Manufacturing Success
Bob PerkoskiThe engineering floor at MAGNET’s new HQ facility
The Manufacturing
Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET)’s mission is to drive Northeast Ohio
manufacturing growth, especially in the small and medium companies that make up
98% of the region’s nearly 10,000 manufacturers. This series looks at MAGNET’s
efforts, it’s Blueprint for
Manufacturing in Northeast Ohio, and the four pillars the manufacturing success:
Talent, Transformation, Innovation, and Leadership.
Sustainability is growing in importance in the manufacturing industry, with companies of all sizes integrating eco-friendly practices into their operations. Sustainable practices can reduce waste and energy consumption, lower costs, incorporate recycled materials, and improve public trust.
Startups face many challenges in the current economic climate, particularly companies in the manufacturing sector. Applications are open for MAGNET's 2025 Mspire Pitch Competition, which supports manufacturing innovation through funding, exposure, and guidance to entrepreneurs—with a focus on fostering physical product development.
Cuyahoga County officials and MAGNET celebrated the successful launch of 3,000 manufacturing careers over the past three years through MAGNET's Manufacturing Sector Partnership. The initiative brought together manufacturers, educators, workforce organizations, and government leaders to build a stronger, more inclusive manufacturing economy in the region.
MAGNET's Advanced Manufacturing Fund addresses the funding gap for physical product startups, which often struggle to attract traditional venture capital. Through a $4 million allocation, the fund attempts to accelerate growth of early-stage manufacturing startups and cultivate a niche investment network.
MAGNET has been at the forefront of driving innovation and growth in Northeast Ohio's manufacturing sector for 40 years. From its origins in engineering support to its current role as a key resource for more than 10,000 businesses, MAGNET continues to play a key role in embracing new methodologies, technologies, and workforce development. strategies.
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Half of American manufacturing companies are facing employee shortages, driven in part by an aging workforce. Companies like Lincoln Electric are attracting and retaining young talent through competitive wages and partnering with MAGNET's training programs to change perceptions and ensure a sustainable workforce.
MAGNET's ninth annual Mspire pitch competition awarded $85,000 to seven innovative manufacturing startups in a diverse range of concepts and industries, from sustainable energy solutions with Accelerate Wind's turbines to cake pop molds made by Daisy Makes, to health technology developed by Auxilium Health.
MAGNET's Early College, Early Career (ECEC) program allows high school juniors to get an early start in potentially lucrative manufacturing careers. Through ECEC, students attend classes three days a week, spend one day in training at MAGNET with mentors, and spend one day in internships with local manufacturing companies. More than 90% of graduates receive job offers at the end of the program that MANGET first launched in 2017.
Greater Cleveland has made progress in bringing minorities and women into the manufacturing industry, according to MAGNET, and about 2,000 people of color have entered the sector in the past two years. Although the region has seen an 80% jump in women and minorities in manufacturing leadership positions, a greater effort is needed to diversify the manufacturing workforce.
MAGNET's first Manufacturing Blueprint Report Card revealed that Northeast Ohio is making strides as an advanced production hub, illustrated by companies like Midway Swiss Turn, Inc and E.C. Kitzel & Sons. But there is still work to do. For instance, while high-tech adoption grew 80% since 2019, only a small number of companies are currently using Industry 4.0 innovations.
MAGNET's first progress report card on its Blueprint for Manufacturing in Northeast Ohio was released last week. The report shows the area has exceeded industry goals, increased investment and products, and diversified top talent, among other milestones.
Ohio-focused Advanced Manufacturing Fund, a collaborative effort between MAGNET, JumpStart, and a group of private stakeholders, works with a variety of early-stage physical product and manufacturing ventures like—SweatID, Insitu Foods, and Octet Scientific—puts great ideas on the fast-track to success.
In its new podcast series, "MAKE IT," MAGNET president and CEO Ethan Karp sits down with local leaders of companies like Cleveland Whiskey, Lubrizol, Malley's Chocolates, and Lincoln Electric to talk about the region's manufacturing future.
Cleveland's manufacturers need to double their efforts in preparing for the high-tech future, warns MAGNET CEO Ethan Karp, and leadership is the linchpin in embracing Industry 4.0 so the region remains a manufacturing leader. Wooster-based Midway Swiss Turn is setting the example.
The manufacturing industry is expected to hire more than 30,000 workers in the next decade, leaving industry leaders and employers like MAGNET, Toward Employment, Precision Metalforming Association, and even CMSD, to create strategies to prepare a robust workforce. The ACCESS to Manufacturing Careers program just may be the answer in Northeast Ohio.
MAGNET’s Blueprint for Manufacturing in Northeast Ohio outlines the four pillars to manufacturing success: Innovation, Transformation, Talent, and Leadership. Transformation means adopting the newest technologies to stay ahead of the game.
MAGNET, with backing from Team NEO, Greater Cleveland Partnership, and Case Western Reserve University, are cheerleaders for the success of Northeast Ohio's manufacturing industry with MAGNET's Blueprint for Manufacturing.
Building a transformative technology and forward-thinking are two key elements behind MAGNET's Make It Better: A Blueprint for Manufacturing in Northeast Ohio. Three local innovators—CLEANR, Skuld, and Seraphina Safety—share their tips for success and how they stick to the blueprint.
Manufacturing companies are learning the importance of achieving the Department of Defense's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, and the benefits that come along with it.
It seems like the world is watching how the new AI platform ChatGPT can help students write papers or cheat on exams, but what can this AI technology do for the future of the manufacturing industry? MAGNET CEO Ethan Karp talks about the possibilities.