohio.  What a great time to be in Licking County.

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This column is a regular development column also appearing The Advocate.

Thanksgiving Talking Points Memo

A gathering for Thanksgiving and the holidays is a time to talk about keeping our family in Ohio and persuading our homesick Ohio relatives to come back home.  It always is.

The case to be made is even stronger now than ever.

There are 20 billion new reasons in Ohio since last Thanksgiving to be making that point hit home.

Intel’s January 2022 announcement in Newark of a $20 billion investment promising 3,000 direct manufacturing jobs is taking shape before our eyes in Jersey Township, Western Licking County. As the Intel fabs take shape, the job opportunities will get closer and closer to reality too.

There’s no reason to wait for your persuasive message to your family members though.  Go for it!

When’s the right time?  Now.

I asked a training expert for the list of skills that Intel might be needing in the future.  Here’s the short list:  Robotics, Automation, Fabrication, Health and Safety, Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial Networking, Quality Control, HVAC, and Material Handling were among the needed skills on the list.

Guess what?  These skills are already needed with job opportunities with employers already in the job market.  Manufacturers may make different products, but their skill needs are very similar to each other.

The list of companies already here in Licking County is too long to list in this memo, but here’s just a few:  Hendrickson Auxiliary Axle Systems, Kaiser Aluminum, THK Manufacturing of America, Tech Tire, Holophane, Nature’s One, MISTRAS Group, Ariel Corporation, Owens Corning, Boeing, KDC/One, Anomatic, Covestro, Ampacet, Amgen, and Gathered Foods.

Pick on just one career field title—multi-craft maintenance.  The maintenance part is keeping equipment up and running.  The multi-craft part means skills in multiple areas of equipment.  

Every manufacturer needs multi-craft maintenance technicians.  Demand has never been greater.  The pay is tops among the top.

Where do you go to get some of these skills?  Close by.

C-TEC and Central Ohio Technical College are ready with the curriculum right now.  The training and educational capabilities of these two places has a long, proven track record for individuals in Licking County for decades.  

Employers know that and seek out graduates.

One example.  The Port Authority sponsored a new STEM scholarship at OSU-N and COTC this school year. One of the first students to find it is proving to be a rock star.  A young woman at one of our area manufacturers seized scholarships and is upping her skills to advance her career.  She proves that you can find the training and you can find the funding help to achieve.

It's all of our jobs to make sure our family members know what opportunities are being served up for them to stay in Ohio or come back to Ohio.

Don’t put whipped cream on that piece of pumpkin pie until you’ve made your case.  

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This column is a regular development column also appearing The Advocate.

STEM Learning Inspires

 

The seventh grader brought the bridge he made from mere toothpicks to STEMFest at The Works.  His special needs school aide and parents came with him. 

He put his bridge under test to see if it could withstand the pressure.  Then, he put himself to the test too with the pressure of presenting in front of the judges and competition.

The tears running down his parents’ faces and those of many in the crowd proved that that kid had passed a new threshold of STEM learning that even those closest to him wondered whether he could pass.  He nailed it!

Though he didn’t win the competition that day, there’s no doubt he won a new path for himself with STEM learning at the heart of it.  Inspiring.

This inspiring story is repeated in Licking County throughout our history and now.

The Newark Rotary Club, 100 years ago, put on an industrial exposition to help the special needs children of our community.  An April 1921 Rotary event was an early example of helping our community prepare for industry while also helping our children of all capabilities excel.

This summer of 2022 was inspiring with a new way to connect industry and learners of all kinds.  PCA, Boeing, and Covestro technologists showed off their day-to-day STEM skills to an integrated audience of YMCA summer campers and YMCA All for One campers. 

I watched an All for One camper put together his PCA cardboard cutout faster than most and faster, certainly, than I could have grasped doing it.  His determination was inspiring.

STEM learning in Licking County is reaching a wider audience and special needs children are a part of the audience. 

It’s all happening at the right time.  STEM skills in Licking County are in demand.

Boeing is hiring.  There are 28 different jobs, many requiring engineering skills, available at Jobs.Boeing.com right now.

Ohio Means Jobs Licking County is helping fill jobs at Ariel, Gathered Foods, and other STEM-skilled job creators. OhioMeansJobs.com advertises over 10,000 jobs within 50 miles with the keyword engineer included.

