Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Youngstown Advantage Redux

Janko focused my attention on an article in today's Business Journal. Here's the passage that resonated with him:

“I think if we can continue to develop Lordstown’s reputation as the center of gravity for the auto industry,” Ryan said, “the Cruze can be just the beginning.“ Developing a cluster of auto and auto-related companies in the Mahoning Valley, especially those related to alternative and green energy, is possible.

“We have a great opportunity with the green revolution because we offer everything that they would need. If they need business software development, we’ve got the Youngstown business incubator,” he elaborated. “If they need energy product development, we’ve got the Warren incubator. If they need research, we’ve got Youngstown State University. If they need job training we’ve got the community college -- we’ve got everything infrastructure-wise in place. Now it’s about going out and pitching the deal.”

Financial incentives are still important in luring business to the Valley, but they aren’t as important as they once were, Ryan said.

Today, knowing that there are opportunities to partner with YSU, the business incubator and other entities that can help businesses succeed long term are more important than incentives, he observed. Those possibilities along with the Valley’s skilled workforce, low cost of living and vision “are all in our favor,” Ryan said. “Youngstown State having the first STEM college in the state of Ohio sends a signal that we know where the future is.” He added, “I believe our area is leading the country out of the recession.”

In bold is the part of Congressman Tim Ryan's comments that jumped out at me. I'm not a big fan of financial incentives. I'm in good company:

While states battle to outdo each other with bigger incentives, there are smarter ways to attract or bolster companies, the nonprofit research center Good Jobs First of Washington, D.C., suggests in its [report] released today.

For instance: Concentrate efforts around occupations that already are strong in a specific region, rather than creating packages for specific companies. Nuclear, civil and other types of engineering along with biomedical fields are strong in Pittsburgh, so training and job growth efforts could be focused there, Good Jobs First said. ...

... The research center contends Pennsylvania's tax structure isn't significantly different from those in most other nearby states — in fact, it's in the middle of the pack — so the state should "do no more harm to the tax code."

Instead, Pennsylvania should hone its attention on workforce development and other issues such as growing its own employers rather than recruiting from outside, and pushing for better federal trade policies.

Especially in manufacturing, "The number of jobs lost offshore is dozens of times greater than the number lost to other states," Good Jobs First said.

For more, see the Wall Street Journal.

I'm not crazy about the proposed federal trade policy angle, either. But I appreciate the stated course for localities and states to follow instead of lavishing companies with all kinds of money. Even if the incentives do work, the gains are ephemeral. There is always another place that can afford to offer a better deal. Frankly, it is extortion and a lot like the leveraging of brain drain hysteria to get voters (or politicians) to support some boondoggle.

I look around the Rust Belt and I see many regions with the same assets. What sets apart one shrinking city from the rest? Not to scratch the scab off of a recent wound, Sean Safford's research comparing and contrasting Youngstown with Allentown offers possible comparative advantage. I believe that the Mahoning Valley civic infrastructure could be the envy former manufacturing centers across the country. However, Pittsburgh probably holds that distinction thanks to some remarkable partnerships and economic vision that started, in some cases, 50-years ago.

The current civic infrastructure bodes well for the future. It's a big change from the Youngstown Safford saw. The legacy of the James Traficant era won't disappear overnight and the ravaged economic landscape will continue to dominate the headlines. Pittsburgh is just beginning to shake the rust off of its national image, a process that has taken decades and at least two major urban reinventions that served as a model for many US cities such as Minneapolis. This hard-won transformation isn't easy to replicate, unlike generous tax incentives or even substantial tax reform.

The task before us now is to get the good word out and help the ambitious to understand the unique value proposition. This result still eludes Pittsburgh, as the Power of 32 fiasco indicates. Let's hope that the TechBelt Initiative is better up to the task. This should be an open and inclusive process, not business as usual.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Greater Youngstown Green Manufacturing

What will the new economy look like? Congressman Tim Ryan and US Senator Sherrod Brown proposed a vision that makes the TechBelt an American center for green innovation. An article in today's Akron Beacon Journal about the wind power industry provides a glimpse of the emerging geography:

Green Energy Technologies LLC is not producing utility-size wind turbines but smaller units aimed at commercial and industrial customers.

The privately held firm based in Bath Township is selling what it calls the WindCube, a wind turbine that will produce power on site, not just electricity to be added to a grid like the large twirling turbines. ...

... The WindCube — with its 61 components — will be built by Roth Bros. Inc., a Youngstown energy-management company that has invested $2 million in what Cironi is doing. Parker-Hannifin Corp. in Cleveland will produce the generator and electrical system.

