Three Thoughts: Innovation Knows No Population Density

“Rick’s been rescued from cornfields and cow pastures” is how an email exchange presented the idea that hard-to-find cleanroom space was available for lease from our Port Authority in central Licking County. 

The author meant well.  The email recipient wouldn’t have believed it, perhaps, without the rural reference.  The author, frankly, didn’t believe it either. 

Thirty five miles from Ohio’s largest city sits the largest concentration of cleanroom space in the state.  It may defy some folk’s conventional wisdom, but it’s been true for going on 65 years. 

That email recipient converted use of the cleanroom space into a technology startup. 

Today, in that same cleanroom space, a life sciences company is aiming to commercialize taking brain tissue generated from an individual’s skin cells into a predictor of future ailments.  Even more, the predictions can be coupled with early cures. It’s personalized, predictive medicine. 

Yes, that’s happening in a lab in Heath, population 10,000.

Innovation knows no population density. 

First Thought: Urban vs. Rural Isn’t New.

This urban versus rural thing is not a new notion.  David McCullough’s book The Wright Brothers evidences the idea that innovation and technological capabilities can come from unlikely places.  New York media ignored Orville and Wilbur’s achievements out of disbelief that bicycle mechanics from a small town in Ohio could achieve the world’s first powered flight. 

Yet, the $1 trillion annual aerospace and aviation industry in the U.S. was born in Dayton, Ohio. 

The brain tissue researcher in our Port Authority’s cleanroom in Heath often tells the Wright brothers’ story when he speaks to fellow innovators in Boston or Dubai.  After all, he does have to explain the surprising place from where his research originates. 

Another Thought: Don’t Discount Rural Areas.

It’s an easy trap to discount the potential for innovation based on how few people live in a place. 

I’ve been to Bi-Con in Derwent, Ohio and contend the highest concentration of innovation per capita is there.  At night, Derwent is home to a population of less than 100.  During the day, Derwent swells in working population thanks to the company which makes control panels and automation for the natural gas industry. Major, life-safety problem solving is owed to this place. 

The Derwent tale is a lesson for suburban dwellers too.  

Third Thought: Celebrate Innovation Wherever It Began.

Ohio is so frequently discounted as “fly over country” or “Rust Belt.”  Those pejoratives are owed to the population density myth too.  Yet, Ohio has many reasons to celebrate innovation. 

Fiberglass, invented in Newark, Ohio, is in everything today from car bodies to data lines.  Kent, Ohio is the origin of liquid crystal displays, the guts to screens for our phones and computers. 

The U.S. Capitol holds a statue of Thomas Edison.  He’s the face of innovation and Ohio, rightly, celebrates his many achievements.  He was born in Milan, Ohio. 

It’s a fallacy to conceive that one location can possess superiority, economically, based solely on population density.  The best measure of innovation comes from what a place produces, not how many people it packs in.

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This column is a regular column in The Columbus Dispatch.

Three Thoughts: It’s Personal, That’s Why the Business of Ohio Manufacturing Matters

 

There’s a takeaway quote from The Godfather, “It’s business, not personal.”  The reality is that the takeaway about how we all look at and value business is that its personal after all.  One needs to see the personal side, in order to have buy in to the business side. 

In Ohio, manufacturing business is personal. 

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association’s Manufacturing Counts report helps make the case.  You don’t have to be a nerd on economic facts to mine the report and find the personal side of Ohio’s business economy. 

First Thought: Gross Domestic Product Measures Impact.

Ohio’s Gross Domestic Product, the best measure of the economy, likely surpassed $1 trillion in the first part of this year.  That’s a milestone worth celebrating.  

In fact, only 21 countries exceed our state’s GDP.  Ohio’s economy, as a single state, is bigger than the economy of the entire countries of Ireland, Taiwan, and Sweden. 

That GDP level is owed to manufacturing more than any other sector of our economy.  

Fully 15% of Ohio’s economy is from manufacturing.  If you factor in related transportation, back office, real estate, and research and development (manufacturing is the biggest part of R&D), the real number could be over 30%. 

The breadth of manufacturing’s impact on Ohio’s economy makes it personal. 

Another Thought: Small Business is Manufacturing Too.

While the big stuff like GDP is data worth noticing, it’s also worth noticing the small stuff. 

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association reports that more than 60% of manufacturers in Ohio employ less than 20 people.  There are over 780 manufacturing establishments in Franklin County alone.  The average employment is under 50. 