Plus, who hasn’t heard of that chipmaker coming to Licking County? Intel craves STEM skills.

These are my three suggestions for considering adding STEM learning to your children’s and your own educational backgrounds:

 1.    Take part in STEMfest at The Works.  The early March competition starts this Autumn by picking the industry challenge, forming a team, and preparing to both understand the science plus tell the STEM story too.  The Works is a spark to STEM learning and has a track record of more than 14 years at inspiring youth to STEM careers.

 2.    Sign up for your school systems’ STEM programs.  Many of our Licking County schools have STEM learning programming in addition to the regular curriculum.  For example, Newark City Schools offers pre-engineering to elementary school kids now.  Their STEM summer camps are a must-do.

 3.    Inspire STEM learning in your home.  Call it STEM literacy.  I heard a stat once that four of five Nobel Prize winners were inspired outside of the classroom.  Seek out programming at Dawes or other STEM learning venues.  Look for that possible inspiration to a STEM career through exposure to a wide variety of STEM learning options.

I know from personal experience that STEM learning is an inspiration for a better future for all Licking Countians.  I know, because I’ve been inspired by our youth.

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This development column is a regular column in The Advocate.

See The Advocate story "Buckeye Family YMCA Holding STEM Camps, Learning Opportunities" for more.

Licking County Manufacturer Workers Play Key National Security Roles

 

Historians in Licking County proudly remind of us local people who stood out militarily like Johnny Clem in the Civil War and Don Jakeway in World War II. There’s a lesser-known role that stands out too.  Unique to the World capabilities abound. Licking County workers can proudly boast being a part of manufacturing products that serve the national security of our country in many important ways.

Intel’s $20 billion investment Ohio announcement is a future case of our workforce’s role in national security important work but there are current examples too.

Missiles and Aircraft

For 60 years, guidance systems for missiles and aircraft have come through Licking County and the Aerospace & Technology Center campus. As many have remarked over the years, the Newark AFB helped a nation win the Cold War.  Boeing's guidance systems are maintained and remanufactured at Heath.  They fulfill a critical part of the strategic deterrence fleet. 

 

Metals

For 78 years, the aluminum coming out of the Kaiser Aluminum plant in Heath has served a national defense purpose.  This continues today with the plant’s unique heavy alloy aluminum making process crucial to defense industry products.

 

Testing Labs

MISTRAS Group performs non-destructive testing on materials in use for a variety of defense, space, and aviation purposes.  The materials tested in Heath end up on national security important equipment from Boeing airplanes to military rockets.

 

Metrology

That’s metrology, not meteorology.  It’s not about weather, It’s about precision measurement. The Air Force Primary Standards Laboratory operated by Bionetics is the largest of the Pentagon's primary standards laboratories. Boeing's internal metrology operation is second largest within all of Boeing. Thus, combined, the metrology concentration is the largest of its kind in the World. It's the science of measurement and precision capabilities that separate our military from others around the globe. 

 

Baby Formula

The ongoing crisis of a shortage of baby formula pushed Nature's One's work to the forefront. The facility on James Parkway in Heath opened in June 2020 as the World's largest organic infant nutrition manufacturing facility. The pride comes through that the doubling of output is serving a timely, national purpose.

 

Armor

Two former Owens Corning engineers took their knowledge of advanced materials and created a composite armor made of fiberglass, ceramic, and other materials.  The result is armor made by Tencate and military helmets made by ArmorSource.

  

Semiconductors

Chips already have a supply chain path to Licking County and have for decades. Momentive Performance in Union Township manufactures silicon quartz crucibles and tubing consumed in the making of semiconductors.  One could, rightly, say Licking County already plays a role in putting silicon in the Silicon Heartland nickname.

Now, Intel Ohio puts Licking County on the map with manufacturing of semiconductors slated for a 2025 opening. Intel has picked our community’s collective capabilities to invest in the manufacturing of products which secure our nation’s future. The result secures Licking County's place in restoring a manufacturing balance to the shores of the U.S. is extraordinary and crucial.

This list is just a start.  It truly is amazing and both a source of pride for our workforce and a source of patriotism for all of us that these roles exist in Licking County.