From Cleveland to Morgantown (West Virginia), your alternative energy idea can be manufactured in the Mahoning Valley. That's not to say innovation can't happen in Youngstown, but that industrial know-how is already clustered in the area. This is an example of how regional approaches to economic development can benefit all member communities.

The kind of talent needed to produce these goods is already in short supply. Research and development is geographically mobile, but ample supplies of manufacturing expertise (along with the necessary infrastructure) are not. I think this is a harbinger of more geographically concentrated global supply chains providing the TechBelt with a comparative advantage. Also, it doesn't hurt that Ryan and Brown are funneling substantial public investment in clean technology back home.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Thoughts on ITC Ruling Press Conference in Warren

I was tempted to address the criticism of the Mahoning Valley trade mission to Israel, but the objections are ridiculous. Those community leaders got the 15-minutes they were seeking. I found the following comment about the benefits of the import duties illuminating:

The congressman emphasized that the U.S. is on the verge of a “green revolution” in which companies such as Wheatland Tube and V&M Star would be called on to produce the components needed to power America’s future through alternative energy sources such as wind turbines.

“There is a revolution coming in green technology,” Ryan said. “If we let the Chinese continue to dump their products on our country, then we’ll see another revolution in America that we’ll miss.”

Today's news cycle is still spitting out stories about the Green Revolution (great one here). Reads like a media blitz trumpeting Obama's preferred economic strategy, a manufacturing manifesto. Whether or not it is a good idea, the money is coming.

That pipeline is pointed right at Greater Youngstown. Again, I'll stress the connectivity opportunities. Israel is certainly one of them, but so is Pittsburgh (via the TechBelt Initiative) and the Front Range of Colorado. The regional diaspora in the Greater Denver area could prove to be very useful, particularly concerning alternative energy projects back home.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Blog Release: ITC Ruling Press Conference in Warren

Congressman Tim Ryan joins Senator Sherrod Brown and ODOD Director Lisa Patt-McDaniel at Local Steel Manufacturer to Discuss Recent ITC Ruling on Chinese Steel Imports

(Warren, OH) This afternoon, Congressman Tim Ryan, Senator Sherrod Brown, and Ohio Department of Development Director Lisa Patt-McDaniel will discuss the impact of the International Trade Commission’s recent ruling regarding Oil Country Tubular Goods imported from China. William Kerins, President of Wheatland Tube Co., and Roger Lindgren, President and COO of V&M Star Steel, will join the legislators to address the potential positive effects of this ruling on their local operations.

Regarding the decision, Congressman Ryan stated that, “For years, our manufacturers have been fighting a flood of inferior Chinese products in the American market. The recent ITC decision regarding the placement of tariffs on steel pipe and its previous decision regarding rubber tires move us in the right direction toward leveling the playing field for local businesses including V&M Star and Wheatland Tube. Senator Brown and I will continue to work with the ITC and the Obama Administration to seek tariffs for other Chinese products that threaten to undermine the economic health of this nation.”

Senator Brown added that, “Trade enforcement means jobs. For too long, domestic manufacturers like Wheatland Tube and V&M Star faced an inexcusable flood of Chinese products made with unfair subsidies. By enforcing trade law, we will ensure a fair playing field and save jobs.”

WHO: Congressman Tim Ryan (OH-17), Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Ohio Department of Development Director Lisa Patt-McDaniel

WHAT: Press conference regarding recent International Trade Commission ruling re: tariffs on Oil Country Tubular Goods imported from China

WHEN: THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2010 at 1:30 PM

WHERE: Wheatland Tube Co.
901 Dietz Road NE
Warren, Ohio 44483

# # #

Clean Tech Market Watch

I look at economic development through the lens of migration and workforce development. Does the Mahoning Valley have the talent it needs to be a leader in the Green Revolution? If not, where will this skilled labor come from? Retraining via federal government grants would appear to be the preferred answer to the above questions:

“The most exciting part of what’s happening here is that these programs are aligning with what Ohio communities and universities are doing to tap into the green economy and the green revolution,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-17 Ohio, who with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, joined Solis on a conference call to announce the grants. “Our manufacturing base isn’t just our past now, it’s our future.”

Ohio, Brown said, already has a skilled work force and “a rich manufacturing heritage. These funds are targeted for communities that have been hit hardest by job loss in the auto industry,” he continued. “They will lead to good-paying jobs and will help Ohio become the Silicon Valley of clean energy manufacturing.”

Greater Youngstown is betting a lot of resources on clean tech manufacturing and innovation. That's why I follow this storyline so closely. If you want to move back, then you best keep that in mind. Follow the money trail.