Mid-sized manufacturers employ the most.  40% of the state’s manufacturing employment was with companies in the 100-499 employee range.  

It might be even more surprising to some that less than 1.5% of Ohio manufacturers have over 500 employees.  

It’s hard to ignore the personal side of business when the impact of small and mid-sized businesses are taken into account.

Third Thought: Jobs. Jobs. Jobs.

Manufacturers in Ohio are economic engines most of all for how many they employ.  They also enjoy Ohio’s biggest paychecks. 

Ohio ranks third among the states for the most manufacturing jobs.  Only Texas and California surpass Ohio.  

One in every seven jobs in Ohio is a manufacturing job.  

It varies around the state, though.  In Shelby County, nearly one of every two jobs is held in manufacturing.  Look to your left.  Look to your right.  One of the people is employed in manufacturing.  That’s personal indeed. 

Paychecks hit the bottom line too.  Manufacturing wages were $50 billion in the last report, more than any other sector of Ohio’s economy.  That’s not a new trend either. 

The average annual pay in manufacturing hovers around $80,000 a year.  The average paycheck for chemicals and petroleum employees exceeds $100,000 annually. 

The bottom line? It’s personal. It’s our neighbors who work in manufacturing.  That’s the impact that matters most of all in Ohio.

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This column is a regular column in The Columbus Dispatch.

Three Thoughts: Food Production A Source of our Proud Ohio Manufacturing Story

 

My great grandfather’s name was Royal.  The family story is that, when he was born, his mother looked up at her kitchen shelf and saw a box.  Royal Baking Powder gave him his name. 

Though I don’t recommend looking at one’s pantry for kids’ names, our shelves hold names for food in Ohio that should be a source of pride for Ohioans.  There’s some lesser known food producers but ones for which we all have reasons to be proud too. 

Every corner of the state helps to tell our state’s significant food manufacturing story. 

First Thought: Well Known Brands Galore.

Jerome Monroe Smucker gave his name to J.M. Smucker headquartered in Orrville.  The multi-billion dollar company got started making apple butter in Wayne County.  Who didn’t grow up with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Today, the company’s national facilities produce Smucker’s jelly and Jif peanut butter.  

Teresa Marzetti gave her name to the Columbus company for which various brands are often found on our shelves in more ways than one ranging from salad dressing to fruit dips. 

Campbell soup is a safe bet on Ohioans’ shelves too.  Campbell’s largest soup plant is in Napoleon, Ohio.  There’s an over two million square foot building coupled with a massive tomato soup can replica you can’t miss if you are there. 

Totino’s pizza rolls are made at General Mills facilities in Jackson County. The company is one of southeast Ohio’s largest employers with over 1,000 employees.  You can’t help but personally feel that job impact if you live near there. 

Bud Lite is brewed in Columbus.  Miller Lite comes out of Trenton. 

Another Thought: Bet You Find These Products Too.

There’s more to our food shelves than big brands. 

Heath is home to GB Food.  The food producer doesn’t brand anything, but chances are pretty good that you’ve eaten their soy crisps that end up the top ingredient in popular protein bars. 

Despite the legends about Wisconsin, Ohio is actually a top producer of cheese among states.  In fact, the nation’s number one producer of swiss cheese is located in northeastern Ohio. Brewster Cheese in Brewster isn’t a brand you see often but percentages are pretty high that the swiss cheese you eat comes from there.  

Drivers on I-70 can’t miss Royal Canin’s new place in Preble County.  Another big producer, but, for now, a lesser-known brand. 

It would take a whole other page to tell Ohio’s agricultural story married with our manufacturing one.  

Third Thought: Economic Impact is a Reason to Double the Pride.

So often when we talk about manufacturing and Ohio’s well-earned pride with that sector of our economy, we miss the trees because of the forest.  Food manufacturing, in particular, is a stand out reason for understanding the overall tremendous economic impact of manufacturing in our state. 

In many places in Ohio, our neighbors make their living proudly making products that fill our kitchen shelves every day.   The local economic impact of food manufacturing is often crucial to a whole regional economy. 

You don’t have to live in Napoleon, Brewster, Heath, or Wellston, though, to appreciate the manufacturing story that permeates all of Ohio and is, rightly, a source of pride.

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This column is a regular column in The Columbus Dispatch.