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This development column is a regular column in The Advocate.

Celebrating a STEM Skills Workforce

 

“The facility’s most important element is people.”  These were the words of Air Force General Mark Bradley inaugurating the then-new Newark Air Force Base in 1962. 

Nearly sixty years later, Bradley’s words are truer than ever.

Twenty-five years ago, when Boeing, the Air Force, and Bionetics - DESG joined with the Port Authority in embarking on a new approach for which there was no roadmap, it was clear the STEM-skilled workforce would continue to be the most important element.

We know, and it should not be forgotten, that of all the reasons that were behind why the work of a closed Newark AFB couldn’t just march off to some other distant place, the most critical of those reasons was workforce.  Wise people like the Port Authority’s Wally Horton and base commander Colonel Joe Renaud then asked, “Would the skills to maintain one-of-a-kind equipment move with the equipment?”  Many rightly pondered, “Could the knowledge from thirty years of remanufacturing precision instruments be replaced elsewhere?”

We’ve never had to answer those hard questions because of a partnership that we celebrate today.

This is a place critical to our local economy but also critical to the national defense.  Availability of STEM skills has made the Central Ohio Aerospace & Technology Center (the renamed Newark AFB) able to continue to achieve unmatched precision and accuracy--the equivalent of a pencil point on a football field levels of accuracy. 

Key to maintaining the important work here was maintaining the important workforce skills here.

Fearing the local consequences of a national statistic that once indicated 80% of parents discouraged their kids from science and technology careers, the Port Authority has made STEM learning a major focal point of our development efforts.  Partnered with The Works and many others in the community, the Port Authority and our customers have made it our collective jobs to provide a dash of local relevance to the recipe for science, technology, engineering, and math skills to be a Licking County emphasis.

Today’s commemorative event isn’t just about looking back.  It’s about paying forward with attention to the future.

Strategically, the Port Authority is doubling down on STEM learning in Licking County.  The Port Authority’s Board has promised $1 million dollars over the next 20 years to a new STEM Scholarship.  The Aerospace Center workforce and Licking County students at COTC and OSU-Newark will be the beneficiaries of a scholarship being funded today.

STEM learning efforts with The Works started more than a dozen years ago.  There are people in the workforce today able to seize job opportunities in STEM careers as a result of those seeds planted long ago.  These national model efforts will continue with vigor.  It’s ingrained in Licking County—STEM skills matter.

An aim to broaden the reach is also being sparked.  In partnership with the YMCA’s All-for-One camp, the Port Authority aims to bring STEM learning to more members of our community.  Integrated summer camps which include special needs children being exposed to the uplifting promise of STEM skills needs to be part of a brighter future for our community.

Let’s all celebrate our STEM skills workforce.  The occasion of 25 years since October 1, 1996 when uncertainty and doubts about the future ruled the day has been replaced with much better sensations--ones of stability and growth. 

STEM learning and a STEM-skilled workforce are behind those sensations and will remain well into our future.

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This development column is a regular column in The Advocate.

Confessing a Manufacturing Bias

 

I confess.  I have a bias toward manufacturers. 

The reasons for my bias can be found in the numbers. 

Manufacturing provides the highest-paying jobs and is the economic core of our local and state tax base.  Plus, contrary to national media and conventional wisdom in some places around the country, there’s also growing evidence manufacturing can be a bigger part of our future in Ohio.

The story is supported by the numbers.

A July 2021 report from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services showed Licking County added over 9,300 jobs in manufacturing since 2010.  That’s a more than 40% increase!  This same report shows the manufacturing sector remains the largest in Licking County and is growing wages. 

The Port Authority’s Aerospace Center kept that trend going with a 13% employment increase in 2020 and a highly competitive $77,000 average annual wage.  Owens Corning is preparing for a growing future with a massive new distribution facility under construction in proximity to their Newark plant. Boeing signed a lease extension through the end of the decade with options to 2043 to accommodate its growth plans. 

It’s everywhere.  Manufacturing-related expansions have already been announced for Amgen in New Albany, Lear in Hebron, and Transcendia in Union Township. 