In a flurry of deal making bolstered by government subsidies for renewable energy, venture capitalists invested $5.6 billion in green technology companies worldwide in 2009, according to a preliminary report released Wednesday by the Cleantech Group and Deloitte. ...

... “In 2009, clean-tech went from a niche category to become the dominant category in venture capital investing,” said Dallas Kachan, managing director of the Cleantech Group, a San Francisco market research and consulting firm. “Clean-tech continued to outpace software and biotech.”

I emphasized the caveat in what looks to be good news for the clean tech sector. There's a debate about whether or not public investment in green jobs is sustainable. A good example is the natural gas market. Currently, there is a global supply glut. As a result, gas is a very cheap source of energy. Can clean tech compete?

The Mahoning Valley already has a substantial stake in the development of cheap natural gas, as represented by the proposed $1 billion expansion of V&M Star in Youngstown. That, too, is a big bet. You might see that as a good thing. The region is diversifying its economic portfolio within the energy sector. Looking at Pittsburgh, that strikes me as a good idea.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Mahoning Valley Goes to Israel

The Regional Chamber is leading another international trip, this time to Israel. A large contingency representing a variety of interests will be making the journey. Just because I've read a lot about clean tech innovation in Israel, I'm interested in that angle:

The trip will include site visits and one-on-one meetings with Israel’s vast array of business incubators, including visits by Mayor O’Brien and members of the Warren Cleantech incubator steering committee -- Scott, Osterloh, Smith and Garvey -- to Cleantech incubators in Israel.

Israel is an entrepreneurship dynamo. Warren stands to gain a lot by going and learning from a global leader in clean tech R&D. I think this bodes well for the future of the incubator in that neck of the Mahoning Valley.

I recommend a close inspection of the economic geography of the Israeli incubators. There are likely a few aspects that can't be replicated, but the general clustering and proximity should be telling. Also, how do the incubators serve as economic drivers for the host communities? Warren has the opportunity to do something unique in the TechBelt and Israel is an excellent guide.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Energy Industries of Ohio

As publicized at Brewed Fresh Daily, Energy Industries of Ohio will (once again) speak at the Youngstown Business Incubator. The 411:

Energy Industries of Ohio
“Supplier Opportunities for Clean Coal, Advanced Energy, Nuclear & Defense”

Thursday, January 28, 2010
3:00 pm
Youngstown Business Incubator
241 W. Federal Street, Youngstown

Nancy Horton, Project Manager for Energy Industries Ohio (EIO), will speak on the development of Ohio’s advanced materials supplier base for clean coal, nuclear power, advanced energy and defense applications.

RSVP to jmsmith@ybi.org

Looks to me like a must-attend if you are interested in Mahoning Valley and/or TechBelt economic development.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Expatriate El Paso

Over at Burgh Diaspora, I look at the problem of the growing risk-averse population in the Rust Belt and consider two solutions. An emerging trend, shrinking city expatriates are returning home to rebuild. By way of adding another tale to the pattern, boomerang El Paso:

But a new trend is taking place at the start of the second decade of the 21st century. Many young professionals are deciding to make a difference in their community, and with it, enhancing the long-term growth and prosperity of El Paso.

"You see it in the young people moving back here for the kind of jobs El Paso has never had before or who come back to start businesses or families or projects," city Rep. Beto O'Rourke said. "You see it in someone like Jim Ward of Sleepercar, who because of his talent and standing in his industry, could live and work in any city in the world and yet chooses to make El Paso his home."

Mayor John Cook sometimes looks at the city representatives and thinks to himself, "I have a grandchild almost your age."

Cook, whose granddaughter is 27, realizes how important tomorrow's young leaders are to El Paso.

"New ideas are extremely important, especially those from young people who have gone off to college, lived in other communities, lived in other exciting cities and then come back wanting to make their city a better place, wanting to make a difference in their community," he said. "You will see more innovative young people coming back and saying, 'I didn't just get smart in college, I got ideas and I'm going to come back home and make my city a better place and make a difference."

Plugging the brain drain, keeping talent from leaving, is bad policy. Even if effective, the region will lack a fresh perspective needed to reinvent the economy. Deeply rooted natives aren't going to be agents of change.

Ohio workforce development initiatives make this mistake. Too much attention is given to local graduates moving out of state. Take the money that has been earmarked to slow the exodus of talent and apply it to luring the best and brightest back to Northeast Ohio. Why doesn't Joe Schiavoni fund what Tyler Clark is doing, instead of incentivizing graduates to stay? Why not facilitate another Eric Planey returning to the Mahoning Valley? I can tell you that all the brain drain initiatives being tried now have been tried before, and failed. Time to explore some different options.