Ohio Ranks #1 in New and Expanded Corporate Facilities in 2008
3/10/2009
Ohio wins Site Selection Magazine’s Governor’s Cup for third year in a row with the help of many top-ranked Northeast Ohio Cities
Site Selection magazine today announces that the State of Ohio has been awarded Governor’s Cup Award for leading the nation in new and expanded corporate facilities in 2008, as tracked by Conway Data Inc.’s New Plant database. Ohio enjoyed 503 such projects in 2008, a 25% increase from 2007, in which the state of Ohio also earned the top rank. Much of this increased activity was the result of enhanced economic development efforts in the Cleveland Plus region, as the region accounted for 30% of the state’s total projects. In 2008, the region added more than 6,000 new jobs added and more than $1.2 billion in capital investment. Top ranking communities include Cleveland, Akron, Ashtabula, Wooster and Youngstown.
New and expanded facilities in Northeast Ohio in 2008 spanned many industries with companies including ViewRay, Affymetrix and Proxy BioMedical’s decisions to bring operations to Northeast Ohio because of the region’s biomedical assets. In addition, the region’s strong concentration of headquarters employment and capabilities helped secure expansion decisions by several of the region’s largest employers including Eaton, Bridgestone, Shearer’s Foods, Infocision and Smuckers who all added jobs and investment in 2008.
With these expansions, several Cleveland Plus region communities are also honored today by Site Selection magazine as top-ranked areas for new and expanded facilities in 2008. The Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor MSA ranked #9 nationally for Tier One cities (population over 1 million), Akron ranked #2 and Youngstown-Warren-Boardman MSA tied for #7 in the Tier Two category (population between 200,000 and 1 million). Similarly, Wooster and Ashtabula tied for #7 in top U.S. Micropolitans (cities of 10,000 to 50,000 people which cover at least one county). “Collectively, our region’s many top-ranking communities helped the State earn the top ranking,” said Tom Waltermire, CEO of Team Northeast Ohio, the regional business attraction agent for the 16-county Cleveland Plus region. “Even in a slow economy, Northeast Ohio is still attracting new business investment. Team NEO’s flow of new opportunities remains high with interest from bio-medical and international companies is especially strong.”
The organization is currently working 31 active projects for potential new expansion into Northeast Ohio. “Despite challenging economic times, many corporations and industries are experiencing significant growth and expanding operations” said Waltermire added. “Many corporations are expanding as they plan long-term in order to position themselves when the economy comes out of recession.” Regionally, in 2008, Team NEO helped attract 10 new companies to Northeast Ohio in 2008, bringing more than 700 new jobs, $36 million in new annual payroll, and nearly $70 million new annual regional economic benefit. “Leveraging our region’s innovative spirit upon which our rich history was built, we are exercising our resilience and resurrecting our region’s economic success one new corporate facility at a time.”
For more information about the magazine rankings, visit www.siteselection.com
About Team NEO:
Team NEO advances Northeast Ohio’s economy by attracting businesses worldwide to the 16-county Cleveland Plus region. The organization is a joint venture of the region's largest metro chambers of commerce. Since 2007, the organization has attracted more than 20 new companies, 2,200 new jobs and more than $70M in annual payroll to Northeast Ohio, leading to a total regional annual impact of $150M.
Back to News