Central Licking County hosts one of the largest concentrations of manufacturing in the state, making everything from missile guidance systems to baby formula and from pine tree extracts to linear motion equipment.  It’s home to an engineering- and technician-level employment mix too.  Covestro boats one-day turnaround of new products. Goodyear’s next generation tires germinate out of Hebron.

Statewide, the Ohio Manufacturing Association mirrors these facts.  OMA’s Manufacturing Counts report shows it is the largest industry sector with a 17% percentage of Ohio GDP and Ohio’s highest payroll at $43 billion annually.  The tax base of our state depends, as it has for decades, on a robust manufacturing base.  Ohio ranks third in the nation in manufacturing.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine keeps churning out major manufacturing announcements bringing job opportunities to all of Ohio, from the Lake to the River.  Led by suburban and exurban manufacturing growth, Ohio has ranked number one per capita among the states for project announcements two years in a row by Site Selection magazine.

JobsOhio provided incentive packages for retaining a new headquarters and research center for manufacturer Sherwin Williams in Cleveland and Peloton with plans to build a massive 2,000+ jobs new production facility in northwest Ohio.  PureCycle is investing $363 million at a new plastics operation slated for location between Ironton and Portsmouth on the Ohio River.

Internationally, the U.S. competes with China, Germany, and Japan for the world share of GDP.  World Trade Organization projections have shown that working-age population is declining in all these GDP competitor countries.  Couple these numbers with a pandemic-inspired eye opener of the need to source materials and supply chains closer to home, the U.S. is poised to grow manufacturing in places that are poised to accept it.  Ohio is ready.

The numbers add up to strong reasons to continue to have a bias toward manufacturers.

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This development column is a monthly column in The Advocate.

Ohio Economy Can Benefit From Manufacturing-Focused Tax Reform

Federal tax reform is buzzing on Capitol Hill.  The shape it takes is still to be seen, but one thing is clear for Ohioans.  Reform that benefits U.S. manufacturing is reform that will benefit all of Ohio’s economy.

With the U.S. continuing to lead the world in manufacturing production and our GDP competitors seeing a decline in working-age population, the opportunity to grow manufacturing in the U.S. is strong right now.  Experts have said that the Midwest and Ohio are poised to take advantage of that growth and outpace the rest of the U.S. in GDP growth.

From my position working on the front lines of industrial development, I see our strongest manufacturers are those which have an international perspective and seek to compete globally.  Plus, international companies are, increasingly, looking at investment in the U.S.  They are getting the message: Make it here to sell it here.

However, export-driven U.S. companies are paying taxes both in the U.S. and abroad.  Their foreign competitors often do not.  It’s as if there was a penalty for “Made in America” products. 

Leveling the playing field with fair trade and fair tax policies should be a part of tax reform.  A new analysis from the Tax Foundation shows that the “Brady Blueprint” tax reform proposal would create more than 64,000 new full time jobs in the state of Ohio alone.

The American Made Coalition is an advocate for tax reform that includes some notable members with a strong Ohio presence.  Boeing, GE, and United Technologies are a part of an aerospace supply chain in Ohio that supports more than 2% of our state's Gross Domestic Product. Ohio is Boeing’s #1 supplier state.  Thus, Ohioans’ jobs, more than those of any other state, are dependent on the success of exports by Boeing and GE.

Ohio has an opportunity to grow its manufacturing base.   Now’s the time.  Good policy can take our economy from good to great.

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This column also has been submitted as an op-ed to The Advocate and Columbus Business First.

Tooting Our Own Horn a Bit

The story is out on our official word that Boeing has extended its commitment to the Aerospace Center  and the community with a lease extension through 2021 and an option through 2028. 

The most extraordinary thing?  There's now no early termination clause in the lease.

This is the longest lease and the first time in 17 years there was no early termination right in the lease.

Because They Can. . .

. . . our customers staged a walk/run fitness event using our fantastic plaza and walking paths yesterday.

Somewhere in the crowd was Boeing's President of Network Systems, Ohio-native Roger Krone.  He helped kick off Boeing's wellness campaign here locally with a 2.65 mile run. 

What made it possible, though, was the extensive work done over the years to connect the walking and bike paths at the Aerospace Center and in Heath. 

I'm glad they could.

It's Aerospace Week: Appreciating Boeing in Ohio

It's National Aerospace Week 2012 and I'll be writing about the subject all this week too.

