Northeast Ohio has made a measurable leap forward on its goal to become a smart manufacturing hub. That’s the conclusion of a new report released last week by the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET).

The organization’s first Blueprint Report Card—MAKE IT HAPPEN: A Progress Report on the Blueprint for Manufacturing in Northeast Ohio—shows industry programs in closing the talent gap, adopting new technologies, boosting innovation and diversifying leadership.

In the past two years, the report shows, the region has improved in four key areas: talent, Industry 4.0 technology, innovation, and leadership.

The original Blueprint for Manufacturing in Northeast Ohio was released in June 2021 by a coalition that was led by MAGNET and included more than 150 manufacturing CEOs and community, civic, nonprofit, and education leaders.

The report illustrates many positive points.

MAGNET Blueprint Report CardKey advances

• For the 12 industry goals with available measurable data, Northeast Ohio is meeting or exceeding its targets on almost 70%.
• Manufacturing is growing rapidly, with 10,000 new advanced manufacturing jobs created—one-third of the way to the Blueprint’s 10-year goal in just two years.
• MAGNET’s Industry 4.0 Index shows technology adoption has increased 80% since 2019, already approaching its five-year goal of 100%.
• There’s been a $3 million increase in seed stage investment for manufacturing startups with the creation of the Advanced Manufacturing Fund.
• An estimated 200% more physical products startups in the region are receiving funding.
• Innovation is driving substantial new manufacturing revenue. Manufacturers reported that 7% of their revenue—about $3.5 billion—came from new products launched in the past year.
• Workforce diversification progress and teamwork
• 2,000 more people of color who have entered manufacturing in the past two years.
• 70% more manufacturers have made the region’s “best places to work” lists—an important signal that the industry is focusing on attracting and keeping the best talent.
• The number of vacant entry-level to mid-skill jobs has closed slightly in the past two years,  dropping from 23,000 to 20,000.
• There has been an 80% increase in women and people of color in supervisory and management leadership roles.
• The number of organizations that are collaborating in coalitions, alliances, and clusters has doubled, which helps attract the large projects and grants required to put Northeast Ohio on the map as an advanced manufacturing hub.

Key challenges

• The huge leap in Industry 4.0 adoption is tempered by the fact that the region started from an extremely low adoption rate.  Even with this sizable increase, only a minority of manufacturers (28%) are actually using Industry 4.0 technologies.
• 70% of manufacturers say innovation is not currently a top priority. That must change to grow the industry’s competitiveness.
• The slight drop in the talent gap is promising, but almost 10% of all manufacturing jobs in the region are still sitting empty, a tremendous threat to long-term success.

Manufacturing Growth

The Blueprint Report Card data was analyzed using MAGNET’s 2023 Manufacturing Survey. The survey, sponsored by Bank of America, aims to spotlight the state of manufacturing in the region—which drives almost half of the regional economy. Since 2017, it has provided insights into the realities facing manufacturers and the trends shaping our future.

“The Blueprint Strategy is working. We’ve made gains and now we must do even more,” Stephen Lovass, MAGNET board chair and executive vice president of Nordson Corporation said in a statement. “We need to double-down on investments in advanced technology.

“We need to scale our workforce programs to create a steady stream of new, diverse entrants into manufacturing. We need to create a thriving innovation ecosystem,” Lovass continues. “And we need to focus on strategic areas where Northeast Ohio has distinct competitive advantage, including EVs, polymers, additive manufacturing, precision production, and water. This will help us lead the way in smart manufacturing.”