Team NEO, a regional business-attraction group, is preparing to expand as the local arm of JobsOhio, a nonprofit economic-development agency being crafted by the Kasich administration.
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View full sizeTeam NEO is seeing steady activity, though corporate interest in Northeast Ohio isn't as brisk as the business-attraction group expected at the start of 2011. Second-quarter economic data show improvements in manufacturing and a jump in construction employment, which tends to be seasonal, across 16 counties.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- New corporate interest in the region isn't as brisk as Team NEO hoped at the start of this year, but the business-attraction group is seeing steady activity as manufacturing chugs along and more companies eye opportunities in the state's burgeoning natural gas industry.
The group, which already helps attract companies to 18 Northeast Ohio counties, is preparing to expand as the local arm of JobsOhio, a nonprofit business-development agency being crafted by Gov. John Kasich's administration.
Team NEO will be one of six regional economic development organizations acting as liaisons to the state on issues including business attraction, retention and expansion.
"We're still reasonably active, but we were anticipating a faster pace or a bigger pipeline this year," Tom Waltermire, chief executive officer at Team NEO, said of the group's attraction activities. "Some companies are growing very well because of their particular circumstances or products. Others are worried about a downturn. In general, people are cautious."
He points to recent successes including VXI Global Solutions Inc., which opened a call center in Canton last month. The company, based in Los Angeles, expects to fill the 1,500-seat building within two to three years. Anderson-DuBose, a McDonald's supplier and one of the nation's top minority-owned businesses, just started building a distribution facility in Lordstown.
Other new additions to the region include AlSher Titania, a company that develops and produces titanium dioxide pigments used in paint and coatings; IceCure Medical Ltd., an Israeli medical device company that chose Cleveland for its U.S. headquarters; and an unidentified food-processing company that moved some of its support offices to Cuyahoga County.
An emerging growth area could be oil and natural gas. Team NEO is seeing more possible projects tied to Utica Shale, a layer of oil-rich rock deep underground. Some companies view eastern Ohio's shale fields as a potential gold mine. Earlier this month, Team NEO talked to a company that is interested in making equipment in the Rust Belt to explore, capture and move natural gas.
Waltermire, who would not identify the company, said "It would be a sizable project."
In a quarterly economic report set for release today, Team NEO highlights recent employment growth in the region. During the three months that ended June 30, employment in a 16-county area rose by nearly 25,000 jobs from the same period of 2010 - though total employment still lags pre-recession levels.
The region's jobless rate was 8.5 percent for the second quarter, slightly better than the state's - 8.7 percent - and the nation's - 8.9 percent, according to state and federal data compiled by Team NEO. Statistics released Friday placed Ohio's unemployment rate at 9 percent in July. The U.S. unemployment rate was 9.1 percent last month.
Construction - a seasonal business - generated the biggest gain in regional jobs, rising 3.5 percent from the second quarter of 2010. Manufacturing employment rose 2 percent, while service jobs were up 1.2 percent.