Nothing says aerospace like Boeing and nothing screams aerospace at the Port Authority's Aerospace Center like a 20 foot tall Boeing logo on the side of the building's high bay.

Boeing did $8.2 billion worth of business in Ohio in 2011.  Ohio is Boeing's largest supplier state and those billions spent translated into more than 1.7% of Ohio's gross state product.

Now, THAT'S an impact.

Nothing screams aerospace like Boeing in Ohio.

Up On The Roof

I haven't been up here for awhile. I was pushing my SVP that circumstances meant he might need to get a little more hands on when it struck me I should look in the mirror on that thought.

To the roof we went.

While he checked out potential leaks, I took photos. Here's a few.














The last one was the thing that drew us up there. It proves two axioms. Flat roofs leak and asphalt ones crack.

It's not as bad as it looks, though, but be glad it's not your roof.

Navy Sets Anchor in Middle of Ohio, Again

There are bound to be some chuckles at the possible headlines tomorrow on this one.

A high-profile ribbon cutting at the Aerospace Center today will see workload for the U.S. Navy officially anchored at Heath, Ohio.  Right in the middle of Ohio.

The thought of Navy sub navigator work being done in a place more than 450 miles away from the nearest place to where a sub can navigate could be humorous to some.

Plus, the headlines may mention that the work is being done at a port authority facility.  That mere phrase evokes thoughts of a Norfolk or Long Beach, not Licking County, Ohio where the Port Authority's closest water source is a lazy little creek.

Truth is, the Navy has been here before. 

In 1981, the Newark Air Force Base newspaper, On Target, reported on the study and competition done that resulted in the decision to bring the Electrostatically Supported Gyro Navigator (ESGN) repair workload to Heath the first time.  It stayed until BRAC '93 and base closure caused the Navy to pull anchor in 1994.  So, this is legacy workload.

Truth is, this work on Navy sub navigation systems is old hat to Heath. It's the same type of high-tech, precision work that has been done here in Licking County for 50 years.

Welcome back, Admiral.  Welcome back to port.

More STEM and Aerospace Industry Reflections

"Do we have enough engineers to innovate?"  That was a question Boeing VP Stan Deal asked himself during a Q&A session at the recent Ohio Aerospace Jobs Summit hosted by U.S. Senator Rob Portman.

What a great question.

The answer was, "No" though.

The nation's, and Ohio's, supply of engineering talent is not keeping up with demand now or in the near-term future.  Plain and simple.

That's why Deal put STEM education as #3 on his personal list of the Top 3 challenges that the Ohio aerospace industry faces.

Though Deal was taking a national perspective in asking the question, it really takes local solutions to turn his answer around to a "yes" in the future.  Licking County is doing its part with the STEM efforts at The Works in Newark. 

STEM at The Works, Works

Denison University chemistry students show my kids how to make slime.

A few years ago, Battelle's Rich Rosen cited a national statistic that 80% of parents discourage their children from science and technology careers.  Shocking.

That stat, told to a wide audience of Licking County economic and workforce development leaders, was a motivator.  Even if it was only half true in Licking County, many of us reasoned, companies like Boeing, Goodrich, Bayer MaterialScience, and other advanced manufacturers in Licking County were in trouble to fulfill their engineering- and technician-level talent needs long-term.

Yes, it's a national issue.  That makes it a local issue too though.  We need to emphasize the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills.

STEM at The Works was part of the solution and its now over three years going strong.  The idea from the beginning was to hit on three key, simple metrics:

1. Reach Families.  Use The Works as a platform to reach parents and kids with an understanding of the need for STEM skills.

2. Connect with Industry.  Make The Works a place for industry to connect with the schools and the parents to increase the local understanding of the need for STEM skills.

3. Be a Resource for Schools.  Be a resource for schools in Licking County to reach both families and industry in a unique way.

The second STEMFest event went off Sunday and helped with all three goals.  See the NewarkAdvocate.com coverage.

Families got reached.  There were easily 400+ parents and kids at the event.  For many, this was their first time at The Works and much of the audience were school-age and, even, pre-Kindergarten aged kids.

Industry connected.  There were 15 stations set up with a wide range of industries present connecting up with the audience.  What kid doesn't remember the dinosaur from PCA or the paper cup bridge at Jobes Henderson? Twenty companies were there in one form or another.

Schools got touched.  Lastly, the number of school systems and schools represented in the form of teams from middle school and high schools was double last year in every respect.  I'm sure word of C-TEC's winning the aerodynamics competition has made its way through that vocational schools' corridors this morning.  The pre-event and post-event work on this competition is where the real effort is made too.  The schools can't accomplish these things on their own.  Industry is the key motivator.

STEM at The Works, works.  With efforts like STEM at The Works and STEMFest, Licking County manufacturing has a brighter future.

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TAKE ACTION:  Didn't get enough from STEMFest?  Didn't get to go?  Aerospace Center Industry Day at The Works is set for March 11 from Noon to 3 p.m. It's another chance to experience STEM first hand.

Sharing Bad News For A Reason

It's a gloomy day here and will be for awhile. 

Boeing - Heath will let 62 people know of a permanent layoff at the Aerospace Center in Heath tomorrow.  See the news report at NewarkAdvocate.com. 

The last thing I ever want to do is share bad news.  I know that bad news gets a life of its own without help from me. 

However, our Port Authority's concern is with the families impacted by this news. It's my hope that by spreading the word it helps better match soon-to-be job seekers with companies in the region looking for highly talented people like those employed by Boeing.

That's why we posted the story on our Facebook page today.  We want to be of help in at least some small way matching job seekers with job creators.

Have a need for engineers and technicians at a location in Central Ohio?  Call me.

This Is How You Do STEM

STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math.  STEM efforts around the country try, among other things, to reverse the scary national statistic that 80% of parents discourage their children to pursue science and technology careers.

The Works, a science museum in Newark, Ohio, did STEM today and did it well as part of the first-ever STEMFest at The Works.  The Works brought parents and kids together with companies to show the local relevance of STEM skills.

The Works, truly, has the model for how a small community demonstrates the value of science, technology, engineering, and math to parents and kids.

Mix a science venue (The Works) with 15 companies showing what they do every day in a hands-on way (local relevance) with hundreds of parents and kids.   That's the basic recipe.

My kids got hands-on science from Boeing, Goodrich, Owens Corning, Bayer, Rolls-Royce, Park National Bank, Time Warner, AEP, Energy Co-Op, PCA, Denison University, Ohio University, Jobes Henderson and more.

There's not a bigger place on the planet that can boast having that impressive company array in one place doing this.

PCA makes boxes in Newark.  They had a super-engineered sheet of corrugated out of which my kids made bi-planes.

Bayer, which has a product development center in Hebron, brought its trademarked Making Science Make Sense program to The Works, again, today.  I learned why regular pop cans sink and diet pop cans don't.  It's the sugar!

Owens Corning makes fiberglass and asphalt shingles in Newark.  They equated it with cotton candy and chocolate and nuts coated graham crackers respectively.

Boeing re-manufacturers and produces guidance systems in Heath.  Their technicians were everywhere, including showing one of my sons how to make a perfect paper airplane (I believe it would have worked if he had listened to them) and another of my sons how to shoot off a container using Alka Seltzer.

Goodrich engineers next generation gyroscopes at the Aerospace Center in Heath.  Today, their engineers showed kids how a spinning bike wheel relates.

I could go on and on.

As I type this, we're missing the real show.  High schools from around Licking County formed 15 teams to compete on science and engineering challenges.  One winning team will show the best bridge made out of toothpicks and another will show how to best insulate a home.

Again, this is how to do it.  STEM at The Works, works.

Boeing Impacts Ohio Big Time

A November 2010 Bureau of Economic Analysis report pinned Ohio's Gross State Product at $471.26 billion in 2009.

Meanwhile, Boeing's report on "Boeing in the States" reports $4.78 billion in supplier/vendor purchases in Ohio in 2009.

Boeing in the States brochure

Easy translation.  That means one company, The Boeing Company, bought more than 1% of Ohio's GSP in 2009. 

One company.

Pretty impactful.

And I'm proud our Port Authority is the host for Boeing's largest presence in Ohio which is at the Central Ohio Aerospace and Technology Center.

Keep churning, Boeing.  Keep churning.